He’s being told by fuckface Navarro that he can break China – BWAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! Right, break what will eventually become the world’s largest market economy. That’s gonna happen right around never.
Understand, yes, we could make China pay in the short-term - like a few years. China’s economy is over-leveraged in some place. I’m not doubting that. But China will recover. They’re 5 times our fucking size and they’re a market economy, and they’ve been preparing for economic warfare with the entire world for decades. The only way you can beat that is turn the entire developed world against China, and signs are, that’s actually possible – a lot of the world feels like they’re getting screwed and bullied by China. Seems like bilateral trade wars is the absolute worst way to go.
Speaking of which, has Trump ever said what he hopes to get out of this whole trade war? I mean, presumably he wants China to alter their trade or economic practices in some way. I can think of a few things, but has Trump ever said what this whole thing is about, what concessions he wants China to make?
The cynic in me wonders if Trump has deliberately kept quiet on the subject so that when the trade war ends, he can point to anything in the agreement and claim victory.
The even bigger cynic in me says that it wouldn’t matter. He could say that the tariffs are about intellectual property protection, sign an agreement without it, and his supporters would never even notice.
A lot of Trump supporters would shoot their own foot because they don’t understand how anatomy works.
“Hey Doc, I’ve been having a lot of trouble walking lately. Can you check me out.”
“Okay, take your shoes off…Oh my God! That’s a bullet wound!”
“Yeah, I know, I shot that foot last week.”
“Why of Earth did you do that?”
“Well, when the President of the United States tells you to shoot your foot, you don’t ask questions. But let’s get on with this exam. I need to know why I’m having trouble walking.”
“What? You’re having trouble walking because your foot has been shot.”
“Explain what my foot has to do with walking. And make it simple so a normal person can understand it. I don’t have one of those fancy college diplomas.”
Yes, it sounds ridiculous. But that’s pretty much the way Trump supporters seem to think the world works.
“Sure, I don’t know anything about economics/foreign affairs/climate science/law but if some expert is telling me something I don’t want to listen to, I just figure my opinion is just as good as his.”
I assume he’s going to huff around some more and talk about how China is cheating us, then when the pressure is really on and he knows he can’t keep going without taking heat for sending the stock market into the toilet, he will quickly sign an agreement and announce that he was super tough and this deal gives the US way more than any president ever wrested from China before or ever will again. His base will probably not actually look at the terms of the agreement.
And if I understand correctly, Mueller’s congressional testimony has been put off again. I guess if he waits until he’s no longer DOJ, then Barr can’t hamstring him like a Fuckin Trump toady naturally would.
Hoo boy, so basically the rest of the country is going to pay higher taxes on goods from China to subsidize tRump’s base (farmers). Just great! We’re going to pay the people who brought us the Cheetolini.