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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRepublicans don't grasp what's about to hit them
...if Trump doesn't pull the plug on his world wide trade war really soon. Increasingly, it's looking like he won't, probably because he knows he won't get away with spinning it as a win if he does. Earlier, he might have pulled that off, at least in the eyes of his base. Behind the scenes he could have worked out some face saving gestures that Mexico, Canada, and Europe might have allowed him, some minuscule concessions on their parts, that Trump could have inflated beyond all rational bounds to claim "victory." Now however he's poured so much gasoline on the fire that other nations increasingly are defiant. None trust Trump at his word, it is worth nothing. Why make concessions for good will when no good will will be given in return? More likely, sensing weakness, Trump would just stab them in the back,
Trump has boxed himself in with these trade wars, the only thing he is wired to do is escalate. He is psychologically incapable of a full scale retreat. Increasingly I believe America's recent strong allies will comprehend that the best way to neuter Trump is to turn the American public strongly against him. To make that happen, Americans need to suffer real economic pain, that can be pinned directly on Trump. The trade wars that Trump launched will do just that. Of course the people of our until recent allies will suffer also, but Trump has stoked Anti-American feelings inside all of those nations. They won't blink first, it has become almost a real war and they know that Trump must first be humbled, and then destroyed. They will blame Trump as well, not their own governments.
The plummeting stock market has broken through and captured the American public's attention, but that is just the opening act. Trade war sticker shock has yet to take hold. Prices are about to rise sharply for goods and services across the board. When they do, those who brought it on, Trump, Musk, and their sycophants in Congress, will face widespread public rage, and all their ravings against transgenders in women's sports will fail to deflect it.

malaise
(281,706 posts)The more blabbermouth talks, the worse it gets
https://www.google.com/search?q=dow+kive&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-jm&client=safari
republianmushroom
(19,011 posts)bucolic_frolic
(49,158 posts)I don't remember TBTF's turning out very well in the Great Recession.
NEOBuckeye
(2,862 posts)Why else would be acting like he is? He believes hes unstoppable.
And its not like anyone has ever held him accountable.
Texin
(2,707 posts)elocs
(23,571 posts)like he would be in prison soon, a joke who was no danger to America. We were cocky and overconfident and complacent at the same time. Who would ever vote for Trump except for the maga crowd. But we were so sure Harris would win while Musk was stealing the elections in the swing states which beyond the law of averages, Trump won all 7 of them.
dutch777
(4,013 posts)...from US banks and other $$ denominated investments. Most foreigners don't need to travel here, buy our whiskey and other goods or invest in our stock market. Those dollars not showing up will more quickly hit home than the 2026 election or any amount of letters to our elected representatives.
C_U_L8R
(46,586 posts)Trump Trumps scheming bullshit.
SWBTATTReg
(24,961 posts)our spiraling deficits, especially those of tRUMP's endless spending such as the one giving more tax breaks to the 1%ers again.
ms liberty
(10,029 posts)That other nations don't have to submit to his threats and demands.
Orrex
(64,857 posts)With predictions of imminent collapse and implosion at every step, yet somehow theyve gotten stronger and more dominant with each passing year.
Ill believe that the party is in trouble when people are ashamed to refer to Republicans in public and they no longer hold power. Until then, they are a bigger and more powerful threat each day.
clevergrrrl
(45 posts)werent rank & file republicans disowning him? To this day, they still seem to not like him, especially after he got cozy with Michelle Obama. Even Reagan's shine is getting dimmer, they seem to be replacing Reagan with Trump. These a$$hole MAGAts have the attention span of a flea. Whatever rotten festering racist festering hatred that exists in the world will find it's way and get a R brand. Been like that since the Civil War.
Wiz Imp
(4,151 posts)birdographer
(2,826 posts)Excellent points. Trump is a wimp, a weasel, a bully who is all bluster. All of his strings are being pulled by Putin and Musk, and donny has just said Yeah, ok, whatever and gone off to golf. He has no concept of how tariffs work, never mind the effect on Americans. He thinks that proclaiming something makes it true. He thinks he is a powerful and feared leader, when in fact he gets no respect from anyone. Everyone thinks he is a stupid, stupid little man who wears too much orange makeup. This includes his beloved Putin and Musk.
But now other countries are pushing back. The bully has been forced into this corner by Musk and Putin, and its too late to sneak out.
And yes, the damage he has done has just started. The cult is just on the edge of finding out who their leader is. Another month or two and lets see what they do.
Vinca
(51,726 posts)It was in really good condition and although I didn't want to fork over $10 for it, I stopped to read the front page. It felt like everything old is new again. Stock market crashing was the news of the day. Just like today.
elocs
(23,571 posts)What are the odds that her son would be forced to live through the next big Depression as an old man. I don't anticipate it will be like The Waltons though.
