U.S.-China Relations Have Actually Deteriorated; Plus Donald Trump Slips as Bidens Catch a Break
Author: Greg Valliere
June 21, 2023
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and others have reported that China has reached an agreement with Cuba to build a military facility on the island that will be located about 100 miles from Florida. China reportedly has had a spy base in Cuba since 2019.
BOTH SIDES AGREED TO TALK MORE and look into ways to slow fentanyl smuggling into the U.S., but otherwise there were no significant agreements. Responding to reports of a Chinese military base in Cuba, Blinken said this morning that “we will protect our homeland, we will protect our interests.” The presence of Russian missiles in Cuba led to a crisis in 1962.
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THE AFFABLE BRET BAIER is hardly a pit bull, but his interrogation of Donald Trump this week was a professional hit job. In their Fox News interview, Trump fell hard; he appeared to incriminate himself on his handling of top secret documents.
THERE’S A REASON WHY ATTORNEYS tell clients to refrain from commenting on their cases, but Trump cannot be muzzled. He described his handling of the documents, making life far more difficult for his lawyers — just as new polls showed Trump slipping against GOP challengers.
TRUMP IS STILL THE FRONT-RUNNER FOR THE GOP nomination, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has righted the ship; he and his wife have enjoyed improving publicity. Trump dug a hole for himself this week, as more indictments loom in other cases. If there’s a political theme this summer, we predict it will be “Trump fatigue,” and Baier exploited it.
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HUNTER BIDEN, NOT QUITE OFF THE HOOK: You could see this one coming — Hunter Biden got a slap on the wrist. Republicans we talked with yesterday were furious and pledged to continue probing how he earned his money — and from whom. The handgun charge always looked like a misdemeanor but the tax allegations still look serious.
THE BIDEN FAMILY SHOULD BE HAPPY: If House Republicans continue to investigate huge payments from foreign countries, the Bidens can essentially say: “This issue is over, it was resolved in June of 2023. Let’s move on.” All of the details will be disclosed eventually, perhaps in a book later this decade. But a few more House hearings will get scant attention from the media, which isn’t particularly interested in digging into this.
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