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Wed, Mar 4, 2026

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A Romantic Comedy That Actually Believes In Marriage

A Romantic Comedy That Actually Believes In Marriage
Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for SOLO MIO VIP Screening

Welcome to Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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The Romans branded their capital Urbs Aeterna — the Eternal City — on the conviction that Rome would endure forever. Lovers harbor a similar optimism, believing their own destinies equally permanent and inextricably intertwined.

It is precisely this assumption of permanence that Matt Taylor (played by the eminently charming Kevin James of King of Queens) sees shattered at the altar in Solo Mio, the latest film from Angel Studios, when his fiancée leaves him heartbroken and blindsided mid-wedding in the Italian capital.

The ancient city serves as the rich and vibrant backdrop against which Taylor, mourning the untimely demise of his relationship, reluctantly proceeds with his honeymoon plans, unable to get a refund on such short notice. The absurdity of solo tandem bike rides and lonesome candlelit dinners soon piques the interest of fellow honeymooners on his tour: Julian (Kim Coates), now in his third marriage to the same woman (Alyson Hannigan, whose comedy talents are criminally underused in the film), and Neil (Jonathan Roumie), a newlywed married to a controlling therapist.

Their eccentricities, presented as comic relief to help Taylor overcome his depressive rut, serve as a study of relationships, highlighting that there is no such thing as a perfect marriage. As Taylor catalogues his and his ex-fiancée’s many incompatibilities, he realizes his own mistake: “We were perfect — we never fought. So why aren’t we still together?” The film’s answer is that peace and pacifism are not necessarily proof of love or compatibility.

Taylor recalls Paul Giamatti’s Miles in Sideways (2004): Both men travel through wine-country melancholy after romantic collapse. Yet where Miles retreats into bitterness and misanthropy, Taylor remains open and optimistic; he is visibly wounded but not cynical to the broader pursuit of engagement and having children. Among the triumphs of the screenplay, co-written with James and the Kinnane Brothers, is its ability to convey the belief that love and marriage are perennially meaningful and worth pursuing, even after enduring failure.

That belief is manifested in a serendipitous encounter with Gia (Nicole Grimaudo), an extroverted café owner still recovering from her own betrayal by a habitual philanderer. They share an unmistakable chemistry. “It actually says zu-chero on my app, you see,” Taylor awkwardly tries to correct the Italian local’s pronunciation of zucchero (sugar), in an early scene together in her café. Wielding the warm and genial personality stereotypical of Italians, she draws him out of his comfort zone and teaches him to take risks.

Beneath the banter, the ethos of Solo Mio posits that people are naturally drawn to relationships. None is without its complications or turbulence (and some are simply not meant to be, as in the case of Taylor’s first proposal), but finding love and starting a family requires risk and opening yourself up for failure. And that is something worth fighting for.

Modern courtship, filtered through apps and optimization, seeks an imagined ideal partner and avoids emotional danger. The film argues the opposite: Love is inherently irrational and shouldn’t be curated like a playlist — a sentiment I can agree with, as someone who met his significant other on such an app. Even the film’s recurring musical motif, the great Puccini aria “Nessun Dorma” from “Turandot,” is about a prince who risks near-certain death to pursue a princess he loves.

The film’s highlight comes when Gia invites Taylor to her family villa in Tuscany. Nestled among picturesque vineyards and verdant rolling hills, it is practically a tourism ad (and an effective one at that). Surrounded by Gia’s exuberant family, Taylor encounters Andrea Bocelli casually seated at the piano, in one of the better cameos I have seen to date. It is a testament to Kevin James’s lowbrow and lovable sensibilities that upon meeting the venerable tenor, his first instinct is to exclaim, “Wow, you must know Ed Sheeran!”

Solo Mio is a refreshingly funny and heartwarming romantic comedy centered on genuinely decent people who know what they want and pursue marriage and family as life’s ultimate commitments, rather than the romantic ambiguity and sardonic indifference that so often suffuse the genre. It is a reminder that love is not made permanent because it never falters, but because we choose it again after it does.

