Author: haroldblackphd

Don Boudreaux on Jason Chaffetz

When I read Jason (ex-congressman current pundit) Chaffetz’s piece in the Washington Examiner “USMA renewal: American manufacturing is a nonnegotiable,” I immediately thought of my friend Professor Don Boudreaux of George Mason University. Don is arguably the leading expert on tariffs and their impact. He along with my old University of Georgia economics tutor, Phil Gramm have contributed many articles (many in the Wall Street Journal) and a recent book “The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of Capitalism.” In it they debunk many of the protectionist arguments of those such as Chaffetz who favor tariffs. So naturally I sent Don Chaffetz’s article: 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/usmca-renewal-american-manufacturing-is-a-nonnegotiable/ar-AA21f4wm

His response was priceless. It can be found on his blog Cage Hayek:

Protectionist Fallacies Pour Forth

I repost it here with his permission.

Here’s a letter to the Washington Examiner. (I thank Prof. Harold Black for alerting me to this piece by Chaffetz.)

Editor:

Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s defense of Trump’s tariffs is a mayhem of misunderstanding (“USMCA renewal: American manufacturing is a nonnegotiable,” April 19).

By writing of “bringing manufacturing back home,” Chaffetz sneaks in the baseless conclusion that manufacturing in the U.S. has gone away or otherwise suffered in the few decades leading up to Trump’s presidency. In fact, manufacturing output in the month before Mr. Trump began his second term was, although 10% lower than the all-time high it hit in December 2007, 9% higher than when China joined the World Trade Organization, 51% higher than when NAFTA took effect, and 164% higher than in 1975, the last year the U.S. ran an annual trade surplus.

Even these numbers don’t adequately convey the strength of U.S. manufacturing. On an absolute basis, the U.S. trails only China in the value created by its manufacturing sector, yet on a per-capita basis U.S. manufacturing value-added is 158% higher than China’s.

And high-value-added manufacturing in the U.S. is expanding, while much of the moderation in the 21^stcentury in the growth of U.S. manufacturing is due to the steep decline in American production of textiles and leather goods – a low-value-added segment of manufacturing that’s typically performed in low-wage countries that are just beginning to industrialize. It’s only because American workers in these industries encountered better opportunities in other occupations that American textile and leather-goods production fell so dramatically. We should be pleased, not perturbed, at this development. (If you doubt this conclusion, ask: How many people do you know who long for their children and grandchildren to spend their lives working in textile mills?)

A final point: By subsidizing their countries’ exports to the U.S., foreign governments compel their citizens to bestow gifts on us Americans. We are enriched by such gifts no less than we are enriched by technological advances that reduce the amount of American labor required to produce manufactured goods. Especially if we take a stance now fashionable in some conservative circles and reject “cosmopolitanism” in favor of what is called ‘putting America first,’ we should welcome rather than reject foreign countries’ self-destructive practice of ‘putting America first’ by selling to us goods at prices below cost.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
and
Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030

No diplomats? Haitians still here?

Where are our diplomats?

The president’s disdain for our diplomatic corps is front and center in the Iran “negotiations.” Over 1,500 State Department officials have been fired and 30 diplomats were recalled. A survey revealed that 98 percent of foreign service members indicated low morale. So instead of sending trained diplomats to negotiate with the Iranians he sent a couple of real estate executives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner along with JD Vance to do a deal with the Iranians. Witkoff and Kushner were Trump’s negotiators with Russia and Ukraine so they obviously have a track record as pretend diplomats. Vance is certainly anything but a diplomat but no mind since apparently no negotiations were intended. 

Iran sent two planeloads of negotiators. They included members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) perhaps to ensure that no gains made in the field were relinquished at the diplomatic table. Iran’s delegation represented the political, legal, security, economic and military factions. The chief Iranian negotiators were Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy secretary of the supreme national security council who was the chief negotiator in previous nuclear talks, and Abbas Araghchi, the lead negotiator in 2015 and now the foreign minister. But none of the lead US negotiators was a diplomat groomed in negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is certainly no diplomat but then he and the president were attending a UFC match in Miami – no doubt showing the importance of the negotiations with the Iranians. Although talks went on for 20 hours little was accomplished and Vance walked out. The Babylon Bee said that the reason nothing was settled was because the Iranian translator was sick and no one else spoke English leading the Iranians just to nod during the talks.

