Welcome to the W³P Daily News Open Thread.
Post whatever you got in the comments section below.
This feature will post every day at 6:30am Mountain time.
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Mike Steger Recaps Current State of “Fortress America” – President Trump’s American Manufacturing Surge
Mike Steger takes less than 20-minutes to walk through a year of President Trump’s multifaceted U.S. manufacturing policy initiatives that have positioned the U.S. economy for a massive surge in growth. Steger recaps several consequential moves by President Trump and his cabinet to fundamentally change economics in the Western Hemisphere. Each point is well delivered and well presented.
Steger then overlays the economic moves with the geopolitical moves in Venezuela (oil), Cuba (communism ended), Mexico (cartels, traffickers and corruption), Canada (globalism confronted) and finally Greenland (a new consulate is created). Put together, Steger notes how all of these move’s work together with a massive surge in energy, technology and productivity to create a hemispheric powerhouse within the United States. WATCH:
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
01:10 Volcker and the Origins of Globalization
02:30 NAFTA and the Collapse of Industrial America
04:05 Liberation Day and the Tariff Battle
05:30 China’s Rare Earth Weapon
06:45 Rebuilding American Industry
08:20 The End of Free Trade Orthodoxy
09:30 Jamieson Greer vs. USMCA
10:40 Why Manufacturing Ecosystems Matter
12:20 Industry, Science, and Technological Progress
13:45 The Republican-Labor Coalition
14:45 Mexico, Cartels, and Economic Sovereignty
15:35 Canada and the Globalist Response
16:10 Fortress America
16:40 Final Thoughts
House Intel Chairman Rick Crawford Discusses DNI Gabbard
The Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) is Congressman Rick Crawford from Arkansas CD-01. Coincidentally the same state as Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman, Tom Cotton.
In a preview of an upcoming (June 1) podcast interview with talk show host Paul Harrell, HPSCI Chairman Crawford discusses the departure of DNI Tulsi Gabbard and the role she played within the aggregate intelligence apparatus. You might find some of Chairman’s remarks to be familiar. WATCH:
This is a preview of our interview with House Intel Chair Rick Crawford that airs in full on Monday June 1st on LFATV and @PaulTalkShow Youtube channel. Congressman Crawford revealed that the ODNI doesn't have it's own computer system and has always relied on CIA systems. This… pic.twitter.com/KX1rt7Bx2l
— RealPaulHarrell (@RealPaulHarrell) May 29, 2026
[Compare to BACKSTORY HERE]
Keep in mind that Rick Crawford is the chairman of the House intelligence committee and a gang-of-eight oversight member.
Inch by inch, folks. Inch by inch.
U.S. and Mexico Conclude First Bilateral Round of USMCA Review
Remember last weekend when we outlined how the sudden sense of urgency from Europe toward a trade agreement with Mexico? that agreement had little to do with purchasing row crops from Mexico, and everything to do with what Europe needs as access to the United States {Go Deep}.
The language being used by the United States trade office is specific. [SEE HERE] The first bilateral round of negotiations between the United States and Mexico for the USMCA free trade agreement has concluded. (Emphasis mine)
PRESS RELEASE – “MEXICO CITY — “Today, the United States and Mexico concluded the first bilateral round related to the Joint Review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The United States concluded discussions with the goals of reducing the trade deficit with Mexico and strengthening American supply chains. During this first round, negotiators discussed priority issues related to automotive rules of origin, steel and aluminum, and economic security.
The United States and Mexico recognize the importance of advancing cooperation to enhance regulatory compatibility to strengthen sectors, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products, and others.
We will continue advancing these discussions on June 16-17 in Washington, D.C., in addition to agriculture and a level playing field. The third round will be held during the week of July 20 in Mexico City.
The United States continues to emphasize the importance of ensuring the Agreement benefits U.S. manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, workers, service suppliers, and businesses of all sizes, and of addressing free-riding from third countries.” (source)
Currently, European automakers have billions invested in Mexican auto plants. Much of the component material for those vehicles comes from Europe for assembly in Mexico. That was the primary focus of the Europeans in their trade agreement with Mexico.
According to information coming from within the U.S-Mexico bilateral discussion, President Trump and USTR Greer are now changing the USMCA trade rules to require 50% of all automobiles be from American manufacturing. [The previous USMCA agreement was 70% from North America.]
When you consider EU and Asia component use in North American autos, and when you consider this is a bilateral discussion between only two nations, there is a big difference between 50% of the vehicle made in America (bilateral equity) and 70% of the vehicle made in North America (old trilateral FTA).
If European auto giant BMW is building cars in Mexico, in order to sell them into the U.S. market 50% of the vehicle must be components from the USA.
Then shift this baseline dynamic toward a bilateral with Canada, and again if Asia auto giant Toyota wants to build cars in Canada, then 50% of the vehicle must come from the USA.
Even the use of the statistic “fifty percent” or “half” implies equity by consequence; a bilateral agreement between two parties where both parties benefit. What I am emphasizing is the core baseline for the bilateral itself predicts the outcome of the next phase, another bilateral.
Once the U.S-Mexico bilateral is completed, Trump and Greer will then turn to Canada to begin another bilateral. This is the part that Canada is not prepared for – at all. Canada needs the granular stuff inside a trilateral trade agreement that permits the exploit of a one-third division. Take that foundational block out of the USMCA (CUSMA) and turn it into a two-way bilateral deal, and there’s no room for maneuvering.
A sector-by-sector agreement amid a group, becomes an agreement between just you and me. That’s an entirely different agreement.
Mexican Security Minister Announces Arrest of Cuautla Mayor, Jesús Corona Damián, on Extortion and Bribery Charges
The continual message from President Trump to President Claudia Sheinbaum has been clear, ‘clean it up or possibly we will’, as Trump has publicly and repeatedly said Sheinbaum and the Mexican government were under the control of Mexican cartels.
Following the daring capture of Venezuela dictator Nicholas Maduro, Mexican President Sheinbaum took notice. In the past few months dozens of government officials and cartel members have been targeted, arrested, indicted, extradited and removed from positions of influence.
Today, Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced the arrest of Cuautla Mayor Jesús Corona Damián (pictured ).
(Bloomberg) — Mexican authorities detained the mayor of a historic city near the capital, the latest move designed to show the government is rooting out corrupt politicians from its ranks.
Cuautla Mayor Jesús Corona Damián was arrested Saturday, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch wrote in a post on social media platform X. An arrest warrant had been issued by the general prosecutor’s office on May 20.
Corona was on the run in recent days, after the security ministry announced in May the arrests of other top officials in Morelos State. The moves are part of a broader operation under President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in 2024 with an anti-corruption message, to nab dozens of politicians taking part in extortion scams and with alleged ties to broader crime rackets.
“With this operation, more than 85 officials and former officials have been detained, including seven mayors currently in office,” García Harfuch said on X. “The government of Mexico maintains a policy of zero impunity regarding any links between authorities and criminal groups.”
Corona, who was also elected mayor in 2024, has been accused of involvement in extortion by state and federal officials, which he has denied. Federal prosecutors opened an investigation after a video surfaced in which he can be seen having drinks with an alleged drug trafficker linked to Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa Cartel. He was shot at in 2024 but survived the attack in a car with bulletproof glass. (read more)
