A health care supervisor went above and beyond the call as victims of the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting came to the hospital, according to one doctor.
Trauma surgeon Dr. Jon Gayken of Hennepin Healthcare recalled one incident in the aftermath of a shooting the left two children dead and multiple children and adults wounded.
“One of the victims came in and in the emergency department — this was a nurse manager from another unit, didn’t have anything to do with what we would normally respond to — and one of the children were very scared and alone, because everybody was running about doing their jobs,” Gayken said Thursday.
“And she went into the CT scanner with the patient, putting herself basically in the harm’s way of radiation, which normally we would evacuate the room,” he said.
“She put a little lead on and stayed there and held her hand and held her hair while she went through the scanner, so she didn’t have to go through it alone,” he added.
“Those are the types of things we witnessed yesterday,” Gayken said.
Hennepin EMS Chief Marty Scheerer said there were many “unrecognized heroes” Wednesday, including children of Annunciation School who protected other children when transgender shooter Robin Westman began firing into the church while the children were at Mass, according to Fox News.
Westman later killed himself.
“I might be saying too much, but we had one kid that covered up another kid and took a shotgun blast to his back and things like that, and they were helping each other out,” Scheerer said.
“The teachers were amazing. The teachers were getting shot at. They were protecting the kids,” he said, according to NPR.
Annunciation Catholic School Principal Matthew DeBoer said lives were saved by the unsung heroes who emerged as bullets flew.
“Adults were protecting children, older children were protecting younger children,” he said. “It could have been significantly worse without their heroic actions.”
Parent Michael Burt, whose family has five children at the school, said a buddy system that was part of the school culture saved lives.
“So for instance, seventh graders get, say, a third and a first grader, and they walk to church, school Mass, with each buddy [holding] a hand, and they sit next to them in church, teach them how to do church,” he said.
As gunfire erupted, he said, older students knew what to do.
“The first action by those middle schoolers was to push their buddies down under the pew,” Burt said.
“Which is why the middle schoolers were the ones that were standing the longest and were largely the injured, acting in heroism… and then covering the little ones under the pews.”
Photo illustration created by ChatGPT (OpenAI), using AI-generated imagery.
Trump’s tariff strategy has not only brought a massive win in European trade negotiations, but it has also underscored how crucial U.S. market access is for Mexico, Canada, and China. Tariffs are now strangling foreign direct investment in all three countries, forcing them to either concede to U.S. trade terms, as Europe did, or see their economies take a massive hit.
America entered this trade war in a strong position, because it is far less dependent on trade than its rivals. While trade accounts for 67 percent of Canada’s GDP, 73 percent of Mexico’s GDP, and 37 percent of China’s GDP, it makes up only 24 percent of U.S. GDP. This imbalance gives the U.S. enormous leverage in negotiations.
Trump has placed significant economic pressure on all three countries, particularly Canada and Mexico, where job losses could reach 1.3 percent and 2.3 percent of the workforce, equivalent to about 278,000 Canadian jobs and 1.4 million Mexican jobs. In response, Canada has already announced that it was dropping many of its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, a clear sign of the pressure taking hold.
Much of the investment in Canada and Mexico, particularly from China but also from European allies, was aimed at building factories to manufacture goods tariff-free for export to the United States. Now that Trump has imposed tariffs on both countries, that strategy has collapsed, and investment is drying up. A striking example came last year when U.S. outbound FDI to Canada fell from $1.1 billion to zero. Mexico, once the great beneficiary of nearshoring, faces similar challenges.
From 2018 to 2024, Chinese firms invested more than $12 billion in Mexico, creating an estimated 135,000 jobs in factories built to sidestep U.S. tariffs. But under Trump’s new policies, these investments have come under scrutiny. Projects have been delayed, some expansion plans have been shelved, and Mexican officials have been forced to tighten monitoring of Chinese FDI, which had been massively underreported.
China has been hit even harder. Already facing tariffs on a wide range of goods, Trump added an additional 10 percent to most Chinese imports. Foreign investors have responded by pulling back. FDI inflows to China fell from $51.3 billion in 2023 to just $18.6 billion in 2024, their lowest level in thirty years.
