Wildly Destructive Stupidity
After months of bluster, spin, and head fakes, President Trump finally committed to punishing global tariffs during a high-profile “Liberation Day” event at the White House yesterday. The policy invokes emergency authority to impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, a 25% fee on imported cars, and dubious “reciprocal tariffs” on everywhere from China and the EU to key strategic suppliers to remote uninhabited penguin reserves (not Russia, though ). Trump’s tariff obsession dates back decades and cites William McKinley’s Gilded Age protectionist policies as an inspiration. Economists warn these measures will disrupt global trade, spike inflation, and destabilize the dollar’s reserve currency status. Markets fell sharply this morning, as DOGE-driven cuts are projected to cause over 275,000 layoffs. Meanwhile, nationwide “Hands Off!” protests against executive overreach are planned for this Saturday, April 5th.
The Economist: Ruination Day: Donald Trump announced the biggest break in America’s trade policy in over a century—and committed the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error in the modern era.
Bloomberg: The US stock market is down almost 10% since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, marking the worst 10-week start under a new president since George W. Bush in 2001 during the height of the dot-com selloff Reuters: South Korea, China, Japan agree to promote regional trade as Trump tariffs loom
I’m watching CNBC. These anchors are so angry. They really didn’t believe he’d do it. They’re actually just now, 10 years into this shit, realizing he’s a maniac hellbent on revenge and there’s no grand plan for the markets. Better late than never but holy shit. It’s great TV watching these CNBC analysts realize there is no “theory” on TV in real time and they can’t even invent one. One just said “They’re burning down the house to cook a steak.” There’s a phone ringing off the hook in the background no one’s picking up. It’s chaos, I recommend it.
The Onion: FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States “What a perfect day for Newsmax to ring the opening bell on the stock exchange."
WSJ: Senators Move to Rein In Trump’s Power on Tariffs
Under the Cantwell–Grassley Trade Review Act of 2025, any tariffs imposed by the president would expire after 60 days unless Congress voted to approve them. Congress also would have the power to terminate tariffs at any time by voting to pass a resolution of disapproval. The president also would be required to notify Congress within 48 hours of putting in place or raising any tariffs.
”This might be the single stupidest thing any of us will ever see. It is stupid in every way: presentationally, intellectually, politically, methodologically, morally and of course economically. The word stupid doesn’t really suffice for the full level of idiocy we’ve now reached. It’s as if we’ve attained a new state of human mindlessness, a kind of species milestone.”
Alan Beattie in The Financial Times:
”There can be no logic-washing of Donald Trump’s tariffs. This isn’t part of a carefully-designed industrial policy or a cunning strategy to induce compliance among trading partners or a choreographed appearance of chaos to scare other governments into obedience. It’s wildly destructive stupidity, and the generations of American, and particularly Republican politicians, who allowed things to slide to this point are collectively to blame."