The president is apparently looking to make impose a deal on the Iranians rather than engage in negotiations. The reports seem to indicate that both sides were entrenched and it was “take it or leave it.” Vance said that the Americans came to see “if we could get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms”.  They didn’t. Vance actually said that the proposals were the administration’s best and final offer indication that no negotiations were actually intended. I don’t know why they even went to Islamabad if that were the case.

Actually one wonders of Araghchi had the authority to negotiate in the first place. It was Araghchi who said that the Strait of Hormuz was open during the duration of the 10 day cease fire. The revolutionary guard leadership promptly reversed that statement saying that ships must continue paying Iran a toll, and that Iran was reserving the right to retaliate for the U.S. blockade. The US Navy promptly impounded an Iranian cargo ship imperiling future talks and the ceasefire.

What would it take for Trump to end his war? Would he settle for an opening of the strait if the Iranians promised to freeze their nuclear program? The question is for how long? Trump has repeatedly said that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Is he still saying that? Also I presume that Trump will also have to agree to unfreeze Iranian assets and let them sell their oil on the open market. If he does that then he will be doing exactly what Obama and Biden did which was roundly criticized by Trump and the republicans.

Let’s recall Trump’s stated objectives. First, “We’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can NEVER obtain a nuclear weapon.” Second, destroying Iran’s missile capabilities. Three, neutralize threats to international shipping and US naval forces in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Four, ensuring the Iranian regime cannot arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside their borders. And perhaps, five – regime change.

Wouldn’t it be interesting that none of these are accomplished and Iran’s assets get unfrozen and they can sell their oil? This would look like an Iranian victory. But some victory. A consequence of Trump’s war is that Iran’s economy is in shambles. Its resources have been battered. Its inflation is close to triple digits. Iran wants reparations to pay for all the damage and to help it rebuild. But that is doubtful. So the outcome of all this may just be that Iran will be too crippled to be a menace for the foreseeable future. Will that be enough?

Maybe if Iran, like Qatar, offered to build a Trump hotel with a golf course and give him a new plane, Trump would declare victory and bring our troops home.

Haitians, Part 2

The House just passed a measure to rescind the expulsion of the Haitians here under the Temporary Protective Status. All the democrats were joined by 11 republicans to reinstate temporary legal protections for the 350,000 Haitian immigrants here under the program. The program shields them from deportation and allows them to have work permits. The bill goes to the Senate and I haven’t a clue what will happen there. But I do know that if it passes, the president will veto it. You may recall that Trump has ranted and raved about the Haitians and even contended that they were eating people’s pets. There is little doubt that Trump wants them gone.

The Mighty Trump

Arguably the greatest contribution made by Donald Trump to the American presidency is to test the boundaries of the executive. Basically, he has adopted the approach of “stop me if you can.” He has attempted to fire and replace presidential nominees who were confirmed by the Senate with fixed terms to “independent” agencies that are technically under the executive branch of government. He successfully fired Gwynne Wilcox of the Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection board. The attempted firings of two FTC commissioners remain in dispute as their cases are still being litigated. At one of my old agencies, the National Credit Union Administration, Trump removed the two democrat members of the board – Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka – although he had appointed Harper to the board in his first term. They sued and were reinstated but were again removed as another court put their case on hold until the attempted firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook is heard by the Supreme Court. The outcome of the Supreme Court case will have implications going forward on all class of appointees to fixed terms on “independent” boards.

Trump has also sought to rule by edict and take a somewhat expansive view of his designated powers. His first day back in office he issued 26 executive orders soon followed by 226 more. He declared 12 national emergencies, often where obviously none existed just to be able to exercise certain powers – like the imposition of universal tariffs. The republicans with control of both the House and the Senate chose not to counter Trump and essentially let him do what he pleased. Where there was push back it came from the private sector in the form of lawsuit after lawsuit. 

Such an exercise actually is valuable because it allows the courts define the limits of executive power. Trump has pushed those limits. He has sold Venezuelan oil and put the proceeds into an offshore account in Qatar. He and his family have increased their wealth by billions since he came back into office. He has had the government take equity positions in private enterprises. He has intervened in corporate decisions, shaken the foundations of NATO, threatened to seize Greenland and tried to intimidate virtually every country on the planet. He has cut of all funding to the United Nations, withdrawn from the World Trade Organization and completely alienated our “allies’.  He has upended the security of the federal work force essentially firing over 400,000 civil servants.

