Trump Determined To Punish Americans With Tariffs

 

There is perhaps a no greater example of the idiotic and unstable Malignant Fascist's habit of shooting himself in both feet than his obsession with tariffs.  Those tariffs, as any economist or business dealing with imported goods or materials, add to the prices consumers pay for everything from clothing to car parts.  The MF has always misunderstood who pays the tariff, consistently saying that it's the foreign country exporting to us, when it's paid by the importer and ultimately the consumer.  Emeritus Professor of Economics at Babson College Kent Jones writes in Salon.com:

"President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements no longer cause the market gyrations that they did in 2025. But their sticker shock for American consumers is becoming increasingly clear – just as economic sentiment is souring ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

Many business groups had hoped that the tariff wars would end in February, when the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s emergency tariffs. They got a rude awakening five months later, however, when Trump announced a raft of new import taxes to replace the levies that were struck down. [snip]

On one level, Trump’s tariff fixation is a mystery. Tariffs continue to be unpopular, and it’s unclear why Trump would double down on them before midterm elections when his approval ratings, including on the economy, are so low.

But on another level, Trump’s embrace of tariffs can be understood as an instrument of personal power. He has long viewed them as tools for negotiating leverage, and he recently declared that U.S. tariffs 'aren’t high enough.' The president also has deflected criticism of their impact on consumer prices by claiming erroneously that foreigners pay for them. [snip]

And now that tariffs have had time to work through the economy, researchers have found an impact on prices. The Dallas Federal Reserve recently estimated that the Fed’s preferred inflation measure would have risen without tariffs at an annual rate of 2.3% in March, instead of its actual 3.2%. Meanwhile, an analysis by the Yale Budget Lab concluded that consumers are paying anywhere from half to the entire cost of the levies through higher prices, depending on the goods." (our emphasis)

 If it weren't hurting families' budgets, we'd be all for his mindless use of tariffs to show his power and for retribution for imagined slights by foreign countries because it'll cost him and his slavish cult in the mid-term elections. The MF foolishly says affordability is a "hoax," something voters will show him is very real in November.

 

Trump's New Tariffs And Bond Market Red Flags

 

The Very Stable Genius businessman (6 bankruptcies, including casinos, and multiple business failures) Malignant Fascist is seemingly bound and determined to drive the American economy further into the ditch:

New Trump tariffs

Dozens of America’s trading partners, from Europe to China to India, now face new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods shipped to the United States, according to the office of the US Trade Representative.

The tariffs, announced Thursday, went into effect Friday morning. Goods from the 60 affected trading partners make up 99.4% of US imports.

The timing coincides with the lapse of a 10% near-blanket duty President Donald Trump imposed earlier this year that was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court.

“The president is not going to allow his trade policy and overall objectives to be undermined simply because one tool may be limited by a court or something else,” senior White House officials told reporters Thursday on a call previewing the actions.

The latest action follows a monthslong investigation by the US Trade Representative into the alleged use of forced labor to produce goods exported to the US and the failure by various countries to address the practice.

The European Union questioned the new tariff, with its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas calling it a “negative surprise” and rejecting the forced labor claims as unfounded. Switzerland also opposed the allegations, while Norway said it does not plan to retaliate by imposing tariffs on American goods.

In a statement on Thursday, Brazil rejected the 12.5% ​​tariff on its goods and reiterated its call for reciprocity. And in a video on social media, Mexico’s economy minister said, “We do not see a change in the effective tariff Mexico is paying today.”

Australia, subject to a 12.5% tariff, also voiced opposition to the new tariffs. Trade Minister Don Farrell told reporters Friday that Washington’s move is “completely unjustified,” adding that Canberra would continue to lobby the US to remove all tariffs on Australian goods.

The new rates apply to imports from countries that supply nearly everything the United States buys from abroad. A variety of imports, including oil and gas, as well as products that can’t be sourced domestically, were granted exemptions, administration officials said... 

The ignorant and vengeful MF is bypassing the Republican Supreme Court's decision knocking down the broad tariff powers he claimed, by finding a convenient point of law (Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974) to further alienate our longtime trading partners while undercutting American exports and passing the costs along to consumers.  A trifecta.  Brilliant!

Bond market red flags

Rising oil prices, persistent inflation fears and shifting expectations for rate hikes are rattling the world's largest bond market, sending Treasury yields higher and pushing up borrowing costs for consumers.

