Tag: donald trump
Macron and Trump

Enraged By Rate Hike, Trump Threatens To Expand Trade War Again (Huh?)

Donald Trump seems determined to outdo himself on crazy every day. Many people thought he had hit peak crazy when he threatened to tear down the Kennedy Center if they wouldn’t let him put his name on it, but he quickly took crazy to the next level. He is now threatening to cut off trade with some countries because the Fed raised interest rates on Wednesday.

If the threat to cut off trade as a response to a Fed rate hike doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not clear what Trump imagines he can accomplish by cutting off trade with a country. It will hurt the country with whom we stop doing business, just as it would hurt Michigan if Ohio stopped trading with it, but it will also hurt American households. The loss of imports will mean shortages and higher prices. If we also stop exports to a country, it will mean a loss of jobs.

Trump didn’t say which countries he wanted to end trade with, but we can have some fun speculating. So here are my top three candidates, along with the items where our markets would be most affected.

Canada

Trump would almost certainly put Canada at the top of his list of trade enemies. After all, they sell us all sorts of things; what could be worse than that? This is probably the most absurd of Trump’s targets. Canada has been a close ally for more than a century. Their trade is being governed by a trade agreement negotiated by Donald Trump in his first term, which Trump insists was signed by a stupid president.

The largest import from Canada is 3.9 million barrels a day of oil, roughly 20% of our total consumption. If Trump were to suddenly cut off this flow, to make good on his plan to end trade with Canada, we can expect an enormous surge in gas prices, likely on the order of several dollars a gallon. There would almost certainly be shortages in many areas as new distribution networks would need to be established.

Another major import is cars and car parts, which came to $45.8 billion last year. This would put upward pressure on vehicle prices due to less competition, but more importantly, it would throw a huge monkey wrench into the domestic industry. More of the parts used in assembling vehicles in the United States come from Canada. In principle, these parts can be produced here, but it would take many years to develop this capacity. In the meantime, our industry would be seriously hampered by the inability to get necessary parts. Again, this almost certainly means much higher car prices and shortages of many models.

Two other major imports are lumber at $10.2 billion and aluminum at $9.7 billion. These are both intermediate inputs into the production process. If we lost access to imports from Canada look to much higher house prices, as new construction becomes far more expensive. Similarly, it will be difficult to replace the aluminum the U.S. gets from Canada. This would make airplanes and other products produced in the United States far more expensive.

Spain

Spain likely also features prominently on Trump’s target list. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has repeatedly stood up to Trump openly. He refused to go along with Trump’s demand that NATO countries increase their military spending to 5% of GDP. He also has been extremely critical of Israel’s mass murder of Palestinians. This has led to explicit warnings of retaliation from Netanyahu. Trump may opt to ban trade with Spain as part of this retaliation.

Spain is a much less consequential trading partner than Canada, being on the other side of the Atlantic and also orienting most of its trade towards the European Union. Our largest imports from Spain are $2.9 billion in pharmaceutical products, $2.6 billion in machinery, and $2.0 billion in electrical equipment.

None of these are especially large for the U.S. economy, but the loss of imports from Spain would almost certainly mean selective shortages and higher prices. Again, these items can be replaced with imports from elsewhere and domestic production, but it will take time.

France

A third likely target is France, first and foremost because its president, Emmanuel Macron, is articulate and internationally respected, and far better looking than Donald Trump. Along with the rest of the European Union, he also has refused to go along with Trump’s war on Iran.

Our largest imports from France are similar to the ones from Spain, but the amounts are much larger: pharmaceutical products, $11.6 billion, machinery $10.5 billion, and aircraft and parts, $6.1 billion. These can be replaced, but not overnight. A cutoff of trade would lead to shortages in many items and lead to serious upward pressure on prices.

How Much Will Americans Pay for Trump’s Quixotic Trade War?

These are my top three candidates for Trump’s trade embargo, but who knows? Trump’s trade wars are not being driven by any rational strategy; it is a question of who happens to get him angry over something, and who will bribe him to not cut off trade.

It’s also possible that Trump just backs down or forgets about his threats. That happens all the time. How many times has he said he was going to destroy Iranian civilization and then, thankfully, forgotten or ignored his threat? Remember the 50% tariffs he threatened to impose on India for buying Russian oil? Trump doesn’t seem to.

Trump makes all sorts of half-baked threats all the time, and the absurd threat to retaliate against a Fed rate hike with random trade embargos is certainly a serious half-baked threat. But it is one that people should keep an eye on.

If Trump does move forward on the threat, it would amount to a big new tax and economic disruption at a time when most people are already feeling pinched. If Trump has his little embargo(s) before the election, it would likely further damage Republican electoral prospects. If he plans to wait until after the election, I guess Republicans can say that the taxes and shortages are their reward for having Trump in the White House.

Dean Baker is a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the author of the 2016 book Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer. Please consider subscribing to his Substack, from which this is reprinted with permission.