Then there is the attempt to nationalize federal elections. Do you really want the Department of Homeland Security to create a federal citizenship list for each state and to direct the U.S. Postal Service to mail ballots only to those who appear on that list?

Some of the executive orders have made their way to the Supreme Court. Birthright citizenship is now being argued. The universal tariffs justified under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) have been heard and the court ruled that Trump’s illegal tariffs were indeed illegal. Trump and his people cited the 1798 Alien Enemies Act as authority for summary deportations off illegals and the warrantless searches of homes. The courts ruled against him. Trump authorized the destruction of suspected drug boats in the Eastern Caribbean despite the legality of the action. And of course he seized the ruler of an independent country and unilaterally is waging a war not endorsed by the congress. BTW, what happened to the War Powers Act?

Multitudes of critics say that he is abusing the office. I disagree. He would be abusing the office if he went beyond what was legally possible. But what is legally possible? I don’t blame him in testing the limits of the office. Powers exist to the executive that until Trump had not been fully explored. The presidency comes with all sorts of powers – emergency powers, unilateral trade authority, administrative control over vast swaths of economic life, and the ability to wage war at will. Even the demolition of the East Wing and the construction of the ballroom were based on Trump’s claim that the Congress has given him authority in existing statutes to construct his East Wing ballroom project and to do it with private funds. A Reagan appointed federal judge disagreed and put the project on hold. The judge said that although Trump occupied the White House he did not own it. He also said that under Trump’s interpretation of his powers, he could raze the White House entirely and put up another Trump Tower in its place.

Other presidents have put their toe in the water by issuing edits too. But Trump has jumped into the pool. The republicans in the Congress do not have the guts to confront him and the democrats are powerless to do anything but carp. It is up to the courts to define the limits of executive power and they are doing just that although Trump does not seem to acknowledge it. Recall he said when asked what limits his power and he said “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me, and that’s very good.” That, of course, is debatable.

So there are the courts to limit presidential power. But there are two other factors as well: the markets and public opinion. The markets are tanking given his war on Iran and public opinion is falling. In the past, he has heeded the warnings from the market – but less to public opinion. As of yet neither seem to be affecting his push for more power. Lastly as I have often mentioned before, the democrats should be supporting Trump rather than resisting him because when the next democrat occupies the White House, he, too, can follow Trump’s lead in expanding the power of the executive. 

Yet at his core, Trump more often than not seems like a schoolyard bully with a thin skin lashing out at any criticism.

Year of the rapper and the consolidation of power

The year of the rapper

Nepal like New York City just elected a young former rapper as its leader. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a landslide victory in Nepal’s election – the first held since last year’s youth-led protests toppled the then government. RSP’s Balendra Shah will be the country’s next prime minister. Like Peter Magyar’s party in Hungary the RSP is new, having started in 2022. Shah previously was mayor of Kathmandu. The youth-led protests that broke out last year forced the then prime minister KP Sharma Oli to resign only to run again in the new election. His party came in third. The RSP received 182 seats, falling short of achieving a two-thirds supermajority in the parliament’s lower house by only two seats. The Nepali Congress came in second with 38 seats, Oli’s party was third with only 25 seats and Oli, himself, also was defeated for his seat by a member of RSP. 

I wonder if Snoop Dogg has political aspirations? 

Consolidated power 

Hungary

Hungary just voted out Viktor Orbán after a 16 year rule. The left rejoiced and the media was jubilant calling Orbán a Trump favorite. Trump, knowing that Orbán was in trouble, had dispatched vice president Vance to Hungary to campaign for him. Orbán had endorsed Trump in 2024 – I wonder if that affected the Hungarian-American vote. So I guess Trump was repaying the favor and was trying to sway the American-Hungarian voters. Vance spoke to over 1,000 Orbán supporters at a rally at in Budapest telling the crowd: “We have got to get Viktor Orbán reelected as prime minister of Hungary, don’t we?” Trump sent a video message saying Orbán had his “complete and total endorsement” and was a “fantastic guy.”

Well apparently not since Orbán lost in a landslide to Peter Magyar’s insurgent Tisza party which was founded in 2020. He criticized Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” which was based on the government consolidating control over key state institutions, including the judiciary and media. Magyar who once had been a member of Orbán’s Fidesz party campaigned on corruption, healthcare, transport, and the restoration of Hungary’s ties with the EU and NATO. His victory should reduce Hungary’s role as a spoiler inside the EU. Orbán often sided with Putin against the EU. He voted against loans by the EU to Ukraine and received an exemption from Trump to buy Russian oil.

