Donald Trump’s extremely anticipated remarks on his administration’s trade tariffs had been, amongst different issues, vital. The president’s agenda is, in any case, more likely to have a dramatic affect on the whole lot from the financial system to client costs, jobs to worldwide relations. A lot of the nation, and far of the world, possible tuned in to study simply how drastic the White Home’s imaginative and prescient could be.
What viewers noticed was a Republican who not solely selected a slightly maximalist strategy to pointless tariffs however who did so whereas peddling claims that had been plainly false.
When “The Rachel Maddow Present” requested Nobel laureate Paul Krugman for his response to Trump’s remarks, the economist replied:
Trump’s tariff announcement was full-on loopy. Not solely is he imposing larger tariffs than virtually anybody anticipated, however he’s justifying them with fully false claims about different international locations’ tariffs. I don’t know the place his numbers are coming from, however they don’t have anything to do with actuality. … It’s a extremely dangerous day for the U.S. financial system.
At face worth, the truth that Trump lied so much most likely appears unremarkable. That is, in any case, what he does, and what he’s at all times accomplished all through his time in public life. Those that look to this president for honesty and details clearly haven’t been paying shut sufficient consideration.
But when Trump goes to set the worldwide financial system — and your retirement financial savings — on hearth, it’s hardly unreasonable to assume he ought to current his imaginative and prescient in a approach that had a tangential relationship with actuality.
He didn’t.
Trump stated the USA subsidizes Canada with $200 billion a 12 months. That wasn’t true.
Trump stated the USA “took in lots of of billions of {dollars}” from China because of tariffs he imposed throughout his first time period. That wasn’t true.
Trump equally stated tariffs had by no means earlier than been collected on Chinese language items earlier than he took workplace. That wasn’t true.
Trump stated Canada “imposes a 250-300% tariff on lots of our dairy merchandise.” That wasn’t true.
Trump stated the Nice Despair occurred as a result of U.S. officers moved away from tariffs. That was hilarious, but it wasn’t true.
Trump stated U.S. inflation charges throughout the Biden administration had been “the very best” in “the historical past of our nation.” That wasn’t true.
Trump said Joe Biden had “the worst approval rankings within the historical past of our nation.” That wasn’t true.
Trump stated the USA was “the wealthiest it has ever been” between 1789 and 1913. That wasn’t true.
Trump said Democrats wish to minimize advantages for Social Safety, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. That’s so bonkers I don’t even know the place to start out.
To make sure, that is only a sampling of a few of the Republican’s most obtrusive whoppers.
The bigger level, in fact, isn’t simply that Trump has a reality allergy. A lot of the general public knew this lengthy earlier than his occasion within the Rose Backyard started. Reasonably, the broader significance is rooted in the truth that the president — studying from ready textual content — apparently felt as if he needed to lie.
Keep in mind, Trump had loads of time to finalize his coverage, understanding the granular particulars, contemplating the financial implications, and figuring out how greatest to current his imaginative and prescient to the nation and the world. What he seems to have decided was that the reality wasn’t adequate, and it will be higher for him to current his agenda with, in Krugman’s phrases, “fully false claims” that “don’t have anything to do with actuality.”
The coverage, in different phrases, is horrible. His pitch was about as dangerous.