The 10-year US Treasury yield on Thursday rose four basis points, to 4.71%, its highest level since January 2025. Prior to the war with Iran, which started in late February, the 10-year yield dipped below 4%.

Renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran have pushed up oil prices once again, with Brent crude surging 7% on Thursday to hit $100 per barrel.

The conflict has rocked the massive US Treasury market — with roughly $30 trillion in value — as investors weigh the impact of surging oil prices and the possibility that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer, or even raise them, if inflationary pressures intensify. Bond yields rise when prices fall.

Markets are pricing in a 36% chance the Fed hikes rates at its policy meeting next week, according to CME FedWatch.

Investors are also demanding a higher yield on Treasuries to compensate for the risk of inflation eating into their return.

The US 10-year yield helps determine borrowing costs across the economy, including the 30-year mortgage rate. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.58% this week, the highest level in almost a year.  [snip]

US stocks closed lower Thursday as rising bond yields and a slide in shares of tech companies weighed on markets. The Dow fell 507 points, or almost 1%. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite sank 2.15%... (our emphasis)

The MF, a "billionaire" who continues to claim "affordability" is a "hoax," is doing his best/ worst to spread the misery to both the average consumer / potential home-buyer, and to the big and small investor class.  His incompetence and that of his advisors is one of the greatest weapons we have against him, but unfortunately it comes at a great cost to the majority of Americans.

Bond Markets Turning On Trump

 

The erratic and delusional Malignant Fascist is busy driving inflation up with his war on Iran, and other self-sabotaging actions.  The bond markets here and around the world have noticed.  From the Associated Press:

"The world is getting more uptight about lending money to President Donald Trump’s government — causing interest rates to climb in ways that are worsening affordability pressures, hampering economic growth and creating a new risk for Republicans in November’s midterm elections.

The energy price spike triggered by the Iran war has seeped into the price of bonds that help fund the U.S. government. Interest rates on a 10-year U.S. Treasury note are topping 4.44%, up from 3.95% before the war started at the end of February. Average mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels in nine months, while auto sales are slumping.

The challenge is global in scale, as interest rates have risen for multiple countries as the world has been adjusting to the prospect of higher inflation, mounting questions about the sustainability of government debt and a dramatic surge in investment in artificial intelligence." (our emphasis)

The world's economy is mostly downstream from the U.S. economy, so that impacts felt here will be felt by our trading partners and others in due course.  The MF's mismanagement of domestic and foreign policy is being reflected in shrinking investments in U.S. government bonds, causing us to raise rates to attract investors, which in turn, drives our interest rates up as well as our debt.  The MF's promises to bring down inflation were hollow, as was his promise not to engage in "stupid wars."  

The MF is doing his best to rig the midterm elections for his cult through gerrymandering, discriminatory voting requirements, and even voter intimidation.but interest rates and inflation will be on the voters' minds come November, and it's clearly the MF's economy, not Joe Biden's.

BONUS:  Another must-read from Lawrence Winnerman : "This Isn't A Recession.  It's Worse."

November Job Cuts Up 24% From Last November

 

Trump did that 👇

U.S.-based employers announced 71,321 job cuts in November, up 24% from the 57,727 job cuts announced in the same month last year. It is down 53% from the 153,074 cuts announced one month prior, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

November’s total is the highest for the month since 2022 when 76,835 job cuts were announced. It is the eighth time this year job cuts were higher than the corresponding month one year earlier.

“Layoff plans fell last month, certainly a positive sign. That said, job cuts in November have risen above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.  [snip]

Through November, employers have announced 1,170,821 job cuts, an increase of 54% from the 761,358 announced in the first eleven months of last year. Year-to-date job cuts are at the highest level since 2020 when 2,227,725 cuts were announced through November. It is the sixth time since 1993 that job cuts through November have surpassed 1.1 million... (our emphasis)

On that last sentence, check out during which administrations job cuts were high or low:

November job cuts stayed below 70,000 from 1993 until 2000 [Clinton Democratic administration], according to Challenger tracking. During the recession year of 2001, job cuts in November skyrocketed to over 181,000 [Republican Bush administration]. Layoff plans in November remained elevated until 2009 [Obama Democratic administration], and stayed below 70,000 until the pandemic [Trump's tour de incompetence].

Yet, somehow it's been planted in the average American brain that Republicans are better on Jobs and The Economy.  Sic transit gloria, America.

