Please Mr President, chill

Please Mr President, chill

Phil Gramm (my college economics tutor) once told me that those who walk down the middle of the road get hit by trucks going in both directions. I feel that way about how people react to my writings about President Trump. My friends on the left are appalled when I say that given all that has transpired over the year, if I were to vote today I would still vote for Trump rather than Kamala Harris. Then my friends on the right say that I am too critical of the president. Yet I have given my reasons and explained them.

There is much I like on the domestic front and I have listed them all. But there are the ones I don’t like – namely his economic policies, I have taken pains to explain why. So don’t forget that – as I reminded one reader – I like closing the border. I like deporting criminals. I like leaving the Paris Accord and defunding the Green new deal. I like what Zelden is doing at EPA. I like defunding Education and the CFPB. I like downsizing the federal government, stopping duplication and reassessing out priorities. I like trashing DEI. I like returning the military to its mission, and there is much more that I like. I have said all these things in the past. But there are things that I don’t like and I am sorry that some have the impression that I “disagree with anything (actually everything) Trump.”

But I am not going to abandon markets in favor of government intervention. I want the Fed to remain independent of the executive. I will never embrace global tariffs and the president’s seemingly chaotic behavior. I have given the conditions under which I actually support targeted tariffs and government subsidies. I think industrial policy is wasteful whether enacted from the left or from the right. Trump is doing things supported by his followers that once upon a time they all opposed. I opposed them then and I oppose them now. Tariffs and government takeovers are not the way to make America great again. As Phil Gramm once told me, at least I am consistent. I was consistent then and I am consistent now – even if it means being hit by trucks moving in both directions. I also remind you that if Biden were doing this expansion of the power of the executive would you be supportive?

I am bothere by all of the president’s braggadicio. He is saying that “tariffs are making us rich as hell.” He said “I love tariffs. Most beautiful word, but I’m not allowed to say that anymore. Tariff is my favorite word. I love the word tariff. We’rebecoming rich as hell. We have a big case in front of the Supreme Court, but I can’t imagine it because this is what other nations have done to us.” 

Now is he saying that other nations are rich because of tariffs? If that is so then the countries with the highest tariffs should be among the richest in the word. Of course that is not the case, it’s the countries with the lowest tariffs. But more fundamentally, if you took money out of your left pocket and put it in your right pocket, would you be wealthier? Well that is what tariffs do. Since importers pay the tariff, then there is just a transfer of money from one group in the country to another with no increase in the national income of the country that imposes the tariffs.

The president who is given to hyperbole tweeted “Without tariffs, and all of the TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS we have already taken in, our Country would be completely destroyed, and our military power would be instantly obliterated.” Good grief. We have not taken in “TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS.” In fact we have collected $142 billion in tariffs so far this year. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent estimates that tariffs will be $300 billion for the entire year and as much as $2.5 trillion over the next decade (if kept in place). The president has been floating the idea of a $2,000 tariff “rebate” to US households and Josh Hawley (R-MO) has introduced a bill to make it so. 

Since the tariffs go into the general fund, it will take an act of congress to distribute them. However, the president does not seem to be aware of this in that he has proposed to use $10 billion of the tariffs to send to the farmers hurt by the cutting off of purchases by the Chinese. Maybe Hawley will introduce a bill to make this so as well. BTW, will the $10 billion transferred from the general fund to the farmers increase national income? No.

The president has also claimed that tariffs have generated enough money to cut the deficit in half – which is clearly not the case. “They’re just starting to kick in. Ultimately, your tariffs are going to be over a trillion dollars a year.” Please stop it. You know you are just exaggerating but it makes it seem as though you are delusional.