On top of that, China experienced record outflows of foreign direct investment last year, with net FDI dropping by $168 billion in 2024. In 2023, net inflows had totaled only $33 billion, already down 80 percent from the year before.
The Ministry of Commerce reported that in January 2025, just 97.6 billion yuan ($13.4 billion) in foreign investment was utilized, a 13 percent drop from the same month in 2024, following an annual plunge of 27 percent last year to the lowest level since 2016. The exodus is continuing, and with a renewed U.S.–China trade war, China’s already weakened investment climate looks likely to deteriorate further.
By contrast, U.S. inflows rose from $288.7 billion to $307.9 billion in the same period, underscoring how capital is being drawn away from America’s competitors and redirected into the U.S.
Mexico is also facing mounting pressure. Products exported from Mexico that do not qualify as originating under USMCA provisions are now subject to a 25 percent tariff, compared to the 2.5 percent rate they paid previously.
These exposed exports are worth an estimated $300 billion. The uncertainty created by tariffs from Washington and policy shifts under the Sheinbaum administration has discouraged new investment and hiring, raising doubts that the relatively strong investment levels seen in the first half of 2025 will continue.
Canada’s situation is just as bleak. Projections show Canada’s GDP shrinking by 2.6 percent, roughly CAD $78 billion, costing Canadians about $1,900 per person annually. A 25 percent tariff applied across the board could push the Canadian economy into recession by the middle of 2025. The impact is especially severe in manufacturing, which employs 1.7 million Canadians and accounts for more than a tenth of national GDP.
Last year, Canada exported CAD $356 billion worth of manufactured goods to the United States, with 530,000 jobs directly tied to those exports. Tariffs are already devastating key industries. Exports of electronic equipment and electronics have dropped by more than 70 percent, motor vehicle exports by more than half, and transport equipment by nearly three-quarters once retaliation is factored in.
Business leaders warn that Trump’s hardball tactics have chilled overall investment, eroded confidence in cross-border supply chains, and frozen many expansion plans.
Uncertainty surrounding tariffs has also disrupted business planning more broadly. With rates imposed, suspended, and reimposed in rapid succession, companies have been reluctant to commit to long-term projects in tariff-exposed countries.
Analysts warn that Mexico could see exports fall by 12 percent and GDP shrink by 4 percent in 2025 if tariffs remain in place. Canada, whose economy is highly dependent on trade, could slide into recession within six months, with heavy job losses in manufacturing centers like Quebec.
Foreign direct investment is drying up in Canada, Mexico, and China while capital flows into the United States. Instead of attracting more factories into America’s neighbors, tariffs have created a reverse magnetic effect, driving them away.
Companies are being forced to choose between relocating production to the U.S. or losing access to the American market. Trump has used this economic leverage to compel behavioral change from America’s trading partners, strengthening U.S. industry and cementing America’s role as the world’s most desirable investment destination.
Screenshot from video of senate judiciary committee confirmation hearing featuring Jia M. Cobb to be United States district judge for the district of Columbia. Photo from judiciary senate video
US District Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee on Friday morning held a hearing after fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook sued Trump.
Cook asked Judge Cobb to block Trump from firing her over allegations of mortgage fraud.
There was no immediate ruling from the judge after Friday’s hearing.
Embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook filed a lawsuit against President Trump, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after Trump fired her this week.
“Pursuant to my authority under Article II of the Constitution of the United States and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, as amended, you are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” President Trump wrote in a letter to Lisa Cook.
“I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Trump added as he cited housing regulator Bill Pulte’s criminal referral on Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud – specifically occupancy fraud.
Lisa Cook apparently owns three properties and she allegedly committed mortgage fraud on all three properties.
Trump fires Lisa Cook
On Friday morning, Judge Cobb held an emergency hearing for more than two hours as attorneys for Lisa Cook and the DOJ argued over Cook’s firing.