Ignorance Plus Arrogance: What The Real 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' Has Wrought

Ignorance Plus Arrogance: What The Real 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' Has Wrought

If there is any single person who bears responsibility for the Iran war and its calamitous consequences – aside from Donald Trump – it is his son-in-law and diplomat plenipotentiary, Jared Kushner. Bumbling but conceited, ill-informed but haughty, the New Jersey real estate heir (and his trusty sidekick Steve Witkoff, a Bronx tenement hustler) drove us blindly into a military conflict because, according toThe New Yorker, he had no idea what the Iranians were offering to prevent it.

In the magazine’s damning profile, Dexter Filkins reveals the breathtaking arrogance behind Kushner’s failures, both in Iran and Ukraine, where he and Witkoff likewise botched their peacemaking mission. Unduly distracted by greedy grasping or simply too stupid to know what he didn’t know, Kushner exemplifies what might accurately be termed Trump Derangement Syndrome: the belief, mirroring the president’s own bloated self-esteem, that “only I can fix it,” whatever it is.

Highlighting a 2024 speech that Kushner delivered at Harvard – where his father once paid $2.5 million to gain his admission – Filkins deftly captures both the overweening self-regard and the shallow disdain for experience, knowledge, and real achievement. In that address Kushner disparaged the 2015 Obama nuclear deal with Iran as “one of the dumbest agreements” ever and the 1993 Oslo peace accords as “a total failure.” Of his own work during the first Trump administration, he boasted: “My track record of success in the Middle East I do think is second to none over the last many years.”

If success means pulling down billion-dollar bribe-like investments in his private fund by the region’s despotic regimes, that would be hard to dispute. Meanwhile, the Iran war drags on with no exit and nothing but shame, expense, economic hardship and pointless bloodshed for the US and its allies.

The style of Trump Derangement Syndrome exemplified by the president and Kushner is epidemic among his top appointees. Trump has an unerring sense of how to choose individuals who mimic his worst qualities, with predictably bad results. An outstanding example is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the historically underqualified military chief who insists on being called the “Secretary of War.” His mismanagement of this war -- and his ongoing attempt to conceal its actual damage to our soldiers, our defense infrastructure and our security – displays a level of incompetence rarely seen even in the Pentagon, which is saying a lot. Troops in the region have sent clandestine images and messages exposing what Hegseth and Trump have tried to hide.

Perhaps that’s why House members are tabling resolutions to impeach Hegseth, which forced Speaker Mike Johnson to recess early this week so that Republicans could avoid an embarrassing vote.

Across the Trump 2.0 cabinet, we see again and again the same blustering, ignorant and ultimately ruinous conduct modeled by the president for his subordinates. Loudmouthed and obnoxious, they respect no authority or expertise except what they claim to see in Trump, to whom they defer with a sickening sycophancy.

The examples are legion, but some are more dangerous to the nation than others. Among the very worst, of course, is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the health secretary whose tenure has seen deadly outbreaks of measles, a disease formerly eradicated on these shores until he undermined vaccination, and cyclosporiasis, a parasite that ravaged communities after cuts to the systems that control such threats. When Kennedy isn’t lying, which is almost always, he is uttering nonsense that makes scientists blanch. Naturally he has spent years slandering Dr. Anthony Fauci, a dedicated official with actual knowledge about infectious diseases and public health. Bobby would rather rely on a mish-mash of murky opinions from online weirdos profiting off snake-oil remedies. It’s the worst of the 19th century delivered at 21st century velocity.

The list goes on and on and on, over the horizon of doom. Consider Elon Musk, a presumptuous fool whose “efficiency” in cutting government caused hundreds of thousands of deaths abroad (and could still bring a record-breaking and incurable Ebola infection over here). Or Todd Blanche, whose jaw-jutting approach to federal prosecutions has hollowed out the Justice Department and wrecked the criminal justice system. Or Kash Patel, the perk-abusing imbecile who has dismantled federal law enforcement and the country’s counter-intelligence capabilities, to the delight of our adversaries in Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

Nobody who knows Kushner or Hegseth or Kennedy or Patel – or Trump -- is shocked by this performance. What remains shocking still is how so much of the country has come to accept the unacceptable.


Those qualities

Greg Abbott

Greg's Folly: Texas Gov. Abbott Gets Hoisted On His Own High-Tech Petard

Greg Abbott, the right-wing hack who is governor of Texas, probably doesn't know what a "petard" is, but he's now been hoisted by a big one. "Hoist on a petard" is a Shakespearean phrase for a bomb maker being blown sky-high by his own creation.

Abbott's bombastic saga began last year, when he noticed that high-tech billionaires were waving political cash at lawmakers who'd help them build massive AI data centers across America. Sniffing a quid pro quo bonanza, Abbott shoved his way to the front of that money hustle, loudly proclaiming that, by golly, he would make Texas the "epicenter of AI development." Not only did he pour massive taxpayer subsidies into the billionaires' pockets, but he even passed a law making it illegal for local officials to interfere with the profiteers.

