• Trump Tracker
  • Posts
  • 🇺🇸 Trump’s Trade Policy Hit with Legal Challenge

🇺🇸 Trump’s Trade Policy Hit with Legal Challenge

In partnership with

Happy Labor Day, Patriots!

President Trump is demanding clarity on one of the most divisive issues of our time: the COVID-19 vaccines.

In a new Truth Social post, Trump called out Big Pharma and the CDC for failing to give the American people straight answers.

“They show me GREAT numbers and results, but they don’t seem to be showing them to many others. I want them to show them NOW…and clear up this MESS,” he wrote.

As the man who launched Operation Warp Speed, Trump says it’s time for full transparency. Were the vaccines truly the “miracle” drug companies claim—or something else? Either way, Americans deserve the truth.

There’s much more Trump news for you below!

—Nick

In today’s email:
đź”” Trump’s Trade Policy Hit with Legal Challenge
🏅 Trump Names Giuliani for Medal of Freedom
🛂 Trump Suspends Palestinian Visas
đź’Š Trump Demands COVID Treatment Data
🏥 Trump Willing to Bring Back Asylums

Business news doesn’t have to be boring

Morning Brew makes business news way more enjoyable—and way easier to understand. The free newsletter breaks down the latest in business, tech, and finance with smart insights, bold takes, and a tone that actually makes you want to keep reading.

No jargon, no drawn-out analysis, no snooze-fests. Just the stuff you need to know, delivered with a little personality.

Over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew, and once you try it, you’ll see why.

Plus, it takes just 15 seconds to subscribe—so why not give it a shot?

âś…TRACKING TRUMPâś…

Curated by Mike Luso

President Trump's America First agenda hit a speed bump this week when federal courts challenged his tariff authority, but as we've come to expect, Trump isn't backing down from this legal fight. While the court battle plays out, the administration is celebrating some impressive economic wins, with over 500,000 new jobs since January and wage growth that's actually outpacing inflation for American workers.

But perhaps the most interesting development has been Trump and RFK Jr. pressing pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer to come clean about their COVID treatment data. Predictably, this has Democrats like Bernie Sanders demanding resignations and crying foul. Once again, Trump is shaking up the establishment while delivering real results for working Americans. The contrast between this administration's bold action and the typical Washington talk couldn't be clearer.

🏅 Trump Names Giuliani for Medal of Freedom
President Trump announced that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, marking the first such award of Trump's second term. Trump praised Giuliani as "the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City" and called him "an equally great American Patriot" in his Truth Social announcement. The announcement came one day after Giuliani was hospitalized following a vehicle accident in New Hampshire, where he had stopped to assist a domestic violence victim before his car was struck from behind at high speed. Giuliani sustained a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, and injuries to his left arm and lower leg, though he was reported to be in good spirits and recovering. Trump's decision follows a series of controversial Medal of Freedom recipients chosen by Biden, including former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, Hillary Clinton, George Soros, and Megan Rapinoe.

🛂 Trump Suspends Palestinian Visas
The Trump administration directed American consular posts worldwide to halt approvals of nearly all visitor visas for holders of Palestinian passports, a policy that took effect August 31. The State Department confirmed that U.S. embassies and consulates have been ordered to apply Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny nonimmigrant visa applications submitted with Palestinian Authority passports, suspending approvals for medical travel, higher education, family visits, and business trips. The restrictions do not apply to Palestinians holding dual citizenship with other passports or those who already received valid visas, but former consular officials described the sweeping use of Section 221(g) as "an open-ended refusal." The policy follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio's disclosure that the U.S. would deny and revoke visas for senior Palestinian leaders planning to attend the UN General Assembly in New York, taken "in accordance with U.S. law" to hold the Palestinian Authority accountable for pursuing unilateral recognition of statehood. According to the Migration Policy Institute, more than 9,000 Palestinians holding travel documents entered the United States on visitor visas in the 2024 fiscal year, with Palestinian communities concentrated in cities including Chicago, Paterson, and Anaheim.