Cook’s lawyer Abbe Lowell was in court on Friday morning and attacked President Trump for making his orders and policies by ‘tweets’ after he announced Cook’s firing on social media.
Judge Cobb cast doubt on Trump’s order firing Lisa Cook but she did not issue a ruling. Court will resume next Tuesday.
Judge Cobb is expressing concerns — and openly questioning – whether a President could mechanize these types of “complaints” and allegations of misconduct to stack boards with majorities
A federal judge on Friday heard arguments over a bid by Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to remain in her post despite President Trump’s efforts to remove her because of allegations she made false representations on mortgage agreements several years ago.
The two-hour-long hearing before U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb marked the first in-person showdown between Justice Department lawyers and Cook’s legal team in the wake of her lawsuit, filed Thursday, challenging Mr. Trump’s attempt to oust her from the Fed’s Board of Governors.
Cook’s lawyers have asked the district court to issue a temporary restraining order finding Mr. Trump’s purported termination of her to be unlawful and declaring that she remains a member of the Fed’s seven-member Board of Governors.
Cobb, appointed by former President Joe Biden, did not issue a decision from the bench. Instead, she noted that the case raises “important questions that may be of first impression” as it relates to the president’s firing of a Fed governor. She repeatedly pointed to the “unique functions” of the central bank and the importance “of this being an independent body that it is not supposed to be responsive to any type of political pressure.”
Photo by Diego Fernández (original author) / distributed with “shared copyright” to AP Mexico (secondary author) – self-made / published in La Jornada México (secondary source). AP authorized its use in that publication. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons: Link
Mexico’s Senate descended into chaos Wednesday when a heated debate on U.S. military intervention against drug cartels erupted into a fistfight.
The clash began after opposition PRI senators accused the ruling Morena party of trying to silence debate on whether Mexico should welcome U.S. assistance against cartels. PRI leader Alejandro “Alito” Moreno appeared open to the idea, while Senate president Gerardo Fernández Noroña, representing Morena, strongly opposed foreign military involvement in Mexico.
When Moreno was denied the floor, he confronted Fernández Noroña, grabbing and shoving him, even striking his neck. An aide who tried to intervene was knocked down, and another lawmaker joined in, swinging at Fernández Noroña. Later, Fernández Noroña accused Moreno of threatening to kill him and filed a criminal complaint. He also called for an emergency session to expel Moreno and three other PRI senators involved.
The fight capped a tense debate in which Morena lawmakers accused the opposition PRI and PAN parties of advocating U.S. military strikes on Mexican soil. Opposition senators denied pushing for intervention, though a PAN senator recently told Fox News that U.S. help would be welcome. PRI members countered by accusing the ruling party of protecting cartels.
In February, the Trump administration designated eight Latin American drug trafficking organizations as foreign terrorist groups, six Mexican, one Venezuelan, and one Salvadoran. President Trump has since signed a directive authorizing the Pentagon to use military force against such organizations, a move confirmed by administration sources.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new terrorist designations give Washington broader power to confront cartels, allowing the U.S. to use intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, and “other elements of American power” to treat them as armed terrorist groups rather than just drug traffickers.
The White House has not denied reports that military planners were asked to draft strike options against Mexican cartels, with sources saying lethal options could be ready as early as mid-September.
Mexico has firmly rejected the idea. President Claudia Sheinbaum stressed there would be “no invasion of Mexico,” insisting sovereignty is not for sale. After revelations that Trump had secretly signed a directive authorizing military force against cartels, she clarified that the order “had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel or any institution in our territory.”
Earlier this year, when Trump offered to send troops to Mexico to help combat drug trafficking, Sheinbaum replied, “No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable.”
Still, some in Mexico’s opposition favor greater U.S. involvement. PAN Senator Lilly Téllez, speaking during a Senate session approving the arrival of 10 U.S. soldiers to train Mexican marines, argued that cooperation with U.S. forces does not amount to invasion. “The homeland wasn’t sold, the homeland wasn’t subjugated,” she said, pointing to longstanding military exchanges.
