@chariot_badges wrote:
Very good summary. VERY.
Everybody read ^^ again.
That's the plan.
Will it work? I dunno. I doubt that anyone does, it's never been done before ... not like this, and not to this scale.
But, if we don't so something RIGHT NOW, our economy will crumble within ten years. Maybe sooner.
NOW is the time. We're still strong enough to actually HAVE a big stick.
"That's the plan."
Except it's worth noting that Mr. Trump responded to Chinese retaliatory tariffs thusly:
“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” (His all-caps.)
Those are not the words of an elected leader carrying a "big stick."
Rather, those are the words of an elected leader:
- Who is convinced that he can charm and cajole people like Xi and Putin (Tulsi Gabbard would never, ever tell Trump that those two already have him, Trump, wound around their little fingers).
- Who cannot bring Russia to the negotiating table (with Ukraine) with American threats of economic pain ("the likes of which Moscow has never seen before") and as a result is so enraged that he made it known that he is "p*ssed off" at Moscow (other than stone silence, no reaction thus far to that from Putin).
- Who cannot deter (this past week) China from encircling Taiwan and staging two days of live fire military exercises around the island nation (an unsubtle reminder of US impotence to prevent Russia from projecting power in its own backyard).
- Who has a razor thin majority in the House -- remember that even lowly congress-people have constituents to whom they must deliver services, or risk losing their own jobs. (Tip O'Neill once quipped "All politics is local.")
- Whose control of the majority in the Senate did not preclude this week's Senate resolution, passed by a 51-48 vote, that would end Mr. Trump's emergency declaration on fentanyl that underpins tariffs on Canada.
- Who is known for dismissing the advice of experts and following his "instincts" and who has all but admitted that that he taking an enormous gamble.
I happen to share Mr. Trump's views on reasserting the primacy of American interests -- something that we have long neglected.
But the days of "sticks" -- especially vis-a-vis other global powers -- has been over for some time now.
As his all-caps reaction (above) to China's countermoves illustrate, the problem with someone like him -- at heart an entertainer and raconteur who puts more of premium on polls and making headlines than he does on actually governing -- is that he has shown his not-so-subtle "negotiating strategy" hand one too many times and now that he is being asked by Beijing to up the ante, he may feel compelled to something even potentially more destructive.
(Remember what Mr. Trump's former lawyer, Roy Cohn, told him about responding when someone "hits you." This dynamic is central to Mr. Trump's thinking and in my assessment is what is fueling much of the seemingly capricious and indeed, nihilistic slashing and eviscerating aimed at the USG civil service. )
My guess is that no one had the nerve to tell Mr. Trump that China would meet the American challenge and up the ante.
I will now be looking for indications that the US has to back down in some fashion. Certainly the Senate resolution from the other day provides an opening for the House to follow (that will be interesting to watch) that might alleviate the pain overall for the American public.
It will be even more interesting to see how Mr. Trump finesses being humiliated for bad decisions -- if indeed he allows his ego to take second place to the interests of much of the American public, should things deteriorate in the coming months.
eBay seller since 1999. This is a posting ID.
Regards,
mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