The Golden Age Trump Economy

The Golden Age is already here!

Rising electric bills

Household electricity bills have increased by 10% since Donald Trump re-entered the White House, a new report has found, with its authors highlighting the impact of the president’s datacenter boosterism and cuts to clean energy projects as part of the cause. [snip]

...[S]tudies have found that Trump’s pro-fossil fuel, anti-renewable energy policies will raise prices. A July report from climate thinktank Energy Innovation, for instance, found that the Republicans’ spending megabill that the president signed last month could increase wholesale electricity prices by as much as 74%, largely due to its repeal of many Biden-era green energy incentives.

According to the new report from advocacy group Climate Power, which is based on an analysis of data from the US Energy Information Administration, those price increases are already beginning to take hold.

“Republicans are fueling an energy crisis and inflicting a massive utility bill hike on Americans across the country,” said Climate Power senior adviser Jesse Lee. “This is nothing short of a betrayal of their own voters. Families are losing jobs while their bills climb, all because Republicans would rather protect their donors than lower costs.”...

Trump's tariffs...

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it is hiking steel and aluminum tariffs on more than 400 products including wind turbines, mobile cranes, appliances, bulldozers and other heavy equipment, along with railcars, motorcycles, marine engines, furniture and hundreds of other products.

The department said 407 product categories are being added to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by sectoral tariffs, with a 50% tariff on any steel and aluminum content of these products plus the country rate on the non-steel and non-aluminum content.

 

Evercore ISI said in a research note the move covers more than 400 product codes representing over $200 billion in imports last year and estimates it will raise the overall effective tariff rate by around 1 percentage point.

 

The department is also adding imported parts for automotive exhaust systems and electrical steel needed for electric vehicles to the new tariffs as well as components for buses, air conditioners as well as appliances including refrigerators, freezers and dryers.

 

A group of foreign automakers had urged the department not to add the parts, saying the U.S. does not have the domestic capacity to handle current demand.  [snip]
 

The new tariffs take effect immediately and also cover compressors and pumps and the metal in imported cosmetics and other personal care packaging like aerosol cans...

 

... and their inflationary fallout

Almost a third of U.S. businesses have said in a survey that they’re likely to raise prices by the end of 2025 as they adjust to increasing costs and inflation, according to a new report.

The online lending marketplace LendingTree issued a report stating that more than 30 percent of businesses included in the company’s survey expect their prices to rise within the next six months. Roughly five percent said their prices would go down, and 65 percent estimated that they would remain the same.

The report comes as uncertainty grows regarding President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and continued tension stemming from inflation. 

LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst Matt Schulz stated in a press release that “Tariffs are likely playing a significant role in these concerns, but so is the overall sense of uncertainty that remains in the American economy.”

“There are so many unknowns that it’s nearly impossible to predict what the next few weeks will look like, much less six months from now,” he added. “However, this report makes it clear many businesses see continued rising prices ahead.”...

FAFO vox populi

... It’s a massive cosmic joke that people voted for Donald Trump to lower prices, but if the guy whose only significant legislative initiatives of his first term were 1)a massive upper-class tax cut and 2)taking healthcare away from tens of millions of people to pay for another massive upper-class tax cut was able to get treated like an economic populist when running for re-election, what else can you say but LOL nothing matters when our democracy is controlled by the random whims of people who consider Joe Rogan a deep thinker? 

And, scene. 

 

Trump Was Biggest Jobs Loser In Modern U.S. History

Very Stable Business Genius sets a new record:

President Trump took office at the crest of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. He leaves presiding over the worst labor market in modern U.S. history, as an already-sputtering economic recovery has turned negative.

Friday’s awful jobs report from the Labor Department showed there were still 3 million fewer jobs in the United States than there were on Inauguration Day 2017, when Trump stood in front of the Capitol and vowed to reverse the American carnage.

 

Here's a graph showing the facts (click to enlarge): 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trump's response to the pandemic can  be credited with making a terrible labor- market situation at the outset worse by his continuing failure to provide strong federal leadership. As a former member of his Council of Economic Advisors, Marianne Wanamaker, says:

“Everybody knows that full recovery won’t come until the virus is under control. And our path to getting the virus under control right now is either people behaving in a different way or mass vaccination. And on both of those fronts, it’s pretty clear that the administration has failed to deliver.”

The administration resisted simple behavioral changes, such as wearing masks, that would have had no economic cost and have been shown to be effective in containing the virus, Wanamaker said.

