What to know today
- TARIFF RATES: President Donald Trump today formalized previously announced trade agreements with several countries, including Japan and the United Kingdom. In addition, tariffs are set to rise for some trading partners, including Switzerland and Taiwan. Trump told NBC News that he is open to additional trade deals.
- CANADA 'DISAPPOINTED': Trump backtracked on a threat he issued to Canada a day earlier, saying its intention to recognize a Palestinian state is “not a deal-breaker” in reaching a trade deal. But the U.S. neighbor said it was "disappointed" by his decision to raise tariffs to 35%.
- GAZA VISIT: Special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will travel to Gaza tomorrow to inspect food distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
- MUSK'S MILLIONS: Tesla CEO and former Trump adviser Elon Musk has donated millions of dollars to the super PACs supporting House and Senate Republicans, despite his fallout with the White House. New campaign finance reports indicate the donations make him the largest individual contributor for both committees.
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South Africa expresses ‘concern’ over U.S. tariffs
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed “concern” over the White House’s updated tariffs that will impose a 30% duty on South African goods bound for the U.S.
Ramaphosa said his country will continue negotiations with Washington toward a trade deal, noting the government is finalizing a package to support companies, producers and workers affected by the levies.
“All applicable exceptions published in the previous US Executive Order are set to remain in force and these exceptions covered products such as copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles, certain critical minerals, stainless steel scrap and energy and energy products,” he said.
World shares retreat after Trump’s order
World shares retreated early as investors assess Trump’s order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the European Union starting in seven days.
In early European trading, Germany’s Dax fell 1.5% to 23,697.31. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.7% to 9,068.97. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 1.6% to 7,647.56. The future for S&P 500 was down 0.8% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was also 0.8% lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.7 % to 40,799.60 while South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 3.9% to 3,119.41. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 1.1% to 24,507.81, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% to 3,559.95.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 shed 0.9% to 8,662, India’s BSE Sensex lost 0.4% to 80,837.19 and Taiwan’s TAIEX slid 0.5% to 23,434.38
Canada 'disappointed' by increased tariff of 35%, prime minister says
Canada is “disappointed” by Trump’s decision to increase the tariff on Canadian goods to 35% from 25%, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
Though most of its U.S. exports are exempted under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the 35% tariff will greatly affect sectors of the Canadian economy such as lumber, steel, aluminum and automobiles, Carney said in a statement.
“While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser focused on what we can control: building Canada strong,” he said.
Trump has justified tariffs on goods from Canada, the top U.S. export market, by accusing it of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl, even though U.S. government data shows Canada accounts for only 1% of the fentanyl that enters the United States.
Trump told NBC News that he was open to further discussions with Canada and that he might even speak with Carney later in the night.
The tariff increase was also criticized by provincial leaders such as Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who urged the Canadian government to impose a 50% counter tariff on imports of U.S. steel and aluminum.
"Canada shouldn’t settle for anything less than the right deal. Now is not the time to roll over. We need to stand our ground," he said in a post on X.
Trump’s super PAC raises a massive $177 million, bolstering his political influence
The super PAC affiliated with Trump raised $177 million in the first half of 2025, new fundraising reports show — with GOP megadonors, key Trump allies (including some government officials), big business, a secret-money group and the mother of a man who received a presidential pardon among those filling the group’s coffers ahead of next year’s midterms.
Even in an era of overflowing money in politics, the massive sum sticks out. It is a sign that Trump’s political operation will continue to wield major influence even though Trump himself is barred by term limits from running for president again.
The group spent just $4.6 million over that time, meaning it has more than $196 million banked away as Trump continues to put his stamp on the Republican Party and looks to keep Congress in GOP control in the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump also has yet more money nestled away in other committees he can use for various political causes.
Judge blocks Trump from ending protections for 60,000 from Central America and Nepal
A federal judge ruled Thursday against the Trump administration’s plans and extended Temporary Protected Status for 60,000 people from Central America and Asia, including people from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Temporary Protected Status is a protection that can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary to people of various nationalities who are in the United States, preventing them from being deported and allowing them to work. The Trump administration has aggressively been seeking to remove the protection, thus making more people eligible for removal. It is part of a wider effort by the administration to carry out mass deportations of immigrants.
Smithsonian confirms removal of Trump references from exhibit on presidential impeachments
A spokesperson for the Smithsonian confirmed the removal of references to Trump in an exhibit that details presidential impeachments, framing the move as indefinite.