đź’Š Trump Demands COVID Treatment Data
President Trump called on drug companies, including Pfizer, to disclose evidence regarding the effectiveness of coronavirus treatments, stating in a Truth Social post that it is "very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs." Trump noted that many people believe the treatments are "a miracle that saved Millions of lives" while others disagree, and with the CDC "being ripped apart over this question," he wants answers immediately. He revealed that Pfizer and other companies have shown him "extraordinary" data that he believes has not been made available to the public, questioning why they don't share these results with others. Trump emphasized his desire for transparency regarding the effectiveness of "Operation Warp Speed," the initiative from his first term to produce vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic. He concluded by expressing hope that Operation Warp Speed was as "brilliant" as many claim, but stated that if not, "we all want to know about it, and why."

🏥 Trump Willing to Bring Back Asylums
President Trump expressed openness to "reopening insane asylums" for people with serious mental illness, arguing that society "can't have these people walking around" with severe mental conditions. In an Oval Office interview, Trump explained that states like New York and California previously had such institutions but released patients into society because they couldn't afford the "massively expensive" facilities. Trump recalled specific New York institutions from his youth, including Creedmoor and Bellevue, which were closed by a governor, leading to the release of patients into society and creating what he described as "a rough situation." The comments came during discussion of his crime crackdown in Washington D.C., where Trump claimed his takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployment of the National Guard has created a "crime-free zone." Trump noted that carjackings are down 87 percent and people are now walking to restaurants they hadn't visited in four years, with even Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser praising the dramatic reduction in crime as a success caused by Trump's actions.

President Trump confronted a significant legal setback when a federal appeals court ruled that he overstepped his authority by using emergency powers to impose new tariffs on imported goods. The court declared that such power lies squarely with Congress or within existing trade policy frameworks, dealing a blow to a cornerstone of Trump's economic agenda. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, while the court allowed the tariffs to remain in effect until mid-October.

The ruling chips away at Trump's trade policy, which leans heavily on tariffs to raise revenue and exert pressure on foreign trading partners. Trump has previously stated that tariff revenue could offset the cost of his "One Big Beautiful Bill" and add hundreds of billions to the U.S. economy. Tariff revenues have climbed steadily from approximately $17.4 billion in April to $29.6 billion in July, with total revenues reaching $183.1 billion for the fiscal year according to Treasury Department data released on August 28.

The legal challenge comes as Trump maintained his aggressive stance on trade relationships, particularly with India, which he called a "one-sided disaster" in a Labor Day Truth Social post. Trump criticized India for selling massive amounts of goods to the United States while purchasing very little in return, attributing this imbalance to India's historically high tariffs on American imports. He noted that India has now offered to eliminate their tariffs on U.S. imports, though he characterized the offer as coming "late" in negotiations.

Trump's criticism of India coincided with the implementation of 50-percent tariffs on Indian imports that took effect on August 27, imposed in response to India's purchases of Russian oil. The president also pointed out that India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia rather than the United States. These tensions emerged as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vice President JD Vance, speaking before the court ruling, had defended the administration's tariff approach by emphasizing clarity and certainty in trade policy. Vance explained that countries have established tariff rates that might decrease if they open their markets, and stated it was "pretty clear which countries are going to be paying which tariffs." He dismissed concerns about uncertainty while acknowledging that threatening higher tariff rates had successfully opened some markets for American businesses.

Despite the legal challenges to its trade policy, the White House celebrated what it characterized as significant economic gains for American workers on Labor Day. The administration cited nonfarm payroll gains of more than 500,000 jobs since Trump took office, with all net employment increases coming from private employers while federal government payrolls declined through workforce reductions. Officials emphasized that employment among native-born workers rose by approximately 2.4 million, accounting for all net job gains, while employment among foreign-born workers declined.