The left was overjoyed in one of Trump’s buddies being ousted. Chuck Schumer sent a congratulatory message to Magyar and tweeted “Pay attention, Donald Trump. Wannabe dictators wear out their welcome. November 2026 can’t come soon enough.” Apparently, Schumer must think that Magyar will joint Spain in being ruled by the left. But he is wrong.

But I am glad that Orbán is gone as well. I did not care for his continuing to centralize power and moving away from democratic rule. I know that is what the left rails that Trump is doing but don’t they realize that centralized power is at the heart of socialism too? I guess the left has forgotten about Obama ruling (like Trump) by executive order. The left cheers Orbán’s defeat for his opposition to immigration and gay rights. But although the left may be ecstatic, the Tisza Party is not on the left. It is a conservative, pro-European, populist party. Magyar’s stance on immigration may actually be stricter than Orban’s. Magyar actually criticized Orbán for admitting too manymigrants under Hungary’s guest worker program. We will have to wait and see if Magyar will return to a less centralized model for governing as promised.

My fear is that the Trump model will be emulated by the next democrat president who will continue to demand equity positions in private corporations, issue more executive orders, weaponize the DOJ and the rest of the federal bureaucracy against the democratic institutions that have made this country free and great. Magyar’s victory should be a signal to both the left and the right that the voters will tire of a nationalist strongman and move to reinstitute the democratic model.  It is also a warning shot to both parties that voters tire of a system where neither party addresses vital issues giving birth to a new party that displaces the old. Do I hear Tea Party anyone?

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF is trying to amend their constitution to replace public voting in presidential elections with selection by the parliament and extend the presidential term from five to seven years. The current president Emmerson Mnangagwa to stick around for a couple of more years. The opposition party say that Mnangagwa is seeking to entrench power and this is a “slow coup” stripping citizens of the ability to directly elect a president. Yet in countries like England, Canada and Nepal the leader of the country is the head of the majority party in the legislature. So we would have had Nancy Pilosi as prime minister. How would that have worked out?

Vietnam

Meanwhile, centralization seems to be a common theme. Vietnam has just named To Lam, the head of their communist party, as president. Previously, the country was governed with a collective leadership model. The power was distributed across the two positions to prevent consolidation of power. No more. Vietnam currently has both private enterprises and state-owned enterprises and Lam may want greater state control of the private sector. The markets may be concerned about increases in corruption as Lam expands state-owned enterprises. The markets also worry if Lam may inhibit the private sector leading to a decrease in economic growth. The consolidation of power raises an empirical question as to whether centralized governments are more prone to corruption than more decentralized governments.

Lower those rates, darn it! Or else.

Trump just won’t give up his witch hunt targeting Fed chairman Jerome Powell. Despite the Department of Justice’s subpoenas thrown out, the US attorney for the District of Columbia Judge Jeanine Pirro has continued the harassment of Powell. A couple members of her staff paid a surprise visit to the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. They were turned away after being told that they could not enter without preclearance. Pirro issued a statement saying “Any construction project that has cost overruns of almost 80 percent over the original construction budget deserves some serious review. And these people are in charge of monetary policy in the United States?” Of course, Pirro did not comment on Trump’s ballroom being over 100 percent over budget. The Fed’s outside attorney objected to the visit in a letter to Pirro’s office saying “Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it. I ask that you commit not to seek to communicate with my client outside the presence of counsel.”

Of course, Pirro will ignore the objection. I believe it is obvious what she is doing. She is trying to become the next attorney general. Recall that Trump was unhappy with Pam (Blondie) Bondi for her lack of aggressive pursuit of Trump’s adversaries when those cases were of dubious merit. Not so with Judge Jeanine! Trump has praised her for having the courage to continue the investigation of Powell. Some courage!

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has said that hearings for Trump’s nominee to replace Powell as chairman would not be held until the harassment of Powell was stopped. He relented and those hearing will take place starting on April 21. Trump, of course, has dismissed Tillis’ stance saying when asked if Tillis would vote for Warsh “He might not, but that’s why Tillis is no longer a senator.” Tillis is retiring but is still a senator and responded “I’m not dead yet.”

