Donald Trump

Natrional Memo - Over the weekend, as markets continued to plunge both here and abroad, the president told reporters that tariffs are "a very beautiful thing" while observing that "sometimes you have to take medicine." Or inject a fatal dose of bleach into your veins.

To anyone who has observed Trump closely over the course of his career, this catastrophe was predictable as soon as he gained the unchecked sway he now wields in Washington. He is not a "stable genius" with superior genetic endowment, but a spoiled scion of middling intelligence at best. He is not a brilliant negotiator who can conclude the Ukraine war in a single day or bring the Chinese government to heel, but a failed businessman who wrecked his father's real estate company with bad deals and excessive debt.

Having escaped any accountability for the national destruction incurred during his first presidential term — from the mismanaged pandemic that cost a million lives to the violent coup attempt of January 6, 2021 — he has returned to the White House with even greater arrogance, courtesy of the Supreme Court. Secure in power, he is delivering an extremely painful lesson in the consequences of ignorance and incompetence run amok.

 Hayes Brown, MSNBC-   President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” proclamation could have provided a moment of clarity. Wednesday’s announcement was the culmination of months of false starts from his administration over whether it would really follow through on his campaign promise to impose sweeping tariffs on goods imported from across the globe. But now that he’s pulled the trigger, businesses, governments and investors are even more confused about the purpose, or the vision, or the rationale behind the gaping economic wound his colossal import taxes have blasted through global markets.

The Washington Post on Friday detailed the chaotic, last-minute process that resulted in the final tariff rates announced in the Rose Garden, and included a telling quote on how disconnected Trump is from the response to his decision:

“He’s at the peak of just not giving a f--- anymore,” said a White House official with knowledge of Trump’s thinking. “Bad news stories? Doesn’t give a f---. He’s going to do what he’s going to do. He’s going to do what he promised to do on the campaign trail.”

One way to read the official’s characterization is that Trump is broadly indifferent to the public reception to his trade policy. I’d argue it’s just as legible as a description of what seems to have been the thought process going into the decision. Because taken at face value, it’s deeply mystifying what these new taxes are meant to do for the American economy, as consumers are forced to pay thousands of dollars more per year for goods and their retirement accounts are pummeled.