Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Poopymonster]

To be fair, this is a must.
Without an universal one, the goods can go through a 3rd country and get into US.
It only made a middle man (country) rich.

Nah, Trump needs to be able to carve out exceptions for his own companies, those who suck his cock appropriately, or give him enough money to bribe him.

[TACOshake]

So, at what time starts the civil war between MAGA and Temu Stark's bots?

/popcorn

Hard to tell. Rachel Bade is mostly a court stenographer/PR for the Trump admin. Trump or Susie is just floating a trial ballon to see how this plays in the press.
Rachel is just a less horny version of Olivia Nuzzi.

For people asking, the Trump/eDolf split rumor is a "pOLitiCo EXCLUSIVE".

[btlcryct]

Apparently imported meds might be included in the tariffs. Per CNN:

President Donald Trump has floated the idea of higher tariffs on pharmaceutical products, though he has suggested that life-saving drugs could be spared. If they are not, the impact on many Americans could be unthinkable, according to one CEO.

Speaking to BBC World Service radio, Gareth Sheridan, the Irish CEO of Nutriband, a US health care company, noted that Ireland – which exports a lot of pharmaceuticals – makes a wide range of medications, including those used for chemotherapy and for treating heart conditions and diabetes.

“These types of treatments can’t afford a disruption in the global supply chain. You know, as a comparable situation, tariffs on automobiles: You can’t afford a BMW now? Okay, you can buy a Ford and you can still get to work,” he said.

“If you have a 25% hike on chemotherapy and you can’t afford your treatment anymore, what’s the alternative? I mean, ultimately, people are going to die and they’re going to die because they can’t afford to live.”

Remember: Last year, the United States imported $232.7 billion worth of medicinal and pharmaceutical products, based on official US data.

How much you want to bet insurance companies start denying these due to the price increases?

[Mazza]

Trump announces plans to tariff fentanyl.



"Wait...what?"



"...he does know it's illegal and being smuggled, right? Tariffs don't apply to those."

Well again, Trump is insisting on using fentanyl as a prop here. The depiction that Canada is intentionally allowing mass amounts of this admittedly harmful drug into the US on purpose is false. There is a negative change that the USA is importing auto parts from Canada, buoyed by the fentanyl trade. He just needs a National Security Lol and that's what he went with. But yes, announcing a tariff on fentanyl is just senile and/or retarded.

At this rate the Onion is not going to be able to compete with reality anymore

[Rasulis]

Trump seems to prefer 25%, and has been dancing semantics around "universal" recently. I think there's a couple of countries he wants to grant exceptions to and needs a way to do that without looking like he's selling out.

The market shouldn't drop. Everyone knows a massive tariff is coming. Anyone in the business of predicting America's fiscal future knew it sucked months ago and should have sold off by now. There will be a drop, but I don't think it'll be a bad one in a single day. The real drop is the 3,000 points since Trump took office.

I don't think tariff is baked into the market yet. Personally, I am not too concerned about the market. Been through much worse and it always recovered.

I am more concerned with the sufferings that his tariff will bring. I understand that there are a lot of nationalist economists in the administration that would like to bring manufacturing back into the US. Lofty goals. Except that it is not going to bring prices down.

Reshoring cost money. Wages in the US is also higher. Companies are not going to do all that out of the goodness of their heart. Somebody will pay for those. Namely customers. Not to mention that complete reshoring will take decades to complete.

Will reshoring bring more jobs and wages? Maybe. The US is not the blue-collar country it used to be. Our work force has shifted toward more white-collar. Manufacturing has become highly mechanized and automated. The US also lacks the get your hands covered in grease type of mechanical and electrical engineers which will be needed at these new factories. Tons of solid-state electrical engineers that would not even know how to design the wiring of a transformer box. We are not going to be able to train these highly trained workers overnight.

Combined with all the cuts to social services, we are looking at unprecedented level of suffering for those less well off.

[Edge-]

Apparently imported meds might be included in the tariffs. Per CNN:



How much you want to bet insurance companies start denying these due to the price increases?

INFLATION IS SO FUCKING COOL I LOVE INFLATION AND REGRESSIVE TAXATION SO FUCKING MUCH

am i doing it right?

[Rasulis]

INFLATION IS SO FUCKING COOL I LOVE INFLATION AND REGRESSIVE TAXATION SO FUCKING MUCH

am i doing it right?