Sure enough, Texas is now the world's top location for these corporate invaders — so way to go, Guv! But ... oops. The governor's giveaway is now called Greg's Folly, for the vast majority of Texans (especially rural Republicans) don't just oppose his AI data centers — they despise, abominate, HATE them. And they're now in angry grassroots revolt against the perpetrators, including Greg.

So, hoist on his own petard, Abbott has now flip-flopped from hypester to reformer, comically demanding an end to the tax giveaways he created; he's frantically trying to regulate AI projects he deregulated; and now crying that the rural voice he silenced must be heard.

Sadly for him, those billionaires he courted so passionately are now laughing at him. When he recently commanded all data center owners to report their water usage to him, more than 70 percent simply ignored the petty tyrant.

Corporate Data Centers + NDAs = Secret Government

A West Texas cowboy saying advises: "Never sign nothing by neon."

But that's exactly the key operational method of the AI data center hucksters who're foisting their exploitative, multibillion-dollar scams on local folks all across America. Corporate slicks for outfits like Amazon, Meta, OpenAI and Google are slithering through the countryside, luring locals to surrender land, water, electric power and democratic rights to profiteering billionaires who promise pie-in-the-sky prosperity.

The deals are typically cut in the dim light of secret meetings, where corporate lawyers whisper to bedazzled local officials: "Just sign here, cowboy." The key to this mass deception is a legalistic corporate contrivance called an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). It allows data center owners and a small group of insiders to "negotiate" a raw deal for area residents by hiding essential details from the public. Details like: Who pays, how much, who profits, what are the side effects, who's responsible for damages ... and why the hell is this room so dark?

These NDAs even have corporate code names like "Project Lightning." What's the rush? As one opponent of a Louisiana rush job said, "We live here. We want to know how it impacts us." The inside schemers pushing that deal clucked sympathetically, winked at each other, then assured bothersome locals that "an independent study" had shown the proposed data center would cause no harm. However, the profiteers said the study itself could not be released for public review. Why? Because the developer had covered it with an NDA.

Government by corporate-imposed secrecy is totalitarianism. Didn't "We the People" have an armed revolution against that 250 years ago?

Jim Hightower is an author, public speaker, radio commentator and former Texas Railroad Commissioner.

Putin and Kremlev

House Democrats Open Probe Of Don Jr's 'Wedding Gift' From Kremlin Oligarch

The House Oversight Committee has begun investigating the role of Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev in financing Donald Trump Jr.’s recent nuptials.

On Tuesday, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, sent a letter to Don Jr. instructing him to preserve all records, documents and communication referencing his relationship to the oligarch, who is an ally of Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin.

“Oversight Democrats are investigating the numerous ways in which you have sought to enrich yourself and your family on the basis of your proximity to President Donald Trump,” Garcia wrote.

“As the son of President Donald Trump and the part-owner and major investor of multiple companies with extensive Department of Defense contracts, your praise of such an ‘extraordinarily generous wedding gift’ from a member of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s inner circle raises serious questions about pay-to-play schemes and foreign intelligence infiltration of the President’s family,” he continued.

Garcia has also written to Susie Wiles, President Trump’s chief of staff, requesting information on the ties between Kremlev and the Trump administration. Garcia noted that Trump failed to attend his son’s wedding to socialite Bettina Anderson and asked if Kremlev’s role and presence was related to the decision. Garcia also asked about the status of Don Jr.’s security clearance and if Kremlev had been identified as one of his foreign contacts.

The probe was triggered by a ProPublica report published Monday documenting the extensive role Kremlev played in financing the wedding. Despite the Trump family’s vast wealth, the Russian paid for much of the three-day party and wedding ceremony held on a private island. Records show Kremlev paid for lodging, fireworks, and other expenses for the 50-strong celebration.

Don Jr. accepted foreign financing for his wedding despite reports indicating he is worth at least $300 million, raising the question of whether Kremlev was paying for access and influence over the presidency.

The wedding disclosure is just the latest in a well-documented close relationship between the Trump family and Russian assets. Most notably, a bipartisan Senate investigation concluded in 2020 that Russia had intervened in the 2016 election, with an eye toward electing Trump over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The elder Trump has consistently bent to Putin’s demands during both of his terms as president, including most recently pressuring Ukraine to refrain from attacks on Russia, despite years of bombardment from Russian forces trying to invade the neighboring nation.

When he isn’t doing as Russia desires, Donald Trump has thoroughly integrated corruption into his presidency, often prioritizing his personal enrichment over U.S. national security and economic stability.

Congressional Republicans under House Speaker Mike Johnson have declined to provide oversight of Trump’s actions. With their response to the Russian financing, Democrats have made clear that if they win this fall’s elections, more investigations are coming.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos



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