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Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a software engineer, holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, and writes about wine at BetweenBottles.com.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Trump To Travel To China In March, With Tariffs In Focus

Trump To Travel To China In March, With Tariffs In Focus
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 for a highly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, a trip announced as the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imported goods.

A White House official confirmed the trip on Friday, just before the highest U.S. court dealt Trump a stinging defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China.

Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on an extended visit to Beijing had been expected to revolve around extending a trade truce that kept both countries from further hiking tariffs.

But the Supreme Court’s reversal created new questions for tense U.S.-China relations that had recently stabilized after Trump trimmed tariffs on Chinese goods, in exchange for measures from Beijing, including cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade and pausing export restrictions on critical minerals.

Twenty-percent tariffs on China’s U.S.-bound exports were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the court ruled Trump had overstepped. Those tariffs were tied to national emergencies related to fentanyl distribution and trade imbalances.

Other duties on Chinese goods, including those implemented under legislated trade authorities known as Section 301 and Section 232, remain in place.

It was not immediately clear how many of the tariffs Trump would restore, but he told a press conference that he would impose a new 10% global tariff for 150 days.

Trump’s last trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a U.S. president.

“That’s going to be a wild one,” Trump told foreign leaders visiting Washington on Thursday about the upcoming China visit. “We have to put on the biggest display you’ve ever had in the history of China.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the dates of the trip, which were first reported by Reuters. Beijing has not confirmed the trip.

The Trump administration has said the global tariffs were necessary because of national emergencies related to trade imbalances that have weakened U.S. manufacturing.

Trump had already been “playing defense” in the trade war, given the effectiveness of Beijing’s threat to cut off rare earths, said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The tariff defeat likely “cements his weakness in their eyes,” he said.

Chinese officials “like the direction of travel of the bilateral relationship in which the U.S. is diminished and they want to keep things from re-escalating,” Kennedy said.

Trump’s visit will be the leaders’ first in-person talks since an October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on the trade truce.

While the October meeting largely sidestepped the sensitive issue of Taiwan, Xi raised U.S. arms sales to the island when the two leaders spoke this month.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taipei rejects. The U.S., bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has formal diplomatic ties with China, but it maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island’s most important arms supplier.

Washington announced its largest-ever arms sale approval with Taiwan in December, including $11.1 billion in weapons that could ostensibly be used to defend against a Chinese attack. Taiwan expects more such sales.

Xi also said during the February call that he would consider further increasing soybean purchases, according to Trump. Struggling U.S. farmers are a major political constituency for Trump, and China is the top soybean consumer. Analysts said on Friday that China may be less likely to follow through on another big purchase of U.S. soybeans after the Supreme Court ruling.

Although Trump has justified hawkish policy steps from Canada to Greenland and Venezuela as necessary to thwart China, he has eased policy toward Beijing in the past several months in areas from tariffs to advanced computer chips and drones.

The global trade war Trump initiated after he began his second term as president in January 2025 has alienated other trading partners, including allies.

Critics had argued that imposing steep tariffs on countries across the board actually insulated Beijing from the tariff barrage and reduced incentives to move supply chains out of China.

Friday’s ruling could indirectly increase pressure on Beijing if the effective tariff rates on other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, fall more than those on China, said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

“Unlike with many other countries, there is a well-established, much more legally durable mechanism for most of the tariffs on China that make them less affected than those on other countries,” Chorzempa said.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Colleen Jenkins, Rod Nickel, Patricia Zengerle)

Ukraine Strikes Ballistic Missile Producer Deep Inside Russia, Kyiv Says

Ukraine Strikes Ballistic Missile Producer Deep Inside Russia, Kyiv Says
ANDREY BORODULIN / AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine hit a Russian plant manufacturing ballistic missiles in a missile strike in the remote Udmurtia region, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday.