Téllez went further, backing Trump’s designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and calling for U.S. military help against groups like Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation. She claimed Mexico cannot defeat the cartels alone and accused Sheinbaum’s Morena government of shielding them.
“The President Claudia, the secretary of AMLO, is protecting his narco-state. The cartels are partners of Morena, to them they owe their arrival and continued presence in power,” she charged, accusing Sheinbaum of using “excuses” to block cooperation.
The opposition’s claims of government collusion with cartels are not without precedent. U.S. criminal cases against top Mexican officials have revealed corruption at the highest levels of the security establishment. In 2020, former Defense Minister Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda was accused of aiding the H-2 Cartel.
In 2024, former Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, once Mexico’s most powerful law enforcement official, was sentenced to 38 years in prison and fined $2 million for taking millions in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. Evidence showed that García Luna’s Federal Police acted as escorts and bodyguards for cartel operatives, allowed them to wear police uniforms, and helped move cocaine shipments through Mexico City’s airport.
A U.S. Army report noted that over a six-year period, 150,000 of Mexico’s 250,000 soldiers deserted and later joined the drug trade, fueling suspicions that cartel influence reaches deep into the ranks of the military and its leadership. Cartels have also systematically corrupted judges, police, and politicians, using their vast profits to secure protection. Beyond bribery, systemic weaknesses in law enforcement have left more than 90% of crimes unprosecuted, undermining public trust and reinforcing the perception of impunity.
By 2024, U.S. military estimates suggested cartels controlled roughly one-third of Mexican territory, exerting power not only through violence but also through influence over local governments and security forces.
Border Czar Tom Homan on Friday said that the Trump Administration has located 28,000 of the 300,000 children that the Biden Administration lost track of at the border and left with unvetted individuals to be exploited.
“The last administration wasn’t even looking for them,” he said.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, investigative reporter Breanna Morello revealed in May that 300,000 children went missing during the Biden years.
Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) gave fake addresses for the 300,000 missing children.
“Now it’s up to the Trump administration to find those kids,” Morello said.
It was later revealed in July that the Biden Administration had allocated $6 billion in funding and grants to NGOs through the Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, among others, and the NGOs were handing unaccompanied minors at the border to “poorly-vetted sponsors.”
Ali Hopper, founder of GUARD Against Trafficking, testified in a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that there were “post-placement welfare checks,” which consisted of two phone calls. But if the sponsors didn’t answer, “the case was no longer followed up on.”
From August 2023 to January 2025, 65,000 calls went unanswered, Hopper said.
This corroborates Breanna Morello’s reporting that “the Biden administration didn’t seem to care when it came to verifying who they were handing these children off to.”
Homan said they’ve located 23,000 of these children, and that the administration is “not going to stop until we find every one of them or at least run every lead down on those 300,000 children.”
He also commented on the sanctuary cities, whose leaders are now facing potential criminal charges after ignoring a deadline set by the Department of Justice to comply with Homeland Security and ICE.
WATCH:
Homan: Out of the 300,000 children, I looked at the numbers just yesterday. We’ve located over 23,000 of them. So, 23,000 locations of 300,000. President Trump’s committed, we’re not going to stop until we find every one of them or at least run every lead down on those 300,000 children. That’s a big plus for the administration because the last administration wasn’t even looking for them.
But as far as with Chicago, Chicago is coming along with every other sanctuary city. President Trump has committed that we’re going to focus and prioritize sanctuary cities because that’s where the problem is. We know for a fact they’re releasing public safety threats to the streets every day rather than handing them over to ICE so we can deport them.
Starmer is branded ‘treasonous’ for putting illegals ahead of citizens.
A victory for Starmer’s leftist government is a defeat for the British people.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer continues his tireless work to destroy the fabric of British society with his support for unchecked mass migration.
His Home Office got a ‘legal victory’ today, as the Court has decided that ‘asylum seekers’ (a.k.a. illegal migrants) can continue to be housed in a hotel in Epping.
We have reported here in TGP how Epping council leaders won a temporary injunction to close the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after it became a focus for anti-immigration protests.
But Labour goons had to keep the current suicidal policies in place.