One of the myths his delusional, un- informed cult members cling to is that their hero is a smart businessman.  Even after multiple bankruptcies, failed Trump- branded businesses, pending criminal fraud investigations, and a tanked economy with 3 million fewer jobs than there were when he took office, the fact that he's as much of a loser in that sphere as he is as a president will never penetrate their alternate reality.  Instead, look for President- elect Biden to be blamed by right- wing media and their moron audience for the economic hole we're in, just as Republicans blamed President Obama even as he was pulling the country out of the Bush Great Recession and into a record 127 months of economic expansion.  He'll be fighting the party of Trump in Congress every step of the way, but in the end, because it will be a competent administration that will address the pandemic forcefully, it will take us out of the hole dug by his incompetent predecessor.

Obama Economy Vs. Trump Economy: The Charts Don't Lie

The Washington Post's Heather Long provides 15 charts comparing the track records of the Obama Administration with the COVID Donnie regime to expose the risible Trump talking point that he inherited an economic mess and made the "best economy in history" from it.  We've selected just four (click to enlarge):





 



So, to summarize the obvious for those low- information voters, COVID Donnie inherited a good and growing economy from President Obama, with relatively steady growth, rising manufacturing output, and falling unemployment, including Black unemployment.  COVID Donnie's criminal malfeasance in handling the coronavirus pandemic led to those gains being lost and to the economic misery we're currently experiencing.  Class dismissed.

Historic GDP Contraction, Unemployment Claims Rise

As COVID-19 continues to spread unchecked and deaths approach 154,000 (conservatively), the U.S. gross domestic product for the second quarter (April- June) contracted at an historic 9.5 percent (annualized rate of 32.9 percent), the worst plunge ever recorded based on data compiled since 1947.

The U.S. economy shrank 9.5 percent from April through June, the largest quarterly decline since the government began publishing data 70 years ago, and the latest, sobering reflection of the pandemic’s economic devastation.

The second quarter report on gross domestic product covers some of the economy’s worst weeks in living memory, when commercial activity ground to a halt, millions of Americans lost their jobs and the nation went into lockdown. Yet economists say the data should also serve as a cautionary tale for what’s at stake if the recovery slips away, especially as rising coronavirus cases in some states have forced businesses to close once again.

GDP shrank at an annual rate of 32.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the agency that publishes the statistics on quarterly economic activity. While it usually stresses the annualized rate, that figure is less useful this quarter because the economy is unlikely to experience another collapse like it did in the second quarter.

Another surge in unemployment claims completes the COVID/ GDP/ unemployment trifecta:

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose again last week, as the economy stalled amid surges of the coronavirus, and extra help from the federal government came to an end.

A total of 1.4 million people filed jobless claims for the first time as businesses given a green light to welcome back customers shut their doors again to slow the spread of COVID 19.

The latest tally means that in less than five months, a stunning 54.1 million have sought unemployment aid for the first time.

Also keep in mind, while this is happening in the real world, the Republican Senate and Trump regime dither and find new ways to make the economic suffering worse for average Americans with their criminally irresponsible "Shitheels Act" (billions for a new FBI building and F-35 fighters, though!).  So far, by refusing to extend enhanced unemployment benefits, these well- heeled, cosseted sociopaths threaten to push the economy even further down the chasm they created.

That it all can be traced back to the mind- numbing inaction of a self- serving, incompetent "president," abetted by a rotted- out party and its media mouthpieces makes this yet another inflection point for the existential need to rid ourselves of these destroyers.

Unemployment Claims Rise Another 1.5 Million

Another week, more misery:

Three months into the coronavirus crisis, the U.S. economy is reopening and many Americans are going back to work. But hundreds of thousands are still being laid off.

About 1.5 million workers filed applications for unemployment insurance for the first time last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. That pushes the running tally of those who have made initial claims over the past 13 weeks past a mind-boggling 45 million. First-time claims are a reliable gauge of layoffs.  (our emphasis)

Once again, had we not had a sub- moron in the White House who placed his interests over those of the American people, much of this carnage could have been avoided.

Unemployment Claims Rise; Fed Says Recovery Will Be Slow

Another week, and more misery resulting from "electing" a sub- moron who places his interests above the nation's:

Another 1.5 million people applied for unemployment insurance last week, adding to the tens of millions of people who have applied for the jobless benefits since the pandemic began and continuing a months-long drop in the number of initial claims.