Ukraine said its forces attacked the plant manufacturing Russian missiles, including the short-range Iskander and intercontinental Topol-M, in Votkinsk, east of Moscow and about 1,400 km (800 miles) from Ukraine.

It said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that the Ukrainian forces used domestically produced ground-launched Flamingo cruise missiles. The attack caused a fire on the site, the Ukrainian military said.

Alexander Brechalov, the governor of the Udmurtia region in Russia, had earlier said a site there had been attacked overnight with drones.

“There has been damage and injuries as a result,” Brechalov said in a video posted on the Telegram app. He provided no other details.

The airport in Udmurtia’s main city, Izhevsk, and those in cities in nearby regions suspended operations, the civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said.

The unofficial Russian Telegram channel SHOT, which often quotes contacts in the security services, said residents in Votkinsk reported hearing at least three explosions and the humming of drones.

Russia uses its ballistic missiles to reinforce its drone attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, knocking out electricity and heating supplies for millions across Ukraine during the cold winter months.

Ukraine is increasingly targeting military and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia. Kyiv says that hitting the weapons producers and the energy system that fuels Russia’s military is the best way to gain leverage over its bigger enemy as the war enters its fifth year next week.

The Ukrainian military said it also hit a gas processing plant in the Russian Samara region. Russian officials in the Samara region issued no report of such an attack.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Alex Richardson)

Zohran Mamdani Says No ID For Voting — But Bring One To Shovel

Zohran Mamdani Says No ID For Voting — But Bring One To Shovel
Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

As New York City braces for what the National Weather Service has identified as the first blizzard in nearly a decade, far-left Mayor Zohran Mamdani is once again urging residents to fill gaps left by the city’s snow response, this time by signing up en masse as emergency shovelers — but there’s a catch.

In a Saturday press conference ahead of the storm, Mamdani encouraged New Yorkers to report directly to city sanitation garages to help dig the city out after officials reportedly failed to recruit enough emergency workers during the last major snowfall. Volunteers, however, must provide proper documentation.

“And for those who want to do more to help your neighbors and earn some extra cash, you too can become an Emergency Snow Shoveler,” Mamdani said in his announcement. “Just show up to your local Sanitation Garage between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. tomorrow with your paperwork.”

The irony has not gone unnoticed. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) New York chapter, of which Mamdani is a member and which enthusiastically endorsed the mayor, has strongly advocated against voter ID requirements in elections. The DSA has even called recent election integrity legislation a “campaign to reverse the gains of the Civil Rights Movement and marginalize working-class Americans” — yet Mamdani’s emergency labor push requires would-be shovelers to arrive with identification and paperwork in hand.

The registration form to shovel snow requires volunteers to provide multiple forms of identification:

Mamdani’s appeal comes after the most recent snow storm exposed shortages in the city’s emergency snow labor force, leaving sidewalks unplowed, streets impassable, and residents, particularly the elderly, struggling to navigate icy conditions. Rather than announcing reforms or improved planning, the city is again leaning on last-minute public mobilization.

Emergency shovelers are hired on a temporary basis by the New York City Department of Sanitation, often with minimal notice, as storms are already underway. The program has long been criticized as reactive, relying on volunteers and short-term workers instead of consistent staffing and preparation.

Blizzard warnings are in effect across the city and much of the region from 6 a.m. Sunday through 6 p.m. Monday, as a powerful nor’easter is forecast to bring snow, high winds, and hazardous conditions to the Northeast. Forecasters said New York City could see in the range of 15 to 24 inches of snow, with some places potentially exceeding that total, and winds gusting above 45 mph — conditions that meet blizzard criteria when combined with reduced visibility and sustained snowfall.

Meteorologists say that snow will begin Sunday morning and continue into Monday afternoon, with peak snowfall and strongest winds overnight. The storm is expected to affect much of the I-95 corridor, from New York through New England, with heavy snow, coastal flooding, and possible travel and power disruptions.

