What has Trump been busy doing in the past 24 hours?

date
20/07/2025
1. The TACO incident of firing Powell - Around 11 pm Beijing time on the 16th, American media began reporting the news of Trump planning to fire Powell. Immediately after, the U.S. saw a drop in stocks, bonds, and the dollar, while gold surged. The market trends strengthened after news of Trump already drafting a letter regarding the firing came out. Around midnight on the 16th, Trump denied plans to fire Powell or the existence of a firing letter, stating that he was more conservative than Republicans on this matter. Trump said it is highly unlikely that he will fire Powell unless it can be proven that Powell engaged in fraudulent behavior in the building renovation incident. Subsequently, U.S. stocks completely recovered from the fall, and U.S. bonds and indices regained some lost ground. Other information: Trump also disclosed that Hassett is one of the potential successors to Powell, Powell's term ends next May, Powell was appointed as Fed chairman by Trump during his first presidential term, and the firing incident happened months ago. 2. Progress in tariff negotiations - President Trump stated in an interview on Wednesday that a trade agreement between the U.S. and India is close, an agreement with the EU is also possible, but it is uncertain whether an agreement can be reached with Canada. President Trump hinted on Wednesday that reaching a trade agreement with Japan before the August 1 deadline would be difficult. 3. Hopes for further oil price reduction - President Trump stated that he hopes oil prices can drop a little more, considering $64 per barrel of oil to be great. 4. Progress in cryptocurrency this week - Late Wednesday local time, the House of Representatives passed the necessary procedural steps for cryptocurrency legislation with 217 yeas and 212 nays, including the stablecoin bill already passed by the Senate. 5. Rejecting a weeks-long strike plan against Iran - According to NBC News, President Trump has rejected a more comprehensive military strike plan against Iran's nuclear program, which was expected to last for weeks. 6. Delaying the UAE's AI chip deal with Nvidia - Due to national security concerns, some Trump administration officials are delaying efforts to finalize a milestone agreement; the UAE is set to purchase billions of dollars worth of Nvidia's cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips under the deal. 7. Ceasing funding for California high-speed rail project - President Trump announced that Americans will no longer provide funding for California's disaster-like expensive "nowhere-to-go" high-speed train. 8. Getting Coca-Cola to change the formula - According to foreign media reports, President Trump stated on the 16th local time that Coca-Cola has agreed to produce Coke using real cane sugar in the U.S. 9. Planned visit to Pakistan in September - According to sources quoted by two local TV news channels, President Trump is expected to visit Pakistan in September.