Trump's Second Term

[Jack by the hedge]

Anyone have an idea why he's so hung up on 'trade deficit' idea in the first place? Is it just one of those random ball bouncing around in his pachinko machine brain, or are there adults behind him who push and reinforce the idea for some reason?

It's not his idea. It's a rather arbitrary way to measure trade in goods which tends to make things look unfair on the US and is just a handy excuse to levy more tax on imports.

Of course goods manufactured in a wealthy, high wage country will cost more than those made in a poor, low-wage one. It's obvious and unsurprising that poor countries will sell more stuff to the US than they can afford to buy in return. Yet this is Trump's measure of unfairness, to which he retaliates with tariffs.

The authors of this idea think it will promote growth in the US and that will eventually more than cancel out the downside which is that these tariffs are a tax increase. They're taxes levied on Americans buying imported stuff, and paid into the US treasury. I have a suspicion they will turn out to be wrong, but <shrug> I'm no economist.

 

[dirtywick]

Trump's letter to the Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Embarrassing even by Trump standards

https://twitter.com/x/status/1942322843288555925

i've seen this letter a bunch of times today with other countries and different numbers in it, but the exact same text. they sent out that letter to everyone.

Trump sends letters with new tariff rates on goods to 14 countries, with more to come

President Trump posted letters he sent to 14 country leaders — including Japan and South Korea — on social media Monday, informing them of the new rates.

www.kpbs.org

look at the text of the pic it to japan

what a ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ lunatic

 

[shemp]

Trump's letter to the Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Embarrassing even by Trump standards

https://twitter.com/x/status/1942322843288555925

This is so ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ pathetic!!! The entire world is laughing at him!!! It looks like it was written by a nine-year-old!!! YOU FAT, STUPID, PATHETIC, BLOATED IIIIIIIIIIIDIOT!!!

 

[Trebuchet]

Is he actually Sharpieing the signature on each one of those, or do they have a machine to do it for him?

 

[Armitage72]

Of course goods manufactured in a wealthy, high wage country will cost more than those made in a poor, low-wage one. It's obvious and unsurprising that poor countries will sell more stuff to the US than they can afford to buy in return. Yet this is Trump's measure of unfairness, to which he retaliates with tariffs.

It's like being a carpenter, ordering a pizza, and then complaining that the pizzeria is "cheating you" and "taking advantage of you" because they didn't buy a custom cabinet from you.

 

[dirtywick]

Is he actually Sharpieing the signature on each one of those, or do they have a machine to do it for him?

if there's one thing i know about trump, it's that he loves writing stuff with a sharpie. if there's two things i know about trump, it's that he likes having russian prostitutes pee on him.

 

[dirtywick]

It's like being a carpenter, ordering a pizza, and then complaining that the pizzeria is "cheating you" and "taking advantage of you" because they didn't buy a custom cabinet from you.

and then burning $8 every time you order a pizza in the future so making a pizza yourself seems like a better deal

 

[shemp]

Is he actually Sharpieing the signature on each one of those, or do they have a machine to do it for him?

The only surprising thing is that the letter wasn't handwritten in crayon! Oh, I forgot, Eric ate all the crayons!

 

[Norman Alexander]

That letter will be treated like the joke it is. The total import value from Bosnia and Herzegovina was about $250 million last year. Nothing, a drop in the ocean of US imports. The products imported, mostly explosive ammunition, can easily go elsewhere...like Ukraine. So no tariff money there.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

It's like being a carpenter, ordering a pizza, and then complaining that the pizzeria is "cheating you" and "taking advantage of you" because they didn't buy a custom cabinet from you.

Indeed. What the US does have in its favour is economies of scale, so it can make stuff cheaper for its domestic market than smaller developed nations can because its home market is so huge. That makes some export goods viable. But it's never going to be price competitive with poor countries in goods where wages are a big part of the cost because workers there can live well on wages an American can't possibly survive on.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

and then burning $8 every time you order a pizza in the future so making a pizza yourself seems like a better deal

It's more like your landlord charging you $8 every time, for letting the pizza guy into your building. Then gaslighting you it's somehow a tariff on the Italians, yet half your fellow tenants are somehow bamboozled into believing him even as they hand over their 8 bucks.

 

[Andy_Ross]

This is so ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ pathetic!!! The entire world is laughing at him!!! It looks like it was written by a nine-year-old!!! YOU FAT, STUPID, PATHETIC, BLOATED IIIIIIIIIIIDIOT!!!

Lol I use that clip in a lot of replies on Twitter.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

He never heard of the place before the name was copy pasted in to the letter for him.

 

[Andy_Ross]

He's changed his mind already.

Trump says he may extend the tariff deadline past August 1

https://twitter.com/x/status/1942370817855090946

 

[Andy_Ross]

His ultimatum letters are open for negotiation

REPORTER: Are the tariff letters you sent to today final offers?

TRUMP: More or less final offer. We're always subject to negotiate something that's fair.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1942370711818862805

 

[Andy_Ross]

How to get what you want from Donald

Netanyahu: I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee, nominating you for the peace prize, which is well-deserved

Trump: Wow

https://twitter.com/x/status/1942370585994231861

 

[shemp]

His ultimatum letters are open for negotiation

REPORTER: Are the tariff letters you sent to today final offers?

TRUMP: More or less final offer. We're always subject to negotiate something that's fair.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1942370711818862805

Going to Texas on Friday? Why don't you go to Hell you stupid fat bloated festering pile of pig ◊◊◊◊!

 

[Andy_Ross]

REPORTER: What happened to 90 trade deals in 90 days?

TRUMP: It's all done. I told you we'll make some deals, but for the most part we're gonna send a letter

https://twitter.com/x/status/1942373980372971903

 

[grunion]

I am horrified by this Everglades prison camp. Did they write Arbeit Macht Frei over the front gate? This feels very serious, like an unabashed veer in the fascist direction. Smells like Steven Miller with Dicktraitor bouncing with joy. My they both live to know the life of barbed wire from the inside.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

I am horrified by this Everglades prison camp. Did they write Arbeit Macht Frei over the front gate? This feels very serious, like an unabashed veer in the fascist direction. Smells like Steven Miller with Dicktraitor bouncing with joy. My they both live to know the life of barbed wire from the inside.

It’s horrible.

More horrible is it may just serve as a way station to immigrants on their way to prisons in El Salvador or South Sudan or God knows where. Which the Supreme Court has green lighted. Disgraceful.