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who has repeatedly called for expanded government control over housing, labor, and public services, framed the recruitment push as an act of neighborly solidarity, even as critics argue it underscores the city’s inability to execute basic municipal functions without scrambling for day-of labor.

City officials have not explained why staffing levels were not increased following the last storm, nor why emergency shovelers must once again be recruited in the immediate run-up to severe weather.

Blizzard conditions are expected to cause near-zero visibility across much of the five boroughs, and Mamdani advised New Yorkers to stay indoors, avoid travel during the height of the storm, and prepare for potentially dangerous conditions.

For now, New Yorkers are being told to grab their paperwork — and a shovel — and report for duty, as City Hall braces for another test of its winter preparedness.

WATCH: Asked Who He’d Deport, Dem Candidate Performs Verbal Tightrope Act

WATCH: Asked Who He’d Deport, Dem Candidate Performs Verbal Tightrope Act
Seth Herald/Getty Images

Congressional candidate Justin Pearson (D-TN) refused to name even one illegal alien he would deport — even when asked directly — and instead delivered a series of comments attacking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Pearson began with a general complaint about ICE, claiming that no one in President Donald Trump’s administration could be “trusted” to hold themselves accountable to the people. He argued that both ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in their current forms should be dissolved entirely, and that new organizations with different priorities should be built from the ground up.

WATCH:

“Even after the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, they didn’t want to share information about what was happening,” he said. “Which is why we have to abolish ICE, why we have to abolish the Customs and Border Patrol in the way that they currently exist, and replace them with something that actually does the work that we need for them to do. Which is why we need a Congress that works —”

Republican commentator Scott Jennings interrupted then, asking, “What work is that, by the way?”

“I’ll tell you what the work is not,” Pearson replied. “The work is not killing American citizens.”

“No, you said the work we need them to do. I’m interested in your opinion,” Jennings pressed. “What is the work we need them to do?”

“Absolutely,” Pearson said. “The work is not killing American citizens —”

“But what is the work we need them to do?” Jennings asked again.

“Well, first let’s look at what they don’t need to do,” Pearson said, prompting a chuckle from Jennings. “They don’t need to go into communities like Memphis —”

“Do they need to deport illegal aliens?” Jennings asked directly.

“— they’re currently traumatizing our communities —”

“Do they need to deport illegal aliens?” Jennings repeated the question. “Can you say it?”

Jennings asked the question several times, and while Pearson was ready and willing to say many times what ICE should *not* do, he could not come up with one thing that a newly-formed immigration law enforcement agency *would* do, other than aid in finding a path to citizenship for illegal aliens who were already in the United States.

At no point was Pearson able to provide Jennings with an answer to his question as to what ICE should be doing or whether there were any illegal aliens he believed should be deported — and after several minutes, host Abby Phillip stepped in to change the topic.

After The Original Smashed The Box Office, There Is More Story To Tell In ‘I Can Only Imagine 2’

After The Original Smashed The Box Office, There Is More Story To Tell In ‘I Can Only Imagine 2’
Credit: Jason Kempin via Getty Images

It’s opening weekend for “I Can Only Imagine 2” — the sequel to the faith-based smash hit “I Can Only Imagine,” which raked in $83 million in 2018, paving the way for more Christian entertainment.

“I Can Only Imagine 2” highlights the real story of Tim Timmons, a Christian singer who joins the hit-making band MercyMe at the height of the group’s career.

Timmons’ own challenges helped MercyMe lead singer, Bart Millard, to face problems of his own.

MercyMe’s “I Can Only Imagine” was the song behind the first film, while the second film’s foundation is the song “Even If,” written by Timmons about his terminal cancer diagnosis.

Diagnosed with stage four cancer 25 years ago and given five years to live, he still has tumors on his liver today — but his battle with the disease and how he leaned on his faith, all while inspiring his bandmates to get through their hardships, is on full display in “I Can Only Imagine 2.”