However, the hearings do not guarantee that Warsh’s nomination will get out of committee as long as the investigation of Powell continues. Powell’s term as chairman ends in May and it is likely that Warsh’s confirmation may not be completed by then. That would mean that Powell would stay as chairman until Warsh is confirmed. Powell also has given no indication that he will resign his position as a Fed governor which has two more years to run.

Trump had a cow saying that if Powell won’t resign then he will fire him. Powell says that Trump does not have the legal authority and that he has no intention of leaving the Fed until the investigation is over with “finality.” Trump said the investigation will continue even if it obstructs the confirmation of Kevin Warsh. Trump also said “If he’s (Powell) not leaving on time, I’ve held back firing him, I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial, you know. I want to be uncontroversial.” Trump “uncontroversial”? That will be the day.

But let us suppose that Warsh’s nomination is on-going when Powell is supposed to step down as chairman. What then? Let’s then assume that Trump says “You are fired!” Then what? Nothing if the Supreme Court has ruled that Trump cannot fire a Fed governor. But if the Supreme Court rules, however unlikely, that Powell can be fired as chairman – but not as a governor – then Trump cannot name a sitting governor as a replacement (likely Waller or Bowman). Instead, the Fed governors themselves are responsible for naming one of their own as an interim until a permanent successor can be confirmed. Then Powell who would still be a governor could be named interim in the ultimate put down of the president.

Trump’s effort to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook is still on the Supreme Court’s docket. The outcome of that case will go a long way in determining if the president can replace a Fed governor. I hope that Trump loses this case. It is shortsighted on his part and demonstrates even more that Trump is about Trump with little regard to the consequences of his actions. If he prevails, then in essence the Fed loses its independence and becomes a vassal of the executive. You can just imagine some future president replacing some or all of the seven governors if they do not bend to his wishes – capricious or not. Hey, how about that zero Fed funds rate, y’all?

Federal government waste and Larry Doby Day.

April 15 is noteworthy for two things. It is Tax Day and it is when Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day. First, Tax Day is a reminder of all of the time wasted filling out one’s taxes. The Treasury Department reports that 169 million Americans file individual income tax returns every year. On average, each spends about 12 hours and 37 minutes completing the forms. That is more than 2.1 billion total hours not devoted to productive activity. The New York Times points out that this translates to $94 billion per year or three times the GDP of Ireland. Since JD Vance is supposed to be investigating waste and fraud, maybe he should address the waste of complying with our burdensome Rube Goldberg tax code with its 2,652 pages and it’s over 70,000 pages of regulations, guidance and interpretations. A flat tax of 18 percent on all income with no exemptions and no exceptions would reduce all that to one sentence. Of course then all those tax lawyers and accountants would have to find something productive to do with themselves.

Also speaking of waste, a report from something called the Competitive Enterprise Institute says that “Federal regulation’s total compliance costs and economic effects are at least $2.153 trillion annually, and certainly vastly higher.” 

https://cei.org/studies/ten-thousand-commandments-2025/

I thought Trump was supposed to deregulate? But these numbers do not show it because the regulatory costs have remained virtually unchanged during his term. When Trump came into office he noted “the United States is drastically overregulated” and that “the Code of Federal Regulations contains over 48,000 sections, stretching over 175,000 pages.” Well even though there are now almost 500,000 fewer Federal employees, how many fewer regulations are there? Some put the cost savings of Trump’s deregulatory efforts at a piddling $15 billion which is a mere rounding error. Do you know that there are 445 federal agencies with the authority to issue regulations and rules? In 2025 those agencies issued 2,441 regulations. That was down from the 3,248 that were issued in Biden’s last year in office. Everything is relative. In 2025, 61,584 pages were added to the Federal Register which was actually the lowest total added since 1992. Thank goodness for small miracles!

Jackie Robinson  – Larry Doby Day

I have posted before about how much I hate Jackie Robinson Day where all players wear Robinson’s number 42. Again, I don’t hate Jackie Robinson. Quite the contrary, I admire him greatly. It is that I hate it that Larry Doby – a great player who is also in the Hall of Fame – who integrated the American League the same year that Robinson entered is ignored. Robinson started the year in Brooklyn while Doby came into the league after the all star break. I have suggested that everyone wear 42 except the Indians (Guardians) who should wear Doby’s number 14. Doby is another example that few people remember who was number 2. Who was the second man on the moon? BTW, I have four baseball jerseys, Doby, Hank Aaron (thanks to a great friend), Frank Robinson (Cincinnati not Baltimore) and Sam Jethroe – the first black player for the then Boston Braves who was the 1950 National League’s Rookie of the Year. To that point I have also suggested that there should be a day when all the major league teams were the number of their first black player.