“The Home Office and owners Somani Hotels Ltd appealed the decision.
At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Lord Justice Bean, Lady Justice Nicola Davies and Lord Justice Cobb ruled in their favor and ordered the interim-injunction to be overturned.
A final decision on the future of the hotel is set to be decided at a later court date this autumn.
It comes after Home Office lawyers argued on Thursday that asylum seekers’ rights are more important than the concerns of the people of Epping.”
Yes, you read it right. The UK government argued in court that ‘asylum seekers’ (again, a.k.a. illegal migrants) have rights that supersede the UK citizens’ rights.
And worse, the judges agreed.
These 3 Labour judges have just ruled that Epping must have unvetted migrant men in their town.
In the same week that Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an illegal immigrant being housed there, is on trial for sex attacks on 2 children and a woman.
’The battle is not over, and we will continue the fight. It’s nothing less than the people of Epping would expect and deserve.’
Epping Conservative Councillor Ken Williamson reacts to the Court of Appeal overturning the temporary injunction on the Epping migrant hotel. pic.twitter.com/ON929dJQ1C
‘Is that what we’ve come to? That we can’t keep our children safe coming home from school in broad daylight?’
Epping Mum Lindsey Thompson voices concern for her daughter’s safety after today’s ruling that asylum seekers can stay in the hotel they are currently housed in. pic.twitter.com/UZNdFtN7CY
The judges said that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had a duty as Home Secretary to ‘prevent asylum seekers from being made destitute’ under the outrageous European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
And so, the military aged male migrants should continue to live at the Bell Hotel.
One of the 3 judges in the Epping Hotel case is Sir David Michael Bean, a Labour Party member and Treasurer of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers which is linked to the Labour Party – Keir Starmer was also a member. It split in in 1949 over the question of membership for… pic.twitter.com/IUekItzplQ
The state of Iowa will have a chance to upgrade its congressional delegation next year, though the White House understandably wanted to play it safe.
As CBS reported, Senator Joni Ernst (RINO-IA) will not be seeking reelection to the Senate next year. An official announcement is scheduled for Thursday.
Ernst has served in the Senate since 2015.
A source told CBS that Ernst had told people close to her that she intends to serve only two terms and will enter the private sector.
This news will come as a disappointment to the White House, as President Trump had urged Ernst to run again for the Senate. The reason for this is that incumbency is a powerful asset and there is no stomach for a nasty primary.
However, there is tremendous potential for a true MAGA candidate to emerge. This is necessary considering Ernst’s deviations from America-first conservatism.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Ernst was one of the senators who initially tried to derail Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Defense Secretary.
It was revealed that Ernst had been making direct appeals to former President Donald Trump, urging him to withdraw Hegseth’s nomination and positioning herself as a potential replacement.
She, of course, had no issue rubberstamping some of Joe Biden’s worst nominees.
While Ernst eventually caved and supported Hegseth, it was only after a massive conservative backlash. She had already showed her true colors.
Ernst has alse been one of the Senate’s biggest warmongers. In one instance, she advocated for shutting down Vladimir Putin’s gas pipeline to Western Europe in the winter back in 2021, an action that could resulted in all-out war.
The pipeline to Germany was only possible because Joe Biden approved the Russian pipeline after he shut down the American Keystone pipeline from Canada.
Italian PM Meloni said she was ‘disgusted’ by the website.
Hidden behind their computer screens, sexual perverts can still cause a world of harm.
A pornographic website causing indignation by posting doctored images of prominent Italian women – including head of government Giorgia Meloni and other political leaders – has been shut down.
Images taken from social media or public sources were altered and published on the Italian platform Phica, with more than 700,000 subscribers.
The outrageous images – that included women politicians – were featured in the site’s ‘VIP section’.
Phica forum was closed after backlash led by MEP Alessandra Moretti and other victims.
“The Italian police have launched investigations into the site’s administrators and participants.
‘I am disgusted by what has happened, and I want to address my solidarity and closeness to all the women who have been offended, insulted, violated in their intimacy by the managers of this forum and its users’, Meloni told the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
[…] The Italian prime minister stressed that those who disseminate intimate content without consent commit a serious crime.”
