Hegseth had booze on his mind at 8:30 this morning

Reporter: Are you going to play hardball with China? Are you going to mention COVID?

Trump: No, I’m not going to mention COVID. I’m not going to say “oh, I’m going to play hardball with China”

Trump says he has no intention on firing Powell. Adds that he never did have an intention on firing Powell.

Tesla Profit Plunges 71%

Tesla reported a 71% drop in Q1 profit, earning $409M, down from $1.4B a year earlier. The decline adds pressure on CEO Elon Musk, as criticism mounts over his political ties and limited focus on core business operations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/business/tesla-earnings-elon-musk.html

"Starting probably next month, in May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly," Elon Musk says in Tesla’s earnings call.

Earlier, he explained he was doing the work: "If the ship of America goes down, we all go down with it, including Tesla and everyone else."

🔗 Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance)

Newspaper reveals bizarre proposal: Dutch House Speaker spoke with French ambassador about dividing Belgium
The far-right speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives Martin Bosma (PVV) proposed during a dinner with the French ambassador to divide Belgium between the Netherlands and France. This is revealed by the Dutch daily newspaper NRC.

https://www.hln.be/nieuws/krant-onthult-bizar-voorstel-nederlandse-kamervoorzitter-sprak-met-franse-ambassadeur-over-verdelen-belgie~ae2b09aee/

BIG: Trump’s “Final Offer” for Ukraine-Russia Peace

What Russia Gets Under Trump’s Plan:
- De jure recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.
- De-facto recognition over parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
- A pledge that Ukraine won’t join NATO.
- Sanctions imposed since 2014 lifted.
- U.S.-Russia cooperation in energy and industry.

What Ukraine Gets:
- Security guarantees from a coalition of countries (excluding the U.S.).
- Russian troop withdrawal from parts of Kharkiv region.
- Free navigation along the Dnipro River.
- Reconstruction aid and compensation.
- Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant remains Ukrainian by law, managed by the U.S., energy shared with Ukraine and Russia.

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/22/trump-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-crimea-donbas

British right-wing political commentator and activist Darren Grimes deleted this tweet after he was told that those ladies were nuns

S&P 500 opens up 2.5%, NASDAQ climbs 3.5%

BIG: White House is considering cutting tariffs on China to ease tensions in the ongoing trade war

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/white-house-considers-slashing-china-tariffs-to-de-escalate-trade-war-6f875d69

One senior White House official told WSJ that the China tariffs were likely to come down to between roughly 50% and 65%

Bessent: I wish to be clear: America first does not mean America alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

We are trying to prevent a war with China. A war against China would be a terrible thing.

Trump: "We're going to have a fair deal with China. It's going to be fair... we're going to have a country that you can be proud of, not a laughingstock all over the world..."

BESSENT: FULL CHINA TRADE DEAL MAY TAKE 2-TO-3 YEARS

Trump to Zelensky: The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114388111141848447