How dare anyone criticize this president!

Trump’s posting on ex-MAGA supporters who criticized his war on Iran

“I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon — Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs. They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too! Look at their past, look at their record. They don’t have what it takes, and they never did! They’ve all been thrown off Television, lost their Shows, and aren’t even invited on TV because nobody cares about them, they’re NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS, and will say anything necessary for some “free” and cheap publicity. Now they think they get some “clicks” because they have Third Rate Podcasts, but nobody’s talking about them, and their views are the opposite of MAGA — Or I wouldn’t have won the Presidential Election in a LANDSLIDE. MAGA agrees with me, and just gave CNN a 100% Approval Rating of “TRUMP,” not Hand Flailing Fools like Tucker Carlson, who couldn’t even finish College, he was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same — Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist! Or Megyn Kelly, who nastily asked me the now famous, “Only Rosie O’Donnell,” question, or “Crazy” Candace Owens, who accuses the Highly Respected First Lady of France of being a man, when she is not, and will hopefully win lots of money in the ongoing lawsuit. Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace, in fact, it’s not even close! Or Bankrupt Alex Jones, who says some of the dumbest things, and lost his entire fortune, as he should have, for his horrendous attack on the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, ridiculously claiming it was a hoax. These so-called “pundits” are LOSERS, and they always will be! Now Fake News CNN, The Failing New York Times, and all of the other Radical Left “News” Organizations, are “hailing” them, and giving them “positive” press for the first time in their lives. They’re not “MAGA,” they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA. As President, I could get them on my side anytime I want to, but when they call, I don’t return their calls because I’m too busy on World and Country Affairs and, after a few times, they go “nasty,” just like Marjorie “Traitor” Brown, but I no longer care about that stuff, I only care about doing right for our Country. MAGA is about WINNING and STRENGTH in not allowing Iran to have Nuclear Weapons. MAGA is about MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and these people have no idea how to do that, BUT I DO, because THE UNITED STATES IS NOW THE “HOTTEST” COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!”

President DONALD J. TRUMP

Responses:

Candance Owens on X: “It may be time to put Grandpa up in a home.”

Alex Jones on X: “Well, President Trump came out on Truth Social and attacked myself and all the original MAGA supporters today. And I’m just so sad that whatever’s happened to him has totally changed the man he once was, because he did so much good. I supported the old Trump who got so many good things done…I just feel sorry for him and pray that God touches his heart and soul, and free him from the demonic influences that he’s under.” 

Marjorie Taylor Green also on X: “President Trump has gone mad as he wages war against Iran, a broken campaign promise. I fought alongside Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones to help get Trump elected. And now he goes off on a rambling rant attacking all of us in one post. We NEVER changed, Trump did.”

Tucker Carlson’s response was in a note entitled “Is Israel Blackmailing President Trump?” adding “Establishment media never reports this, but the Israeli government has a storied history of blackmailing U.S. presidents. We decided to write about this after Trump published a Truth Social post attacking our company, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones, each of whom supported him for years. Rather than engaging in petty name-calling, we want to give the president some grace. He is facing a level of pressure that is dark enough to make him abandon his campaign promises and morph into the precise kind of politician he once vowed to destroy. He would not have let that happen unless his personal stakes were really high. We hope he overcomes.”

Later we will discuss the Pope and the president.

No deal Don Quixote!

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said “excessive” U.S. demands had hindered reaching a deal. Not surprisingly, the US wanted the Strait to be opened and for Iran to give up its enriched uranium. Iran said no and Trump blasted:

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.”

“I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”

“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!”

I thought the strait was already blockaded. So this is a double blockade? It seems that the Iranians let two vessels through that paid fees in Chinese yuan. Seems like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “imposed a de facto ‘toll booth’ regime in the Strait of Hormuz, requiring vessels to submit full documentation, obtain clearance codes and accept IRGC-escorted passage through a single controlled corridor.” Iran has said it wants to impose a toll on all ships passing through the strait under a long-term peace deal.

The president said no deal and our own blockade “will begin shortly. He said Iran “will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION.” But I thought once Trump said that extortion was okay so long as he got a cut?