The enemies of Catherine the Great claimed she died copulating with a horse. Cleopatra was a nymphomaniac. And so on.
Today women leaders are deepfaked.
The tech is new, the slander unchanged from before the printing press and germ theory. https://t.co/KPPRNnWMyC
Besides Meloni and Alessandra Moretti, other politicians like Elly Schlein also had their images misused on Phica.
“’This type of site, which incites rape and violence, must be shut down and banned’, [MEP Alessandra] Moretti added. […] ‘The comments are frankly unacceptable and obscene, and they offend my dignity as a woman’, Morani wrote in a Facebook post.
‘Unfortunately, I’m not alone, and we must all report these groups of men who continue to act in gangs and go unpunished despite the numerous complaints’, she said. ‘I’m deeply shocked by what happened, but I believe we must all react together’.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is continuing to allow Lisa Cook to have access to her office and electronics despite President Trump ordering her firing.
President Trump on Monday evening fired Biden-appointed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook amid mortgage fraud allegations.
“Pursuant to my authority under Article II of the Constitution of the United States and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, as amended, you are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” President Trump wrote in a letter to Lisa Cook.
“I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Trump added as he cited housing regulator Bill Pulte’s criminal referral on Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud – specifically occupancy fraud.
Trump fires Lisa Cook
Lisa Cook later in the week filed a lawsuit to block President Trump from firing her.
Cook admitted that she manufactured documents and hinted a ‘clerical error’ is behind the mortgage fraud accusations.
“Even if the President had been more careful in obscuring his real justification for targeting Governor Cook, the President’s concocted basis for removal—the unsubstantiated and unproven allegation that Governor Cook “potentially” erred in filling out a mortgage form prior to her Senate confirmation—does not amount to “cause” within the meaning of the FRA and is unsupported by caselaw,” the complaint read.
Pulte on Thursday evening sent a second criminal referral on embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook after she was allegedly caught lying about a third property.
According to Pulte, Cook misrepresented a condominium in Cambridge, Massachusetts when she claimed it was a “second home”. Eight months later, Cook signed an ethics form with the US Government and represented the Cambridge property as an “investment/rental property.”
Banks and lenders give more favorable loan terms and lower interest rates for second homes. Mortgage loans on investment properties have higher interest rates because they are considered high risk.
“In subsequent filings from 2022 to 2025, Cook consistently listed this property as an investment/rental property, not a second home,” Pulte said.
3 strikes and you’re out.
Today, U.S. Federal Housing sent a 2nd Criminal Referral in the matter of Lisa D. Cook, related to a mortgage on a 3rd property and alleged misrepresentations about her properties to the United States Government during her time as Governor of the… pic.twitter.com/TAH68Mia23
In the meantime, Jerome Powell is allowing Lisa Cook to have access to her office and electronics as if she hasn’t been fired.
CNBC reports that Jerome Powell has continued to let Lisa Cook have access to her office and electronics, despite the President of the United States ordering her firing.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen with US President Donald Trump. Photo Credit: White House video screenshot
The EU has essentially handed Trump everything he asked for in his recent trade negotiations. The European Commission accepted an asymmetrical deal, agreeing to remove tariffs on U.S. industrial goods in exchange for the U.S. cutting tariffs on European cars. U.S. car tariffs dropped from 27.5% to 15%, while the EU will lift or reduce duties on a range of American goods, including some agricultural products.
Brussels must cut more tariffs and increase purchases of U.S. energy, while Washington still maintains duties on 70% of EU exports. EU governments accepted the lopsided deal after Trump threatened 30% tariffs on nearly all European imports. The EU will make concessions on products such as potatoes, tomatoes, pork, cocoa, and pizza, while retaining protections for beef, poultry, rice, and ethanol.
On Monday, the EU went further, announcing a six-month suspension of planned countermeasures against U.S. tariffs, a clear concession after being forced to accept the 15% tariff rate covering autos, auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors. The legislative proposal still requires approval from EU governments and the European Parliament, a process that may take weeks.