This sledgehammer approach to tariff is beyond stupid.

Here is an example. The US imposed a 25% tariff on all imported pickup trucks. As a result, domestic carmakers have focused on building big pickup trucks that don't face foreign competition, while largely ignoring the more hotly contested market for sedans. Has it made the price of Ford and GM pickup trucks cheaper? Hell, NO! Even with the tariff, Toyota is still cheaper with better reputation.

It has made GM and Ford lazy. They have less incentive to invest, invent and compete on the world stage. While building big pickup trucks has been very profitable for U.S. automakers here at home, there's not much market for those vehicles elsewhere around the world. Protected companies tend to grow complacent.

Outside the US, Toyota is king. The Chinese companies are catching up fast.

[Edge-]

This sledgehammer approach to tariff is beyond stupid.

Here is an example. The US imposed a 25% tariff on all imported pickup trucks. As a result, domestic carmakers have focused on building big pickup trucks that don't face foreign competition, while largely ignoring the more hotly contested market for sedans. Has it made the price of Ford and GM pickup trucks cheaper? Hell, NO! Even with the tariff, Toyota is still cheaper with better reputation.

It has made GM and Ford lazy. They have less incentive to invest, invent and compete on the world stage. While building big pickup trucks has been very profitable for U.S. automakers here at home, there's not much market for those vehicles elsewhere around the world.

Outside the US, Toyota is king. The Chinese companies are catching up fast.

a lot of the US feels like its sleepwalking through the good times expecting them to never end and i fear they're ending rather quickly as they were always built on a shaky, temporary foundation that we never shored up as a nation (in large part because republicans seemingly want the nation in this precarious position)

[btlcryct]

INFLATION IS SO FUCKING COOL I LOVE INFLATION AND REGRESSIVE TAXATION SO FUCKING MUCH

am i doing it right?

Not enough "CrY MoRe LibTards, GiVe Me More Lib TeArs!!!!!11!!!!"

[Draco-Onis]

Not enough "CrY MoRe LibTards, GiVe Me More Lib TeArs!!!!!11!!!!"

The republican base core belief right now is that we should stab ourselves so we can nick liberals. Every foreign country is micro targeting red states more than blue ones, that's not even going into the fact that all these federal cuts will affect them more.

[Moralgy]

Elon is actually out here complaining about billionaires in the Wisconsin election... I seriously can not at how stupid this is.

[Edge-]

Elon is actually out here complaining about billionaires in the Wisconsin election... I seriously can not at how stupid this is.

everything is always projection from republicans

fucking always

elon is everything republicans have antisemetically accused george soros of all these years

[Xath]

So, at what time starts the civil war between MAGA and Temu Stark's bots?

/popcorn

He wishes he was Stark he's a discount Justin Hammer takes other people's work and claims he was the main force behind it.

[Edge-]

He wishes he was Stark he's a discount Justin Hammer takes other people's work and claims he was the main force behind it.

discount justin hammer who, importantly, cannot fucking dance. justin hammer could tear it up on the dance floor, yo

[Xath]

Hard to tell. Rachel Bade is mostly a court stenographer/PR for the Trump admin. Trump or Susie is just floating a trial ballon to see how this plays in the press.
Rachel is just a less horny version of Olivia Nuzzi.

For people asking, the Trump/eDolf split rumor is a "pOLitiCo EXCLUSIVE".

My guess the tech wannabe feudal lords get given a significant chunk of Our federal lands to create their freedum cities on and in return the repubs get to blame everything on Elon and hope their constituents are dumb enough to buy that as they carry on cutting the government to pieces.

[Kaleredar]

a lot of the US feels like its sleepwalking through the good times expecting them to never end and i fear they're ending rather quickly as they were always built on a shaky, temporary foundation that we never shored up as a nation (in large part because republicans seemingly want the nation in this precarious position)

It’s the idea that the reason America is great is because America is America, instead of any actual foundational principles beyond vague notions of “freedom” and “democracy,” and therefore no amount of tariffs or any such thing that pits America against a foreign entity (so to speak) can bring it low because “America.”

