- Trump has no grasp on reality. The 11% drop in the S&P 500 and erasing $6 trillion of wealth were caused by Trump’s misconceptions about trade deficits. He believes – actually believes — they demonstrate that other countries are ripping us off, that a trade deficit is a loss and that our economy is in decline.
His beliefs expose an unprecedented ignorance in a President. When American businesses buy raw materials from foreign countries they aren’t incurring a loss. They are exchanging currency for something of value that they will profit from.
America’s economy isn’t in decline. It has the world’s strongest economy. The sad irony is that it’s America’s economic strength that empowers Trump to weaponize tariffs to force other countries to bend to his will.
But he’s using America’s power in such an offensive and destructive way that it will result in a catastrophe for America and the global economy. The best measure of the catastrophe is the deep and precipitous crash of American and international stock markets.
Trump’s tariffs will backfire on America just like they in 2017. Then, Retaliatory tariffs cut into profits for agricultural companies and farmers, prompting the U.S. government to pay out billions of dollars to support our farmers. U.S. farm income dropped 13% in 2018. China’s retaliatory tariffs on pork cut U.S. sales to China by 300,000 metric tons. Chinese buyers found companies in Europe and South America to replace pork sales from the US, and in Canada and Brazil to replace the soybeans it used to buy from U.S. farmers
- Trump risks a nuclear crisis. It took General Mark Milley to stop him from using the country’s nuclear arsenal during the last month of his last presidency. There’s no Milley there now, only the sex-offending, alcoholic, unqualified Fox News co-host confirmed by Republican Senators.
- Trump and Senate Republicans put countless lives at stake by appointing anti-vaxxer RFK Jr. as head of the Department of Health. RFK Jr. exaggerates — even invents — the side effects of proven vaccines such as polio, measles and Covid vaccines. He may however improve on Trump’s Covid record, which was worse of any country.
- Trump is eliminating multiple anti-corruption guardrails to create the perfect environment for graft, self-dealing and lucrative influence-peddling. He’s fired the people responsible for policing corruption in the White House, and taken multiple actions, to make it legal. Whistle-blowers from the White House and Department of Justice quit their jobs due to corruption including possible insider trading in the White House timed with announcing the imposition and pausing of tariffs.
- He’s handing Ukraine to Putin and giving him a pass to invade NATO members there, and bully all of Europe to bend to Russia’s interests.
These are catastrophes that Republicans can reverse or avoid, even if it takes impeachment. But sadly, they still lack the spines to confront Trump. If they don’t find the courage, they’ll be responsible for America’s total collapse.
