Articles by Pam Key

Technology

Bessent: 100% Tariff Trump Threatened on China 'Effectively Off the Table'

MARGARET BRENNAN: We begin this morning with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is traveling with President Trump. He joins us from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Good evening to you. BESSENT: Margaret, good to speak to you. BRENNAN: You have been negotiating directly with the Chinese. You said today a truce may have been reached. The threat on the table was a 155% tariff on China. The President said that would be effective November 1. Is that off the table? What are the terms? BESSENT: Margaret, I think we had a very good two day meeting. I would believe that the- so it would be an extra 100% from where we are now, and I believe that that is effectively off the table. I’m not going to get ahead of the two leaders who will be meeting in Korea on Thursday, but I can tell you we had a very good two days. So I would expect that the threat of the 100% has gone away, as has the threat of the immediate imposition of the Chinese initiating a worldwide export control regime.

1 days ago

Technology

Hakeem Jeffries: Only Republicans Are Initiating 'Partisan Gerrymandering'

Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) claimed that only Republicans have initiated “partisan gerrymandering.” Host Margaret Brennan said, “You said, ‘Democrats- there are no election deniers on our side of the aisle. You said that back in January. But recently, you’ve been using the term ‘rigged elections’ in reference to the upcoming midterms. Democrats were appalled when President Trump used language like that. How do you justify using that now? Doesn’t that undermine faith for voters you need to show up?” Jeffries said, “I’ve been using that term in the context of Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to gerrymander congressional maps in a partisan fashion all across the country in order to rig the midterm elections and deny the ability of the American people to actually decide who should be in the majority as it relates to the House of Representatives. The framers of the Constitution were very clear.” Brennan said, “You know Democrats are also going through gerrymandering and redistricting.” Jeffries said, “No, no. no. Democrats are going to push back aggressively to make sure that we have fair maps across the country, not partisan gerrymandering, which Republicans have initiated in state after state after state.” Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN

1 days ago

Technology

Murphy: Trump Transitioning U.S. from Democracy to 'Totalitarian State'

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) argued President Donald Trump was attempting to turn the United States into a “totalitarian state.” Host Jake Tapper said, “The New York Times reported that the private donor who gave President Trump $130 million to pay U.S. troops during the shutdown, that he is billionaire Timothy Mellon, and the donation appears to violate federal law. But what do you say to Americans who look at that and think it’s President Trump, not Democrats, making sure that troops get paid?” Murphy said, “Well, I think one of the reasons that President Trump is refusing to negotiate is because he likes the fact that the government is closed, because he thinks he can exercise king-like powers. He can open up the parts of the government that he wants. He can pay the employees who are loyal to him. I mean, this is a leader who is trying to transition our government from a democracy to something much closer to a totalitarian state. And so, this is part of what happens in totalitarian states — the leader of the regime only decides what things get funded and what don’t, often, in coordination with their oligarch friends. So I just don’t want to live in a world in which Donald Trump and a handful of billionaires decide which part of government works and which don’t.” Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN

1 days ago

Technology

Chris Murphy: Tariffs a Political Tool Trump Is Using to 'Enrich Himself'

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) claimed President Donald Trump was using tariffs to “enrich himself.” Host Jake Tapper said, “What’s your response to this new trump tariff on Canada? Murphy said, “I think it’s just further confirmation that these tariffs have nothing to do with us. Prices are going up on everything in this country. Manufacturing jobs are leaving. We’ve lost already this year about 30,000 manufacturing jobs. These tariffs really are just a political tool that the president uses to help himself, sometimes to enrich himself. You’ve seen companies openly admit that they’re making investments in his cryptocurrency in an attempt to win favor for him to try to get better treatment on the tariffs. You saw Apple make a $1 million contribution to his inauguration and then magically get an exemption from the tariffs, and then sometimes to try to suppress free speech, you know, whether he likes it or not. Even the government of Canada or the government of Ontario has the right to criticize him. But he’s now going to use the tariffs to try to punish people overseas from speaking out against him, just like he’s using the Department of Justice or the FCC to try to punish and control people who are speaking out against him here in America. So these tariffs aren’t about rebuilding our economy. They aren’t about helping regular consumers. There’s just — they’re just about giving Trump additional powers to try to benefit himself politically and financially.” Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN

1 days ago