Donald Trump is declaring victory in his trade war with China. Of course he is. He always claims victory, even — in fact, especially — when he loses. Remember the 2018 midterm elections? You’d have thought Republicans had won every seat and exacted punitive damages from Democrats who’d had the temerity to run against them. Trump…
Category: TradeWar
Trump plays the trade war like it's 1812
Trump is losing his trade war and what’s worse is that he’s clueless about the reason for the losing. The prevailing truth is that stupidity has given way to irrationality. “The truth, however, is that there has seldom been clearer proof that Trump is in fact the world’s worst negotiator. And the price Americans are…
Trump conned stock traders … again … with his 'exaggerations' about China deal
Remember about a month and a half ago when Donald Trump claimed China had called his top negotiators and a trade deal was on its way? I remember thinking you’d have to have less than 2 pints of creamy brain pâté inside your cranium to actually wager your money based on something Donald Trump said….
Irate at China, Trump had to be talked off his crazy ledge by advisers and 'multiple CEOs'
This is what happens when you make a septic spleen president of the United States. Donald Trump was reportedly so enraged at China after the country announced $75 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods back in August that he wanted to double existing tariffs on the country. He also appears to have been surprised by China’s move,…
Trump in a Panic on All Fronts
Trump has been counting on four things to get him re-elected: The economy Winning the trade war he started with China Building the wall he promised his base Russian hacking and GOP voter suppression Right now he's panicking on all 4. The economy is heading toward a recession. Trump and his echo chamber are denying…
Trump says he has 'second thoughts' about trade war — may not know what 'second thoughts' means
At a G7 breakfast meeting, Donald Trump appeared to show a moment of reflection and introspection with regard to his trade policy. Wait, that can’t be right. Roll tape. REPORTER: Any second thoughts on escalating the trade war with China? TRUMP: Yeah, sure. Why not? REPORTER: Second thoughts? Yes? TRUMP: Might as well. Might as well….
U.S. Steel laying off hundreds of workers in Michigan
Donald Trump likes to pretend that the American steel industry is one of the few domestic industries that hasn’t been vigorously wedgied by his tariff regime. Not only has he claimed his tariffs have singlehandedly revived the industry … x In one year Tariffs have rebuilt our Steel Industry – it is booming! We placed a…
'He's rattled': Paranoid Trump broods about possible recession
You can tell when Donald Trump is upset about something — his lies and non sequiturs become far more feral, frequent, and surreal. Meanwhile, we all sit back and observe with a mixture of contempt, amusement, and horror — like watching a chimpanzee in a room with several boxes scattered around try to get the banana…
In one of his dumbest tweets yet, Trump again shows he knows zero about the economy
How did this wee-brained little man ever graduate from high school, much less Wharton? Betraying his profound ignorance of how the global economy works, Trump tweeted this bland bit of folderol today: x The United States is now, by far, the Biggest, Strongest and Most Powerful Economy in the World, it is not even close!…
Trump's ag secretary calls farmers 'whiners' after listening to their complaints about trade war
So if your administration’s policies had screwed one of your boss’s key constituencies sideways, do you think you might hold off on insulting them to their faces? Well, not if you’re part of this administration, which has an uncanny knack for always making things worse. At a listening session last week in Minnesota, Secretary of…
North Dakota farmer: Trump 'took away all of our markets'
As the trade war limps along exactly as you’d expect a policy launched by a failed casino owner would, real people are taking it on the chin. One of those folks is a farmer from a reliably red state that voted for Trump by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Yahoo! Finance: “This trade thing is what’s…
Trump admits trade war could drag on past 2020 election
Donald Trump said today that he believes China may seek to delay trade negotiations until after the 2020 election in the hope that the country could negotiate with another president a sane person. Reuters: “I don’t think personally China would sign a deal if I had a 2% chance of losing the election,” Trump told reporters…
Trucking activity has dropped off big-league, possibly signaling an economic slowdown
Trucking and shipping are the lifeblood of our economy, just as lard and cheap Christmas fudge are the lifeblood of Donald J. Trump. When any of these slow or clot up, the patient is about to faint. Well, look out, and grab onto your doubloons. As the Fed considers whether to begin cutting rates or…
Trump tariffs 'could result in a Bible shortage'
Well, that’s karma — or whatever the Christian equivalent of karma is. Eternal perdition? Because that’s what they’ve given us … So now this is happening: Because they elected Donald Trump, white evangelical Christians could soon be facing a severe Bible shortage. Trump is still threatening a 25 percent tariff on $300 billion of Chinese goods,…
Polls say Michigan voters hate Trump's trade policies … a lot
Winning Michigan is vital to Donald Trump’s hopes in 2020. In fact, the Midwest as a whole is key to his reelection strategy. So it’s notable that his quixotic, high-profile tariffs have been a gut-punch to farmers and autoworkers in Michigan and across the region. We often assume members of Trump’s base are too thick…
Charles M. Blow wonders if Lindsey Graham is being blackmailed; it's a fair question
Like almost every Republican who doesn’t look and act like a golem made of stale circus peanuts, primal shame, and nougat, Lindsey Graham was once a vocal opponent of tariffs and a fierce defender of free trade. Now? He agrees with Donald Trump that we should burn down our relationship with our biggest trading partner because…
Wall Street analysts: Trump's Mexico tariffs will undermine China trade negotiations
Trump’s decision to slap new tariffs on Mexico until Mexico stops airdropping Mexicans onto American strawberry fields and dairy farms will have serious unintended consequences, according to several Wall Street analysts. That is, it’s made the entire world aware of something bankers, building contractors, and Trump University graduates have known for years or even decades: Donald…
Farmers are reportedly running out of patience with Trump and his trade war
I wouldn’t be so sure about farm country coming out in droves for Donald J. Trump in 2020. Many farmers wanted Trump to get tough on China, but the guy who mysteriously lost money running casinos surprisingly has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to complex trade agreements. And farmers are increasingly desperate and…
Tariff increases could cost U.S. households up to $800 on average
Donald Trump is fond of saying we lose billions of dollars to China each year because of our trade deficit with the country — a deficit that has (erp!) somehow hit a record high under Trump’s watch. Of course, that’s a little like saying my trade deficit with Trader Joe’s is unsustainable, so I’m gonna stop…
Dow futures plunge after Trump threatens more tariffs
Donald Trump, write this 100 times on your left moob: China does not pay our tariffs. China does not pay our tariffs. China does not pay our tariffs. x ….of additional goods sent to us by China remain untaxed, but will be shortly, at a rate of 25%. The Tariffs paid to the USA have…