The numbers seeking jobless benefits have remained at historically high levels for 12 weeks, since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in back in March, disrupting global supply chains and shuttering businesses for months.

The number gig and formerly self-employed workers who also applied for jobless benefits newly available to them under the expanded federal program went up to 705,000, from 620,000 the week before.

The total number of people currently receiving benefits edged down slightly to 20.9 million, from a revised 21.3 million the week previously, a staggering toll on the labor force. More than 44 million people have applied for unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

“That means 29 percent of the workforce has filed for unemployment claims during that period,” said Joseph Brusuelas, the chief economist at RSM. “Some may have returned to work. But that’s a stunning number nonetheless.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is predicting a miraculous recovery  a slow recovery from the Trump Depression:

Federal Reserve leaders predict a slow recovery for the U.S. economy, with unemployment falling to 9.3 percent by the end of this year and to 6.5 percent by the end of 2021, after tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs in the stunning recession caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell stressed Wednesday that more aid from Congress and the central bank is likely to be needed, especially since a substantial number of Americans may never get their jobs back.

“Unemployment remains historically high,” Powell said during a news conference Wednesday. “My assumption is there will be a significant chunk ... well into the millions of people, who don’t get to go back to their old job ... and there may not be a job in that industry for them for some time.”

Bunker Boy isn't going to like that news.

Bunker Boy's measure of success, the New York Stock Exchange, didn't like that news, either:

U.S. markets pointed toward heavy losses Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s gloomy economic outlook, coupled with fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections, rattled investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 900 points, or 3 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s and Nasdaq composites also fell sharply. The slide contrasted sharply with the optimism earlier this week that propelled Nasdaq to a record high and above 10,000 for the first time, and pushed the S&P 500 into positive territory.

Most of us could have told all those "smart money" people that putting any faith in Bunker Boy's handling of the economy was bound to be brought to earth by the reality of his ongoing incompetence and failure of leadership.

Speaking of reality, there are now over 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 115,000 deaths, again very likely an under- count both of infections and deaths.  And states that re- opened their economies early, with prodding from Bunker Boy and his Republican enablers, are seeing spikes in coronavirus cases.

"Lower" Unemployment Number Was "Misclassification Error"

About that "lower" unemployment figure that nitwit Nazi Donald "I Alone Can Fix It" Trump and his posse of rats were crowing about yesterday:

When the U.S. government’s official jobs report for May came out on Friday, it included a note at the bottom saying there had been a major “error” indicating that the unemployment rate likely should be higher than the widely reported 13.3 percent rate.

The special note said that if this “misclassification error” had not occurred, the “overall unemployment rate would have been about 3 percentage points higher than reported,” meaning the unemployment rate would be about 16.3 percent for May.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that puts out the monthly jobs reports, said it was working to fix the problem.  (our emphasis)

We're sure they're getting right on it.

To all those economists who took the Trump regime at its word and were shocked that the unemployment number dropped during the period covered by the May report, we have some prime real estate in Florida we'd like to sell to you.

6.6 Million More File For Unemployment Benefits

How much of this could have been avoided if we had a pro- active, competent Democratic administration?

Another wave of 6.6 million American workers filed first-time unemployment claims for the week ending April 4, bringing the cumulative total to an astonishing 16 million over the past three weeks.

For the week ending March 21, 3.3 million people filed new unemployment claims, easily shattering the previous record set in 1982 of 695,000. Last week, that astounding figure doubled, as 6.6 million people filed claims for the week ending March 28 — a figure that was revised upward to 6.9 million in the new release.

Thursday's figure was at the high end of analyst estimates, which ranged from 4.5 million to 7 million. [snip]

The cumulative toll of the last three weeks comes as last week’s Labor Department release showed that the economy shed 701,000 jobs in March — a figure far more negative than anticipated, although economists said it only captured a fraction of the carnage in the labor market that largely took place in the second half of the month. (our emphasis)

"Carnage."  Where have we heard that word before?

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

First some non- coronavirus related news you may have missed.  Nine former intelligence chiefs from both Republican and Democratic administrations wrote an op/ ed warning of the removal of key intelligence experts by the increasingly politicized regime of Putin puppet Donald "Moron Vector" Trump:

The United States — and the world — faces a historic threat to its health, well-being and economy. The global covid-19 pandemic challenges all of us: the public, cities, states and, of course, the federal government. But as we collectively fight this deadly disease, the intelligence institutions that help protect us all from current and future threats are also under attack from an insidious enemy: domestic politics. We cannot let the covid-19 pandemic be a cover for the deeply destructive path being pursued by the Trump administration.