“They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear,” he said. “Additionally and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully ‘LOCKED AND LOADED,’ and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!” The Iranians called that threat “stupid”.

BTW, the New York Times says that Iran would consider a US blockade of the Strait an act of war. Really? Then what does it consider what has been going on the past four weeks?

What is confusing is that the navy’s idea of a blockade doesn’t seem to align with the president’s. Trump said the blockade would target all ships trying to enter or leave the strait while US Central Command is saying that they would only target ships going to or from Iranian ports. CENTCOM is also saying that international vessels would have freedom of navigation to transit the strait. I am waiting to see what China will do – other than send weapons to Iran – since it is Iran’s largest trading partner and dependent upon its oil.

What has gone practically unnoticed in all this have been the humorous tweets by Iranian embassies mocking the president. Here is what some of them said regarding his profanity laden tweet on Easter demanding that Iran open the strait. 

The embassy in Zimbabwe said on X: “We’ve lost the keys.” 

The embassy in South Africa in South Africa said “Shh… the key’s under the flowerpot. Just open for friends.” 

The embassy in Bulgaria responded “Doors open for friends. Epstein’s friends need keys.”

In London, the Iranian embassy posted a Persian poem by Rumi about the dangers of placing a sword in the hands of a madman, accompanied by quote attributed to Mark Twain: “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

تیغ دادن دَر کَفِ زَنگیِ مَست بِهْ که آیَد عِلم، ناکَس را به دَست عِلم و مال و مَنصَب و جاه و قِران فِتنه آمَد دَر کَفِ بَدگوهَران مولانا مثنوی معنوی

The embassy in India tweeted “Swearing and throwing insults are how sore loser brats behave. Get a grip on yourself, old man!”

The Iranian embassy in Austria placed an “18+” graphic over a screenshot of Trump saying “POTUS has stooped to an unprecedented level of begging, laced with bitter, hollow rudeness and threats,” and the embassy issued a “further warning: shield all minors under 18 from exposure to Trump’s rhetoric.”

The embassy in South Africa also said “Humanity must know what kind of creatures are leading the American people” and urged US officials to “seriously think about the 25th amendment, Section 4”, referencing the US constitutional provision for removing a sitting president deemed unfit for office. 

Lastly, In Moscow, the Iranian embassy shared a Russian illustration showing Trump as Don Quixote charging at a windmill on a horse, with a sidekick shouting, “Boss, it’s just a windmill!”

Проблемы, которые выдумки Нетаньяху принесли Трампу и его перемещенному слуге Дон Кихот и Санчо Панса, нападающие на ветряную мельницу

How do you define victory?

How do you define victory? Here what Webster says: 

1. A success or triumph over an enemy in battle or war.
2. An engagement ending in such triumph.
3. the ultimate and decisive superiority in any battle or contest.
4. a success or superior position achieved against any opponent, opposition, difficulty, etc..

So given the statistics of Trump’s war on Iran, he did achieve victory. Iran’s own estimates show at least a $145 billion loss so far in the war. There has been significant military damage to its naval assets, ballistic missile program, nuclear

infrastructure, and personnel. Then there is the damage to its cities and infrastructure. More than 66% of missile and drone production facilities, as well as shipbuilding infrastructure were destroyed. In addition, over190 ballistic missile launchers were eliminated, with hundreds more rendered inoperable.

Strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program, including facilities in Natanz, Yazd, and Arak, are believed to have set back development by an estimated 8 to 15 years. Defense secretary Hegseth said that the US has achieved a “historic victory on the battlefield.” “By every measure, we destroyed the Iranian military. In less than 40 days, using just a fraction of our capabilities, we defeated one of the largest armies in the world.”  Iran’s naval forces, air force, air defenses, and missile program had been “effectively destroyed.”

The president himself tweeted that Iran was “totally defeated” and “We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability.” He also has said on social media that “The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both militarily, economically, and in every other way.” Iran’s military has been “literally obliterated. The air force is gone. The navy is gone.” “In two weeks we have decimated them.” 

Yep. That sure sounds like victory to me – and to Webster too. But note that “victory” did not include surrender. Despite being “100” percent destroyed somehow the Iranians keep firing off missiles and drones and have shut down the Strait of Hormuz. In fact US intelligence reports that Iran still has thousands of missiles that it could use by retrieving launchers from underground storage areas. Apparently they did not tell the president of this fact.

