Trump's terrible tariffs will be his downfall
Trump can't lie his way out of high prices, low employment and devastated business morale
Ever since The Washington Post was purchased by Amazon CEO and billionaire Jeff Bezos — a man who, as Dr. Richard Wolff memorably put it, will be remembered by history as nothing but “a glorified delivery boy” — the newspaper’s quality has nosedived.
Bezos’ critics often point to his spiking of an editorial endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris as the turning point in Bezos’ tenure. I’d argue that, from the moment he purchased the iconic publication in 2013, Bezos has prioritized sensational stories over hard-hitting news.
Yet even I can’t deny that this headline from The Post is right on the money when it comes to President Donald Trump’s tariffs: “Rising prices, war rooms and layoffs: The cost of Trump’s tariffs is coming”
These two sentences sum up the gist of the story:
“Import-dependent companies are slashing budgets, halting investments and looking for ways to avoid the steepest duties,” the Post writes. “Others are watching their inventories dwindle, unsure whether they’ll be able to keep shelves fully stocked. Many are cutting staff and other facets of their operations to stay afloat.”
Jonathan Gold, the vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, elaborated on why this is happening.
“You’re seeing orders not being placed, orders being delayed or you have retailers bringing in less product,” Gold told the Post. “These charges aren’t costs companies can absorb. They’re going to get passed on to the consumer.”
The Post also cites an April analysis from Yale University estimates the average American household will spend an extra $3,800 each year because of the tariffs. Characteristically for The Post, the impact of Trump’s tariffs on ordinary consumers is an afterthought, with more attention being paid to the struggles of the business leaders at the top. Yet Sidney Blumenthal, a journalist and former political adviser to President Bill Clinton, centered ordinary Americans’ experiences in an op-ed for The Guardian that predicts Trump’s political downfall will occur because of his tariffs.
“As a political matter, besides being unpopular, Trump’s tariffs, in combination with his assaults on the institutions of civil and legal society, have drawn out the most intelligent and skillful members of the conservative legal establishment, who themselves have been some of the most crucial players in the rise of the right wing, to man the ramparts against him,” Blumenthal said. “These are not the familiar Never Trumpers, but newly engaged and potentially more dangerous foes.”
He added, “While corporate leaders uniformly abhor Trump’s tariffs, they have stifled themselves into a complicit silence on the road to serfdom. But Trump’s new enemies coming from the conservative citadel of the Federalist Society are filing brief after brief in the courts, upholding the law to halt his dictatorial march.”
Blumenthal compares Trump’s tariffs to the Vietnam War, which when waged by President Lyndon Johnson became so unpopular it ultimately forced him not to run for reelection. While Johnson had already been unpopular among Republicans for some time by that point in his presidency, he didn’t become unelectable until many of his fellow Democrats turned against him. While liberals could tolerate Johnson’s corruption, abuses of power and vulgar personality, they drew a line at a pointless war that sent thousands of their sons to early graves.
It stands to reason that Trump supporters are similar. They can ignore climate change because it isn’t obvious to them, and they can slough off concerns about the human rights of marginalized groups like immigrants and transgender people. What they will not ignore, however, is Trump costing them thousands of dollars a year in pointless tariffs.
The good news for ordinary Americans is that, as Trump’s tariffs become increasingly unpopular with the powers-that-be in the political and business worlds, there will be more opportunities to roll them back.
The bad news is that, as The Post’s coverage demonstrates, ordinary Americans will not be front-and-center in the media’s analysis of this story unless we demand that that happen.
Back Seat Socialism
Column by Matthew Rozsa who is a professional journalist for more than 13 years. Currently he is writing a book for Beacon Press, "Neurosocialism," which argues that autistic people like the author struggle under capitalism, and explains how neurosocialism - the distinct anticapitalist perspective one develops by living as a neurodiverse individual - can be an important organizing principle for the left.
djtRump and his MAGA dimwits are going up against a very knowledgeable and influential adversary when the decided to go against their previously very supportive Federalist Society. The Washington Post recently stated: “As a political matter, besides being unpopular, Trump’s tariffs, in combination with his assaults on the institutions of civil and legal society, have drawn out the most intelligent and skillful members of the conservative legal establishment, who themselves have been some of the most crucial players in the rise of the right wing, to man the ramparts against him,” Blumenthal said. “These are not the familiar Never Trumpers, but newly engaged and potentially more dangerous foes.”....I hope that Dimwit Donnie and his even dimwittier MAGA folks don't see the danger they are in before it's too late........