The most recent illustration of this unprecedented attack is the continuing dismissal of career intelligence professionals — officers who have ably served both Republican and Democratic administrations regardless of their personal political stripe. Specifically, the unceremonious removal this week of the leadership of the National Counterterrorism Center. The NCTC, though not as recognized an entity as its intelligence community counterparts such as the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency, is one of the crown-jewel creations of the United States’ post-9/11 reforms. [snip]

Even amid public health concerns, we cannot be distracted from how deeply destructive these removals are to our nation’s safety. To be clear: This is not just about protecting a few senior officers. These unceremonious removals send a damaging message across the intelligence community. Every current officer sees that speaking truth to power in this administration is an immediate career-killer. Every young recruit will conclude that joining the intelligence community is little different from signing up for any other politicized element of the federal bureaucracy. Countless more talented young Americans will decide that federal service, indeed public service, is not a worthy calling.  (our emphasis)

The Washington Post is reporting on a Science magazine interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci that was released yesterday.  The interview shed some light on the challenges Fauci faces in managing information and facts when dealing with a pathological liar and narcissist:

Amid the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, Anthony S. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been charged with a herculean task: trying to keep President Trump’s public statements about the novel virus rooted in fact.

Now it appears that Fauci’s frustration is showing.

When asked Sunday by Science magazine’s Jon Cohen about having to stand in front of the nation as “the representative of truth and facts” when “things are being said that aren’t true and aren’t factual,” the 79-year-old said there is only so much he can do.

“I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down,” Fauci said, referencing Trump. “Okay, he said it. Let’s try and get it corrected for the next time.” [snip]

He then discusses how he and the coronavirus task force function with Moron Vector Trump:

“We sit down for an hour and a half, go over all the issues on the agenda,” Fauci said, adding that the group also discusses what they want to emphasize to the public that day before meeting with Trump.

“Then we go in to see the president, we present [our consensus] to him and somebody writes a speech,” he explained. “Then he gets up and ad-libs on his speech. And then we’re up there to try and answer questions.”

Fauci appeared to make his qualms with Trump’s ad-libs known at Friday’s news conference when he was seen covering his face and struggling to maintain his composure after the president mentioned the “Deep State Department.”

Asked if he was criticized for the gesture, Fauci said “no comment.”

Reports of critical shortages in hospital workers' personal protective equipment (PPE) abound. Here's a snippet:

A hospital nurse in Michigan says she and her colleagues have discussed bringing in bleach to make their own disinfectant wipes. A pregnant nurse in Ohio says she has no choice but to tend to critically ill patients without a specialized N95 mask. And a health care worker in Georgia has resorted to scouring local hardware stores in an effort to secure the protective masks.  [snip]

Many reported being forced to ration or reuse supplies, including surgical and N95 masks, for fear of running out. Many also said they were facing shortages of basic sanitary supplies, including hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.

This is Trump's economy, brought to you by the Moron Vector who refused to take sound advice or action when they were critically needed, who scapegoats and lies incessantly to cover for his incompetence, and who's convinced most people who have two brain cells to rub together that he's catastrophically over his head in this crisis:

When the damage the coronavirus inflicts on the U.S. jobs market becomes clearer, it could be unlike anything the country has ever seen.

Judging by a host of forecasts from economists, the avalanche of furloughs will easily break the record for most in a single month.

Upcoming weekly jobless claims will shatter the standards set even during the worst points of the financial crisis and the early-1980s recession. Those numbers are expected to be bad, in fact, that the Trump administration, according to several media reports, has asked state officials to delay releasing precise counts.

While the headline unemployment rate is highly unlikely to approach the 24.9% during the Great Depression, it very well could be the highest in almost 40 years, something unthinkable for a jobs market that had been on fire as recently as February.

We end by strongly recommending a stop at Infidel 753's link round- up (where we found the last two items above).  There's much more there, of course, and most of it's not coronavirus related -- a mix of topics and tones that we can assure you that you'll find something to your liking.