I know it is wishful thinking but I wish the president would just be quiet and chill. Let others who know the figures and are experts do the talking or at least get the numbers right. If Joe Biden were making these same statements those on the right would be pointing out the huge discrepancies, doing fact checks, awarding Pinocchios and asserting that Biden was lacking mental acuity. In fact, that is what those on the left are now asserting about the president. They are taking the president’s quotes, his emails and his very public rants and questioning his mental stability. I, for one, do not doubt the president’s mental capacity. I just wish he would tone it down and use some restraint. I know he is playing to his base but he is giving fodder to his enemies.

A publication called “The Verge” alleged that Google was barring all AI inquiry into the president’s mental state. It said that Google withheld answers for searches questioning whether Trump shows signs of dementia, while continuing to provide similar responses about other presidents. When asked “Does Trump show signs of dementia?” Google search responds “An AI overview is not available for that search.” The left has gleefully then argued that Google is afraid of the wrath of Trump which is the cause of its response. But all of this has emboldened the democrats to further attack Trump’s mental wellbeing.

Chicago’s mayor Brandon Johnson – not quite a towering intellect – said that Trump is an “unstable human being” who must be “checked” on his use of the military in U.S. cities. Two clinical psychologists have said that Trump is constantly “deteriorating” and his cognitive ability is “slipping even more”. The president’s “unpredictable” conduct is said to indicate cognitive decline said another psychologist. Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey said of the president’s remarks to the military brass at Quantico, “I’ve been doing this a long time. That presentation at Quantico from the president and secretary of Defense was one of the most bizarre, unsettling events I’ve everencountered. The president sounded incoherent, exhausted, rabidly partisan, at times stupid, meandering, couldn’t hold a thought together.”

The president’s rants and diatribes against the Fed, Jerome Powell, his various enemies, Tylenol, Jimmy Kimmel and Taylor Swift among a multitude of others have prompted JB Pritzker (!), Maxine Waters (!) and others to call for invoking the 25^th Amendment as the right did during the Biden years. Trump’s email to Pam (Blondie) Bondi on prosecuting Comey may have endangered any possibility of conviction by a judge or a jury. Here is what he said about Jimmy Kimmel and seems to imply that he will have ABC investigated as well.

“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his “talent” was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”

Not what you would call a calm and reasoned response no matter what your bias. Even the trio of incidents at the United Nations which Trump and his allies contend was sabotage is considered by his opponents as indicative of his unstable mental behavior. The president tweeted

“A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday ‒ Not one, not two, but three very sinister events! First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime. It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster. … Then, as I stood before a Television crowd of millions of people all over the World, and important Leaders in the Hall, my teleprompter didn’t work. It was stone cold dark. I immediately thought to myself, ‘Wow, first the escalator event, and now a bad teleprompter. What kind of a place is this?’ I then proceeded to make a Speech without a teleprompter, which kicked in about 15 minutes later. The good news is the Speech has gotten fantastic reviews. Maybe they appreciated the fact that very few people could have done what I did.” 

The reaction from the left was to say the president was paranoid and completely unhinged. Here is what the president said about Tylenol

Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON, BREAK UP THE MMR SHOT INTO THREE TOTALLY SEPARATE SHOTS (NOT MIXED!), TAKE CHICKENP SHOT SEPARATELY, TAKE HEPATITAS B SHOT AT 12 YEARS OLD, OR OLDER, AND, IMPORTANTLY, TAKE VACCINE IN 5 SEPARATE MEDICAL VISITS! President DJT”

I’ve commented on this before and just wish that his medical appointees had issued the report and cited the evidence leading to this conclusion.

The New Republic, no fan of the president is now saying that “Donald Trump is becoming totally incoherent.” Where have we seen this before? For years I have wanted him to shut down the tweets, stop the name calling and the rants. But Trump’s behavior is not much different from that of Biden, Obama, Clinton, Nixon or Johnson. All were profane and given to temper tantrums. Trump just does his in public rather than behind closed doors. Some think this is refreshing but I find it a bit disconcerting. 

One of my friends tells me that the president is too nuanced for me to understand. I have said this before “prove me wrong and I will adopt your opinion.” But for now I know this plea is futile but chill Mr President, chill.