PortTack
(35,363 posts)Lonestarblue
(12,388 posts)Some will, especially those with stock market investments. But too many others believe his lies that hes cleaning out the Deep State, making America stronger by telling the rest of the world what they need to do to please us, and that his tariffs and policies will cause only a little bit of pain followed by huge job creation and riches for everyone, especially them. The MAGA cult is not filled with great thinkers who can make connections between huge cuts to Medicaid and no nursing home for grandma when she can no longer be cared for at home or even local hospitals forced to close down because they too rely on Medicaid. Nor are they knowledgeable about global markets and politics or the impact that our loss of global leadership will have on a future possibly controlled by China or Russia. Trump is their savior and they will believe that he is the best president ever no matter whatand that means they will vote for Republicans to protect him.
Wonder Why
(5,261 posts)force other countries to bend to his will with threats. He doesn't care how he destroys other countries, democracies or not, or whether it destroys ours in the process. Being the most powerful one around, we can be the biggest force for good or the biggest bully. He has chosen the latter.
GaYellowDawg
(4,935 posts)When Trump's cuts to Medicaid and Medicare kick in and they can't put Mamaw in a nursing home, you know what's going to happen? Fox News will say "You see? Government doesn't work" and they'll all say "Yeah! Gubmint don't work! Gubmint evil!"
Ronald Reagan got this all started with his "most frightening words" bullshit and it's been pounded in for TWO GENERATIONS that gubmint is evil, gubmint don't work. Now they're reaping the fruits of it and I don't know how the hell that gets fixed. Especially with the penetration of Fox News everywhere and its intertwining with the Big Jesus religious machine in this country.
radius777
(3,892 posts)today was for the period (Feb) before the tariffs started to take effect, and I wonder if we can even trust the numbers coming out of Trump's gov't. But prices are surely going up as importers pass on the tariffs to consumers... inputs for production all around will go up.
Globalism has always been good, in terms of lowering prices and boosting production, as it allows each country to do what it does best and trade... comparative advantage. There are issues with it, but most economists on the left and right support free trade. It's just not possible to have a prosperous 1st world country otherwise.
617Blue
(1,735 posts)They won't pay the consequences.
flashman13
(1,035 posts)Therefore, the sooner it happens the better. He who lives by the economy can also die by the economy. 49.9% of the voters bought tRump's economic nonsense during the election. Very few of them will escape the economic pain. Nothing gets peoples attention faster than an attack on their wallet. The people that have already been hurt, many that voted MAGA, have already turned against him. So, keep up the good work Donny.
Amendment 25 tRump! 86 eLoon
markodochartaigh
(2,437 posts)Of the voters who bothered to vote. About one third can't be bothered to vote as long as they get their hamberders and sportsball.
flashman13
(1,035 posts)So they just stayed home.
LymphocyteLover
(7,517 posts)Jimvanhise
(398 posts)Multiple bankruptcies have proven this, along with the many millions of dollars secretly funneled to him by his father to keep him afloat.
LymphocyteLover
(7,517 posts)Tom Rinaldo
(23,058 posts)But we know one thing, Trump refuses to admit when he has lost. But people can't eat Trump's spin, or fill up their tanks with it. When inflation really cuts in Trump won't be able to spin it as "a win" for America. And it looks like his ego won't let him drop his tariffs before the damage is already done.
BattleRow
(1,457 posts)Dave Bowman
(4,773 posts)Evolve Dammit
(20,272 posts)ReRe
(11,357 posts)Exactly, Tom. The world knows what it is dealing with. Evidently Musk and Trump don't. What they've done is irreversible.
pfitz59
(11,365 posts)and people are pissed! Summer is coming and folks are making plans. If Congress punts, I predict a bad outcome.
Attilatheblond
(5,384 posts)and feed him his own balls on toast
Random Boomer
(4,289 posts)The reason we're being fed through the meat grinder in the first place is that Trump is lashing out for having his pride wounded by Trudeau and by European leaders. He knows they're laughing at him, and he's seeking revenge using the power of the presidency to do it.
He doesn't care what that personal vendetta does to the country. He only cares about getting back at people who mock him and do not give him the "respect" he thinks he deserves.
Attilatheblond
(5,384 posts)And he HAS to punish us. But no punishment feels like enough to assuage his fury so he keeps upping the damage he does in the useless attempt to make himself feel better.
He IS the biggest threat to this country, and possibly the world. Nothing, like his niece points out, is ever enough. Seems like Elon has the same malady.
Grins
(8,116 posts)
on the world.
Impeachment? OK. But then you have Pres. Vance.
What is needed is nut-crushing victories in the mid-terms!
60 D Senators.
260 Ds in the House.
elocs
(23,571 posts)Vance is an opportunist, a never-trumper when he thought Hillary would and a Trump suck-up when he thought that's where his path to the White House laid.
I saw Trump in an interview when asked if he wanted Vance to be his successor and he said no, probably because Trump has no intention of leaving. I wonder what Vance thinks of this and how it impacts his plans for the future?
LisaM
(29,034 posts)I don't think he has the personality to push anything through if he succeeded. He would be a do-nothing, which would be a step up, of course.
He also doesn't really have any convictions. He talks as if he's on a high school debate team.