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

We know this is coming. So, in the spirit of forewarned is forearmed, McKay Coppins has an excellent report on the disinformation campaign to re- elect dangerous dolt Donald "Impeached Forever" Trump, starting with how clicking "like" on the Trump campaign Facebook page opened a Pandora's box of alternative reality:

I was surprised by the effect it had on me. I’d assumed that my skepticism and media literacy would inoculate me against such distortions. But I soon found myself reflexively questioning every headline. It wasn’t that I believed Trump and his boosters were telling the truth. It was that, in this state of heightened suspicion, truth itself—about Ukraine, impeachment, or anything else—felt more and more difficult to locate. With each swipe, the notion of observable reality drifted further out of reach.

What I was seeing was a strategy that has been deployed by illiberal political leaders around the world. Rather than shutting down dissenting voices, these leaders have learned to harness the democratizing power of social media for their own purposes—jamming the signals, sowing confusion. They no longer need to silence the dissident shouting in the streets; they can use a megaphone to drown him out. Scholars have a name for this: censorship through noise.

Because we know this social media strategy bleeds into the "mainstream media's" coverage, the effects are multiplied many times over, to audiences that would otherwise not have any exposure to Trump's campaign ads.  Trump's stooges will be deploying every weapon in their arsenal to maintain power for this loathsome creature and his enablers.  The Democratic Party is the only institution standing in the way of a president- for- life Trump. A failure to recognize and aggressively combat this disinformation strategy would be the most consequential case of political malpractice in our nation's history. Coppins concludes:

The political theorist Hannah Arendt once wrote that the most successful totalitarian leaders of the 20th century instilled in their followers “a mixture of gullibility and cynicism.” When they were lied to, they chose to believe it. When a lie was debunked, they claimed they’d known all along—and would then “admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.” Over time, Arendt wrote, the onslaught of propaganda conditioned people to “believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true.”

Leaving the rally, I thought about Arendt, and the swaths of the country that are already gripped by the ethos she described. Should it prevail in 2020, the election’s legacy will be clear—not a choice between parties or candidates or policy platforms, but a referendum on reality itself.

Forewarned is forearmed.

On a more positive note, political scientist Rachel Bitecofer, who nailed the results of the 2018 midterm elections, has a prediction for 2020:

[A]nd today her model tells her the Democrats are a near lock for the presidency in 2020, and are likely to gain House seats and have a decent shot at retaking the Senate. If she’s right, we are now in a post-economy, post-incumbency, post record-while-in-office era of politics. Her analysis, as Bitecofer puts it with characteristic immodesty, amounts to nothing less than “flipping giant paradigms of electoral theory upside down.”

Bitecofer’s theory, when you boil it down, is that modern American elections are rarely shaped by voters changing their minds, but rather by shifts in who decides to vote in the first place. To her critics, she’s an extreme apostle of the old saw that “turnout explains everything,” taking a long victory lap after getting lucky one time. She sees things slightly differently: That the last few elections show that American politics really has changed, and other experts have been slow to process what it means.

Sure, there will be Republican voter suppression and the aforementioned fire hose of lies, likely on an unprecedented scale.  But Bitecofer believes the threat Trump poses to the Republic is the unique motivating and unifying factor that will produce what wins elections, regardless of the Democratic nominee:  turnout.

Anytime you hear Trump boasting about "his" economy, remember this:

President Donald Trump has always exaggerated the strength of his jobs record, claiming to have brought about an unprecedented hiring boom when, in fact, payrolls have been growing at a somewhat slower pace than they had been during Barack Obama’s final years in office. But it turns out, the reality of it was even weaker than the official data let on.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest batch of employment numbers, along with its annual benchmark revisions adjusting its estimates from prior months. Before, the government believed that the U.S. had added 223,000 jobs per month in 2018, the year that the GOP’s tax cuts and new, higher spending levels took effect. It has now lowered that estimate to 193,000 per month, a significant drop.

Here’s how this changes the story of the past few years. Based on the old numbers, it looked like Trump had inherited a steady economy but gave hiring a boost in 2018 through some deficit-fueled stimulus. Based on the new numbers, it looks like he inherited a steadily growing economy and didn’t do much at all. Trump’s deficits likely juiced employment growth a bit, while his trade war likely undercut it. (The Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes probably muted growth in 2018 a bit too.) In the end, the economy has added fewer jobs in every year of his presidency than it did during Obama’s final one. There never was much of a Trump bump.

There are some good graphs at the link that illustrate the points.