Some U.S. tariffs remain steep, 50% on steel, aluminum, and copper, while products like aircraft and generic drugs are exempt. Digital services were not addressed, though Trump has threatened new tariffs on countries imposing digital taxes. In effect, the agreement offers Europe only limited relief on cars and a few goods while leaving significant U.S. tariffs in place, underscoring Washington’s leverage.
Brussels had long believed its economic weight gave it bargaining power, but Trump’s escalating tariff threats convinced EU leaders that resisting risked a devastating trade war. Fearing damage to key industries like autos and pharmaceuticals, and worried retaliation would provoke even harsher measures, they conceded.
The impact is already visible in foreign investment. Europe’s FDI fell 5% in 2024, dropping to a nine-year low and 11% below 2019 levels. Out of 500 businesses surveyed, 37% postponed, canceled, or scaled back investment plans. Major economies were hit hardest: the UK recorded 853 projects, down 13% from 2023; France, though still first in Europe with 1,025 projects, fell 14%; and Germany, with 608 projects, dropped 17%.
The U.S. victory goes far beyond favorable trade terms. It cements America’s role as the dominant global economic and diplomatic power while reinforcing Trump’s reputation as a dealmaker. Tariff revenues have already climbed to a record $150 billion in 2025, including $28 billion in July alone.
On defense, NATO allies agreed to raise military spending from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035, with each member required to submit annual plans outlining a credible path to the goal. Already, 31 of 32 NATO members have met the 2% benchmark. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte remarked, “Would you ever think this would be the result of this summit if he had not been re-elected president? I think he deserves all the praise.”
Under tariff pressure, the EU pledged to invest $600 billion in the United States during Trump’s term and to purchase $750 billion of U.S. energy exports through 2028. European officials later clarified that the $600 billion figure referred to private-sector investment “intentions” rather than a lump-sum EU commitment. Still, Trump warned that failure to meet the pledge would trigger 35% tariffs.
The strategy worked. In 2024, Europe accounted for $96.7 billion, 64% of all new U.S. investment, driving a $332.1 billion increase in America’s overall FDI position, which reached $5.71 trillion by year’s end. Europe alone contributed $204.7 billion of that growth, led by a $52.9 billion rise from the UK and a $39.7 billion increase from Germany.
Companies are explicitly investing to bypass tariffs and maintain access to the U.S. market. fDi Intelligence reported $200 billion in new capital expenditure pledges by foreign firms between January and April 2025 directly tied to Trump’s demands. Over half of manufacturing CFOs said they are diversifying supply chains, nearly 40% accelerated purchases ahead of tariffs, and many sought new suppliers.
This “reverse magnetic effect” has made Europe a less attractive investment destination while pulling capital and industry across the Atlantic. Major announcements underscore the trend.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company committed an additional $100 billion to expand operations in Arizona, the largest single FDI project in U.S. history, while CBC Global Ammunition pledged a $300 million expansion in Oklahoma and India’s Waaree Energies announced a $200 million investment in U.S. battery storage production.
Critics across Europe denounced the deal as a political surrender, while officials admitted that broader concerns, NATO, Ukraine, and transatlantic security, factored into their decision. Reactions from European leaders ranged from reluctant acceptance to outright condemnation. French Prime Minister François Bayrou called it a “dark day” when the EU “resigns itself to submission.” Spain’s Pedro Sánchez said he would support the deal “without any enthusiasm.” Sweden’s Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa described it as “maybe the least bad alternative,” while Hungary’s Viktor Orbán quipped that Trump “ate von der Leyen for breakfast.”
By contrast, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen defended the agreement as “solid if imperfect,” acknowledging discontent over the painful 15% tariff imposed on most EU exports to the U.S. Despite the criticism, the data shows America retains dominant economic leverage, and the outcome demonstrates Washington’s continued ability to set global trade terms. Trump’s forceful approach has secured major concessions and reshaped global trade rules, leaving Europe frustrated but resigned.