You have people like @Somewhatconcerned who doesn’t economically understand what’s going on saying “but don’t bet against America!” as some sort of retort to every actual economist saying Trump’s tariffs and other general fuckery is colossally bad idea. @tehdang doesn’t seem to keen on these tariffs but doesn’t seem particularly fussed about the dire economic peril and because of what I assume is that same “America is America and America will always win” mentality.

And that’s not hope at that point, it’s denial.

If America scrapes its way out of this, it’s going to be a liberal president fighting tooth and nail to undo everything Trump is currently doing.

[Breccia]

White House gleefully announces biggest tax increase in American history.

White House aide Peter Navarro claimed Sunday that Trump’s new tariffs would raise more than $6 trillion in federal revenue over the next decade, a figure that experts said would almost certainly represent the largest peacetime tax hike in modern U.S. history.

Appearing on Fox News *ding* Navarro said the president’s tariffs on auto imports, set to take effect Wednesday, would raise $100 billion per year. Meanwhile, a regime of additional tariffs — details of which have yet to be released — would raise another $600 billion per year, or $6 trillion over the next decade, Navarro said.

Navarro’s remarks suggest Trump is preparing dramatic new measures for Wednesday, which the president has referred to as “Liberation Day.” Navarro is among the most hawkish voices on trade in the president’s inner circle, and it was not immediately clear whether he was previewing official administration policy or speaking for one side of an internal debate over the tariffs.

"Does this figure include that the higher prices mean people stop buying?"

He didn't say.

"Does he know that American taxpayers will pay these tariffs?"

Yes. But he didn't admit it.

Also speaking on Fox News on Sunday *ding* Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, declined to outline Trump’s tariff plans.

“I can’t give you any forward-looking guidance on what’s going to happen this week,” said Hassett, who is widely regarded as more skeptical of tariffs than Navarro. “The president has got a heck of a lot of analysis before him, and he’s going to make the right choice, I’m sure.”

Extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is projected to cost roughly $4 trillion over the next decade, adding roughly $400 billion a year to the national debt.

"So, the tariffs will cover the tax cut?"

Actually, legally, no I don't think so, which brings up another issue. The reason the tax cut for the rich was temporary for average taxpayers was because there was a built-in limit the GOP could legally not bypass. Tariffs are not and were not part of it, and as long as Trump insists on applying them unilaterally, they can't be. You can't say "this tax cut bill won't affect the deficit, due to other things that aren't in the tax cut bill" and expect that to work with the parliamentarian.

This is likely why Republicans are going to "go nuclear" on the tax extension. The current plan seems to be to lie about the tax cut for the rich being "current policy" then say that extending those cuts won't change anything from current policy, letting them pass them in a normal House/Senate vote. Even though, yes, they're due to expire this year. It's a blatant lie and everyone knows it.

Initially, Republicans were expected to seek a green light on using “current policy” from the Senate parliamentarian, who advises the chamber on its rules and parliamentary procedure. But a meeting between the parliamentarian and Democratic and Republican budget staffers was canceled on Tuesday, a sign that Senate Republicans are planning to go their own way.

Republican leaders argued in a closed-door lunch on Tuesday that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has sufficient authority under the Congressional Budget Act to score their reconciliation bill using “current policy” himself, without needing a ruling from the parliamentarian.

“By law — it is the chairman’s call,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told HuffPost.

In other words, the idea of Republicans ignoring reality is about to be used as evidence.

[Edge-]

thanks for the biggest regressive tax increase in modern us history, republicans

which followed the most unpopular tax cut in modern us history, previously.

it's astounding how bad republicans are at this yet how americans keep rewarding them

[tehdang]

@tehdang doesn’t seem to keen on these tariffs but doesn’t seem particularly fussed

I don't do the performative fussing that I see many forum members find necessary for whatever reason. Tariffs are bad, they've always been bad. They may doom Trump's presidency and legacy and the Republican party in the midterms and 2028. But I gather the truth on tariffs is generally well-known here, so being the sixth or seventh person to predict economic damage to Trump's voting coalition (and the country at large) is quite unnecessary.

[Breccia]

so being the sixth or seventh person to predict economic damage to Trump's voting coalition (and the country at large) is quite unnecessary.

That's some damage control, right there. "Six or seventh"? You're short by about eight orders of magnitude. Hey, why'd you vote for him? Was it the dictator thing you accept and approve of? I think it was the dictator thing you accept and approve of.