Playingmantis
(364 posts)God sent Trump to rule America! ( He ran out of locust and other plagues!)
relayerbob
(7,116 posts)Items that the right wingers will notice, like guns.
Borogove
(138 posts)CentralMass
(16,048 posts)GaYellowDawg
(4,935 posts)Fox News and their churches will tell them it's the Democrats' fault, and that will literally become gospel for them.
Exp
(189 posts)vapor2
(1,881 posts)but I agree, let repugs hang themselves. Just heard Rachel say that 2 different judges have issued federal worker reinstatements!
slightlv
(5,093 posts)trying to do, and their reasons for it. Doesn't make it right. Since FDR, the republicans have desperately tried to jury-rig the United States into a republican conservative country. People rightly don't want that. (Well, except for the 1/3 who will agree with trump no matter what he says or does.) In the time of Reagan, the only person to even come close to achieving it was Margaret Thatcher. Years and years after her dismissal, the British have continued to elect people in the form of Thatcher, who carried on her economic and political ideals. Where did these ideals come from that she held on to so firmly? Reagan and the Republicans of the 1980's, who were only carrying on those from the 1940's and onward. Tear down every functional government department that actually helps the people of the country. Add back in only those departments which fit the "emperor's" ideals, and stack those departments only with those who agree 100% with your ideology and will give their lives to protect you and your ideology.
The republicans tried this in Iraq. Remember how they dismissed all government departments, fired everyone, and then tried to build it back, little bit by little bit? Douglas Feith was a huge supporter of this, him and Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney. Remember the pallots of money that went missing? It goes to show it doesn't work to kill one government form and replace it with another, favored one. We have had our fingers in a lot of regime changes around the world... most of them to the detriment of the country in which we meddled. But nothing like this (that I know of) had been tried until Iraq. This was all suppose to make the Iraqi's completely dependent upon and favorable towards their new American governors. But you know what happens when you try to "tame" and make docile all the people? The majority will revolt and turn against you... violently. It happened in Iraq, and it WILL happen here in the United States. In fact, if trump had one functioning brain cell (he doesn't), he'd get the hell out of the country to someplace he couldn't be touched. Think Islamist fatwas are bad? Try an aggrieved American with nothing left to lose! THIS is what's headed for trump and musk and the rest of them. Only, it doesn't happen overnight. And it needs a catalyzing event to get everyone under the same banner. trump can throw every 1%'er he wants at us, and we'll tar and feather them. Turn the proud boys and oath keepers on us, and see them get shot up more than they could ever wish to place whack-a-lib.
To a conservative, Conservatism can never fail. It is a religion to them. Conservatism can only BE failed by people, and so they keep replacing individuals with those they think will carry on the sermon better. But I have news for them. People, no matter who they are, WANT to be FREE. And they won't long live under captivity if they do something about it. We, as a people, have been coddled too long. We don't do big demonstrations and strikes like the french or the English. We don't rail against the government by going in, en masse, and dragging them out of their chambers onto the front yard of the White House. At least, we haven't until now. I'm not going to make any promises for the foreseeable future.
This is just my opinion, having lived upon this earth for 69 years, watching and taking note of events that have transpired in the past. You can always find the future from elements of the past. Even watching trump, now, you can see how the 1920's and 30's have influenced him in his way of thinking how things should be. Give him the Roaring 20's, or watch what you have disappear. He's perfectly suited for the gilded age, given that he likes to gild everything he has in gold. Just like they did before the Great Depression. Trump is our Herbert Hoover. WHO will be our FDR?
mdbl
(5,908 posts)nothing seems to get through those magat thick skulls.
elocs
(23,571 posts)I don't anticipate a midterm election in '26 or a general in '28 if Trump and Musk can stop them.
Good luck to all because we will need it. As an old fart who depends solely on SS I hope I can survive its loss and find a job if I can. Homelessness looms as well.
luvallpeeps
(1,168 posts)It reminds me of chemotherapy. It will damage us, maybe destroy us, but they have to try and kill the cancer.
OAITW r.2.0
(29,567 posts)We don't have labor capacity to produce basic structural metals in the USA. And that will get worse as we throw more people out of this country. So, everything will get more expensive because we'll still have to import if we want to survive economically. Except it's the American consumer that will pay. Bigly.
bob4460
(284 posts)There will not be elections in '26.
ZRB
(436 posts)Troops will storm the drop boxes in CA? People gunned down in line on election day in PA? What exactly is the election cancelling method that is going to be deployed?
EnergizedLib
(2,385 posts)Every time I have reason for hope, I scratch my head, and our inability to pounce on their mistakes and misfirings isnt giving me much optimism.
Unless my memory is getting worse, I dont remember us rolling over and playing dead from 2017-2021. I dont remember us playing dead in 2022 when we had the best midterm for a party in power in 20 years.
We have to message they own this, they are responsible for dissipating 401ks, for weakening of the environment, for the weakening of consumer protection, for alienating allies, siding with dictators, making our alliances, thus us, less safe in return.
We cannot assume people will simply wake up to the destruction being done all around us. We have to effectively sound the alarms on it, too.