What about Trump’s demand that the U.S. would accept no negotiated settlement short of “unconditional surrender” and the demand for input into the choice of a new supreme leader? Trump tweeted that once Iran surrendered that the U.S. and “many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners” would “work tirelessly” to reconstruct Iran and its’ economy by bringing it “back from the brink of destruction” and “making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”

So why is the US negotiating without any of those conditions being met by Iran? I previously posted that the Iranian leadership (whoever they might be) issued a victory statement in announcing the two week ceasefire proclaiming that its enemies had suffered “an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat.” 

Apparently they didn’t know they had lost. Yes they have suffered staggering losses but it looks like they were prepared for that. Essentially they did not defend themselves, rather sending missiles and drones to attack US facilities, Israel and that of Gulf allies. To me it looked as if the Iranians were hunkering down to repel any ground attack rather than to sacrifice their forces in a direct confrontation with the Americans in the air and on the sea.

Although battered and bruised, Iran seized control of the Strait of Hormuz and rather than the US achieving any of its stated goals, including regime change, the Iranians achieved a strategic victory. I don’t know if Trump realized that the Iranians likely had only one goal, that of survival. Iran’s regime is still in place. It still governs with an iron first. It still threatens its neighbors. And now it controls the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had demanded that the Strait be opened or else he would bomb Iran back to the Stone Age. Well the Strait is opened but only with the consent of the Iranians.  Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi promised ships “safe passage” through the strait for the two weeks but only “in coordination” with Iranian armed forces and “with due consideration of technical limitations.”

Look, I am no geopolitical expert. Nor am I an expert on military tactics. But it looks like taking out the top layer of Iranian leadership has led to the accension of more anti-American leaders with a more prominent role for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Trump as is his wont first indicated that Iran’s demand that ships pay a $2 million toll  to cover the cost of damage inflicted by the war – might be okay if the US shared in it! Trump told ABC News on that the US may look for a “joint venture” with Iran to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz. Then of course he recanted and that they had better not charge the toll. By the way, he also had said that negotiations would only start on the condition that Iran agreed to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” But that didn’t happen as well since Trump sent Vance to negotiate while Iran still has control of the Strait and there are over 3,000 vessels still waiting for safe passage. 

Meanwhile, the “totally defeated” Iranians have rejected US conditions for a ceasefire at the negotiating table. Vance said “We leave here with a very simple proposal: a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.” Trump says that that is okay. “We win, regardless,” he said. “We’ve defeated them militarily.” Now he says we will blockade the strait. Regardless, the Iranians did not sue for peace and I doubt if Trump’s blockade will change things. They did not come to the table cowering with their tails between their legs. The regime is still in power, albeit with different leaders. They still control the Strait of Hormuz. They still have thousands of missiles. They still have enriched uranium. So we may have won a decisive victory. But we have not yet won the war.

Stop the Arc d’Trump

The president’s ego keeps manifesting itself. First the monstrosity of a $400 million 90,000 square foot ballroom that is replacing the East Wing – and is using imported steel. He wants to spend $174 million more on renovations. I guess paving over the Rose Garden was not enough. But now comes the Trump arch a ghastly 250 foot tribute to his ego. Note that the Lincoln memorial is 99 feet tall just to give some perspective on how enormous this vanity arch is going to be. Just like putting his signature on US currency to infuriate his enemies, Trump wants to put up this monster as a gigantic middle finger to those who hate him and to say to generations to come “I was here!”

Something called the Commission of Fine Arts will review the thing and if true to its title should reject it outright. Trump tweeted “I am pleased to announce that TODAY my Administration officially filed the presentation and plans to the highly respected Commission of Fine Arts for what will be the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World. This will be a wonderful addition to the Washington D.C. area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come!” Note that “triumphal” contains “trump.” A White House spokesman said the arch “will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today. President Trump will continue to honor our veterans and give the greatest Nation on earth — America — the glory it deserves.”

Good grief. 

I guess he is going to have to suspend all ICE operations and deportations in the DC area until the project is completed. Will the Commission of Fine Arts approve this testament to ego and bad taste? Of course it will because last year Trump fired all the members of the Commission of Fine Arts (all appointed by Joe Biden) to replace them with a new slate of members to the commission that are “more aligned with President Trump’s America First Policies.” These are the folk – dare I call them stooges – who approved the ballroom, the renovations and will undoubtedly approve the Arch d’Trump, er I mean Triumphal Arch.