“My story isn’t cancer; my story is finding joy through it. I think cancer is the dumbest story I know, but how we get through it is the beautiful story,” Timmons told The Daily Wire at the Nashville premiere. “For me to have this shown to the whole world and to invite the world to be grateful in the midst of grief is really powerful.”

When Timmons joined MercyMe, the band was selling out arenas and inspiring a generation, but you will see in the sequel that much was going on behind the scenes.

Millard, who grew up with an abusive father, is threatened by his past demons in the second film, which affects his already fragile relationship with his son, Sam. It’s Timmons who brings a new perspective to Millard’s life as the leading man learns about his bandmate’s hardships and health battles, which help Millard repair the relationships in his own life.

“At the height of our career, when things seemed to be going great, is when we were struggling the most at home,” Millard told The Daily Wire. “I appreciate the fact that this movie tapped into that because it’s real. If people can walk away saying … I’m not in this alone, then it’s worth it.”

Timmons is portrayed by actor Milo Ventimiglia, who said “I Can Only Imagine 2” will help others find their inner strength.

“For me, it just reaffirms the way of being out in the world,” Ventimiglia told The Daily Wire. “We all go through those tough times in life; put your faith to work.”

At the red carpet rollout for the movie in Nashville, The Daily Wire’s own Reagan Conrad joined other big names from the Music City, including Amy Grant, to celebrate the film’s release.

Conrad said the sequel is proof there is a desire in the culture for more Christian movies.

“It is really encouraging because I know it is going to reach so many people with the word of Jesus,” Conrad said.

“I Can Only Imagine 2” is now playing in theaters everywhere. The original film, “I Can Only Imagine,” is now playing on DailyWire+.

Germany’s Ruling Party Backs Social Media Curbs For Children

Germany’s Ruling Party Backs Social Media Curbs For Children
hapabapa. Getty Images.

Germany’s ruling conservatives on Saturday passed a motion to ban social media use for under 14s and introduce more stringent digital verification checks for teenagers, building momentum for such limits in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

At a party conference in the city of Stuttgart, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union also called for fines for online platforms that failed to enforce such limits, and European Union-wide harmonisation of age standards.

A growing number of countries, including Spain, Greece, France and Britain, are looking at similar social media bans or restrictions on accessing platforms like TikTok or Instagram.

It follows the example of Australia, which last year became the first country to force platforms to cut off access for children.

European nations are more broadly ratcheting up pressure on social media companies, risking a backlash from the United States. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and sanctions if EU countries impose new tech taxes or online regulations that hit U.S. firms.

“We call on the federal government to introduce a legal age limit of 14 for the use of social networks and to address the special need for protection in the digital sphere up to the age of 16,” said the motion that passed on Saturday.

Merz’s coalition partners the Social Democrats have also backed social media curbs for children. Pressure from both parties in the coalition makes it increasingly likely that the federal government will push for restrictions.

However, under Germany’s federal system, media regulation is a state‑level responsibility and states must negotiate with each other to agree consistent nationwide rules.

The ban could affect children like those at the Cardinal Frings Gymnasium in the city of Bonn, several of whom a day earlier were scrolling on their phones in the school grounds.

“I think it’s fair, but I think it should be up to the parents to decide whether to forbid it, not the state,” said 13-year-old Moritz, who says he only watches YouTube.

“For children under 12 it should be forbidden, but from age 12 onwards I think children can already distinguish between what is fake news and what is not.”

His classmate Emma, 13, almost exclusively uses Snapchat, but has a time limit on her phone.

A ban would be “kind of unusual, because you get used to sending your snap in the morning before school, or what my friends do, like just scrolling through Instagram or TikTok for a bit,” she said.

Ella, 12, scrolls through social media several times a day.

“So I have TikTok and Instagram myself, but I understand that it’s all addictive, and the more you scroll, the more you want to see.”