The administration touted wage growth acceleration, with average hourly earnings rising 3.9% in July from the previous year and inflation-adjusted wages increasing about 1.4% for blue-collar workers. Treasury Department data showed blue-collar workers experienced real wage growth of 1.7% in the first five months of the Trump administration, which officials claimed represented the strongest start for any president since the late 1960s. The White House attributed these gains to trade policies that attracted more than $8 trillion in new U.S. investment, regulatory reforms, and immigration policies prioritizing American workers.

However, Trump's legal troubles extended beyond trade policy to other areas of executive authority. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb signaled she would rule quickly on whether Trump acted unlawfully in firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations, with both sides required to submit additional filings by September 2. The unprecedented attempt to oust Cook sets the stage for a legal battle likely bound for the Supreme Court, as Cook filed suit three days after her termination on August 25.

The same judge also issued a temporary order preventing the Trump administration from carrying out expedited deportations of illegal immigrants, ruling that the plan to quickly deport those who had lived in the U.S. less than two years violated their right to due process. Judge Cobb criticized the government's argument that those who entered illegally were entitled to no Fifth Amendment protections, writing that such logic could apply to "not only noncitizens, but everyone."

Additional controversy arose from the White House's move to cancel $4.9 billion in foreign aid funding through a "pocket rescission," which lawmakers from both parties blasted as illegal. The cuts included roughly $520 million from international organizations, over $390 million from peacekeeping activities, and over $3 billion from development assistance. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins argued the move violated the Impoundment Control Act, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned it could complicate government funding negotiations with the September 30 deadline approaching.

President Trump with his son Eric on the golf course over the Labor Day weekend.

🍟 Quick Bite News 🍟

🪖 The White House is pushing to rebrand the Pentagon by renaming the Department of Defense back to the Department of War, with deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stating the military should focus on "offense - not just defense" and prioritize "warfighters" over "DEI and woke ideology." Trump noted that America won both World Wars when it was called the Department of War and claimed "everybody likes that" name change. The president said he believes Congress will support the change, arguing that "Defense is too defensive" and "we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be."

đź‘® President Trump praised Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for cooperating with his administration's crime crackdown, posting on Truth Social that she "has become very popular because she worked with me and my great people in bringing crime down to virtually nothing in D.C." Trump contrasted Bowser with other Democratic leaders who he claimed "spend all of their time trying to justify violent crime instead of working with us to completely eliminate it." The praise came as crime statistics showed carjackings down 87% since the federal surge started, violent crime down 45%, arrests up 20%, and illegal gun recoveries up 12%, with Attorney General Pam Bondi reporting 1,599 arrests and 165 illegal gun seizures since the crackdown began.

🏠 Las Vegas has experienced a 20% increase in homelessness within Clark County, with residents complaining about crime-ridden encampments that return within days after removal, including incidents of dumpster fires at 3 a.m. and confrontations between homeless individuals and residents. Former federal homelessness czar Robert Marbut criticized local leaders for lacking "political will" despite having resources. Trump's executive order titled "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets" aims to implement a zero-tolerance approach to encampments by shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings and ensuring federal funding doesn't enable "safe consumption" policies for illegal drug use.

⚔️ Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of seeking "regime change through military threat" amid a U.S. naval buildup in the Caribbean, claiming "Venezuela is confronting the biggest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years." The military deployment was authorized by President Trump to disrupt drug cartel activity as part of his broader border policy. Maduro declared that Venezuela won't bow to threats and is "super-prepared," while the Trump administration has accused him of drug trafficking and announced a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

đź’‰ Senator Bernie Sanders called for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, warning that if Kennedy "and his friends are able to make people think that vaccines are not safe, it will be a real public health crisis for America." Sanders' demand came after Kennedy fired CDC Director Susan Monarez for refusing his directives to adopt new limitations on vaccine availability, leading to four other top CDC officials resigning in protest and accusing the Trump administration of "weaponizing public health." While the White House defended the firing, Sanders argued that Kennedy's anti-vaccine stance contradicts credible scientists and doctors who support vaccines as safe and effective.

God bless,

Trending Politics

Reply

or to participate.