The Washington Post reported today that the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History removed references to Trump's two impeachments from the "Limits of Presidential Power" section of an exhibit titled "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden."
Though the exhibit was created in 2000 and hadn't been formally updated since 2008, in 2021 a temporary label noting Trump impeachments was affixed to the gallery.
"In September 2021, the museum installed a temporary label on content concerning the impeachments of Donald J. Trump," the spokesperson said. "It was intended to be a short-term measure to address current events at the time, however, the label remained in place until July 2025."
The spokesperson said that because the exhibit, which also covers Congress and the Supreme Court, hadn't been updated since 2008, the museum decided to restore the "Impeachment" section of the gallery "back to its 2008 appearance."
The Smithsonian indicated that a future exhibit will refer to all presidential impeachments, including Trump's, pending additional funding.
"A large permanent gallery like The American Presidency that opened in 2000 requires significant amount of time and funding to update and renew. A future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments," the spokesperson said.
According to the Post, the Trump references were removed after the Smithsonian undertook a content review following pressure from the White House and accusations of partisan bias.
Trump accused the Smithsonian in March of coming "under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology" and signed an executive order seeking to "restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness."
Harris defends decision not to enter California governor's race and previews plans
Former Vice President Kamala Harris defended her decision not to enter the California governor's race in a new clip of an interview with CBS' Stephen Colbert set to air tonight.
"Recently, I made the decision that I just, for now, I don’t want to go back in the system. I think it’s broken," Harris told the "Late Show" host.
"I always believed that, as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles, and I think right now that they're not as strong as they need to be," she added.
Shedding light on some of her plans, Harris said she wants to travel the country and "listen to people."
"I want to talk with people, and I don't want it to be transactional, where I'm asking for their vote," she said.
Harris also said she will remain a public servant, despite her decision not to run for governor.
"It doesn't mean we give up. That's not my point, OK?" she said when asked about whether she would remain in the fight. "I am always going to be part of the fight."
Earlier today, Harris announced that she will release a memoir about her unsuccessful presidential bid last year.
Trump says his new high tariffs are going ‘very well, very smooth’ — but he’s open to more deals
Trump touted the expansive new tariffs on imports he imposed on global trading partners tonight, telling NBC News in a phone interview that it all was going “very well, very smooth.”
He also said that with just a few hours to go before his self-imposed midnight deadline for trade deals, it was “too late” for other countries to avoid tariff rates set to snap in place next week, which he formalized in a new executive order.
But, he added, his door will always be open to compelling offers: “It doesn’t mean that somebody doesn’t come along in four weeks and say we can make some kind of a deal.”
Joe Biden condemns 'cruel executive overreach' in remarks at National Bar Association
Former President Joe Biden condemned "cruel executive overreach" and touted the importance of the judicial branch in checking other branches of government in remarks at the National Bar Association's Centennial Convention in Chicago.
Biden made the remark after he highlighted his own judicial appointments, who included a record number of Black federal judges, who he said are "doing their best to be independent, fair and partial."
"I wish I could say same for the executive branch, which seems to be doing its best to dismantle the Constitution," Biden said. "And they're doing it all too often with the help of a Congress that's just sitting in the sidelines and enabled by the highest court in the nation — the rulings they made, my God."
Biden said this moment in U.S. history requires Americans to "confront hard truths about ourselves, our institutions and democracy itself."
He said threats to America's institutions are "reflected in every cruel executive outreach, every rollback of basic freedoms, every erosion of long-standing established precedent."
"My friends, we need to face the hard truth of this administration," Biden said. "It has been to erase all the gains we've made in my administration. To erase history, rather than make it. To erase fairness, equality — to erase justice itself. And that's not hyperbole; that's a fact."
Trump formalizes high tariffs as he tries to reshape the global economy
Trump today formalized the array of high tariff levels and trade deals he has announced in recent weeks.
In an executive order, Trump made official his agreements with prominent trading partners such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the Philippines.
Trump’s order, which came hours before a self-imposed deadline for trade deals, also unilaterally sets rates for trading partners that did not reach agreements with him, for example, Israel, Switzerland and Taiwan. Switzerland’s rate will be set higher than previously threatened, at 39%, while Taiwan’s will be set lower, at 20%.
It’s effectively a reset of the world’s trade relations, one that is ostensibly designed to benefit the United States with expensive tariff rates not seen in nearly a century.