Teacher Till Franke said that for many of the children, “it would be a shock at first, because of this daily use of social media.”

But eventually, the students would get used to it, he said, “because they would find other niches where they could communicate with each other.”

(Andreas Rinke, Stephane Nitschke and Petra Wischgoll; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Arrest Of Former Prince Andrew Prompts Potential Succession Shake-Up

Arrest Of Former Prince Andrew Prompts Potential Succession Shake-Up
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

The British government is considering removing former Prince Andrew from the line of succession following his recent arrest.

The legislation would prevent Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from ever becoming king, the BBC reported.

Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles last year, but is still eighth in line to the throne. He would only be next in line following the deaths of Prince William, William’s three children, Prince Harry, and Harry’s two children.

Removing Mountbatten-Windsor from succession would be the “right thing to do,” Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC.

The government would not take steps to remove Mountbatten-Windsor until after the police investigation concludes, Pollard said. He added that he hoped the move would “enjoy cross-party support.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated support for such legislation, The Times reported. Buckingham Palace has said it will not interfere should Parliament proceed.

Still, James Murray, chief secretary to the Treasury, told the BBC that “any questions in that sphere would be quite complicated.”

Thames Valley Police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor on his 66th birthday on Thursday, The Daily Wire previously reported. He was held on suspicion of misconduct in public office but released later that day, according to the BBC.

His was the first arrest of a member of the British royal family since Charles I was arrested almost 400 years ago.

Law enforcement said Mountbatten-Windsor was being investigated over concerns that he shared “confidential material,” reportedly including trade documents, with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor could face life in prison if convicted.

“Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,” Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said at the time.

The Metropolitan Police expanded the investigation Friday and is contacting all of Andrew’s former protection officers, The Times reported.

King Charles III called for a fair investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor.

“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” he said in a statement following Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest. “In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.”

Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by apparent suicide last year, alleged that Mountbatten-Windsor sexually abused her when she was 17. He previously settled a civil lawsuit brought by Giuffre in 2022 without admitting wrongdoing.

“He knows what he’s done and he can attest to that,” Giuffre said in 2019. “He knows exactly what he’s done and I hope he comes clean about it.”

Giuffre’s family welcomed the arrest.

“Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” they said. “He was never a prince.”

“For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you,” they added.

Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.

Trump Hikes His New Tariffs To 15% After ‘Complete Review’ Of SCOTUS Decision

Trump Hikes His New Tariffs To 15% After ‘Complete Review’ Of SCOTUS Decision
Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he will hike his worldwide tariffs to 15% after a “complete review” of the Supreme Court decision blocking his tariffs on Friday.

“Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” said Trump in a Saturday morning Truth Social post.

The president added: “During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”

The White House clarified on Friday that Trump is levying the tariffs by invoking his authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, empowering him to address “certain fundamental international payment problems through surcharges and other special import restrictions.” The initial White House proclamation imposed a 10% ad valorem import duty on all articles imported into the U.S. for 150 days, taking effect February 24 at 12:01 a.m.

“By taking this action, the United States can stem the outflow of its dollars to foreign producers and incentivize the return of domestic production,” a White House fact sheet explains. “By increasing its domestic production, the United States can correct its balance-of-payments deficit, while also creating good-paying jobs, and lowering costs for consumers.”

President Donald Trump imposed a 10% global tariff on foreign goods, moving quickly to preserve his trade agenda after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many of the levies he imposed last year. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump’s actions come after the Supreme Court struck down his reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries in a 6-3 decision on Friday, saying that the president does not have the authority to impose those broad-scale tariffs.

Trump, in a White House press briefing on Friday and in subsequent social media posts, said repeatedly that he is “ashamed” of the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him for “not having the Courage to do what is right for our Country.”

On the other hand, the president has repeatedly praised the justices who ruled in his favor.

“My new hero is United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and, of course, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito,” he posted on Saturday morning. “There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that they want to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

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