On the Oscar beat, kudos to producers Barack and Michelle Obama for "American Factory", winner of the Best Documentary Feature (Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert):

Congrats to Julia and Steven, the filmmakers behind American Factory, for telling such a complex, moving story about the very human consequences of wrenching economic change. Glad to see two talented and downright good people take home the Oscar for Higher Ground’s first release. https://t.co/W4AZ68iWoY

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 10, 2020

Suck on that, Trump!

Finally, please check out Infidel 753's always- excellent link round- up for a much, much more comprehensive gathering of links to interesting posts from the last week.  He does the curating, you get to enjoy.

Tweets Of The Day -- Stupid's Economy

So job growth is slower under President trump than Obama’s last three years.  So is stock market growth. And now gdp growth is under 2%.   All those folks who attacked Obama on the economy, what do you have to say about a worse one under trump?

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) October 30, 2019

"At least he's white."

— Joshua (@LambdaHard) October 30, 2019

BINGO!!!

— Brian Nichols (@Flroach) October 30, 2019

Just for context ... https://t.co/fvpHQl4Ecv

— IAH — ∞time - J♡ 🧢 (@mea_mark) October 30, 2019

Trump is finally getting the economy he deserves, instead of the one he inherited.

— Phydeauz (@Phydeauz) October 30, 2019

Latest Warning Signs In Trump's Economy

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that last year's balance of trade showed a trade deficit of a staggering record of $891 billion. Some of the deficit was as a result of a global economic slowdown, but it was exacerbated by Moscow asset and incompetent con man Donald "Rump" Trump's policies:

"It is a case of textbook economics catching up with some of Mr. Trump’s unorthodox economic policies. Economists have long warned that Mr. Trump’s tax cuts would ultimately exacerbate a trade deficit he has vowed to reduce, as Americans, flush with extra cash, bought more imported goods.

His trade war with Beijing also widened the gap: Stiff tariffs on Chinese goods helped slow China’s economy, crimping American exports, which declined nearly 50 percent in December from the same month a year before."

The biggest beneficiary of the trade imbalance is the country that Rump usually points to:

"The strength of the dollar in global currency markets has made it cheaper for American consumers to buy foreign-made goods, and more difficult for foreign customers to buy American-made ones. That helped fuel a record number of Chinese goods imported into the United States. The trade gap in goods between the United States and China hit $419 billion in 2018, deepening a bilateral deficit that has been a particular source of anger for Mr. Trump." (our emphasis)

So as a result of Rump's mismanagement, the Chinese are buying less from us, while we're buying more from them. Well done, Very Stable Genius.

To top it off, the monthly jobs report for February indicated a very weak 20,000 jobs were added, a significant drop from analysts' predictions of 175,000 new jobs. The government sector shedded 5,000 jobs, as the ripple effects of Rump's weeks-long tantrum Federal Government shutdown were felt. Monthly job numbers fluctuate, but the gap between what was anticipated and what was recorded is ominous.

Twit Tweet, Thwap -- Trump Exceeds Lies Per Sentence Quota Again

Twit tweet:

The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch - he can’t putt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018

Thwap:

pic.twitter.com/qxnFbs4zkg

— Rob King (@kingrobthethird) December 24, 2018

...Said the guy who bankrupted casinos, and couldn’t sell vodka or steak to Americans 🙄 #AlertTheDaycareStaff

— Mike Brown (@yesitsmikebrown) December 24, 2018

Well, it kinda looks like Mnuchin making calls to 6 powerful bank heads and the stock market tanking another 450+ pts today to have the worst December since the GREAT DEPRESSION indicates that your idea of “getting the best people” might have been a pipe dream!

— Dennis doell (@DdoellDennis) December 24, 2018

Actually, the New York Stock Exchange dropped 653 points today...

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op- eds.

Digby writes about the "civility" scolds in the media who aren't getting what the public shaming is all about:

The news media has been rightfully up in arms about the president of the United States participating in a cover-up of the murder of a journalist and Washington Post columnist. And they've been equally critical of President Trump's comments last week at a rally in Montana, where he applauded a GOP congressman for body-slamming a reporter because he asked a question. Likewise, the media has understandably protested the Secret Service telling an accredited journalist that he was not allowed to ask Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner questions on an airplane. 

This is, after all, a country with a Bill of Rights that protects freedom of the press. All right thinking people are supportive of their position on these issues. Between all that and the constant demeaning of the media by the president, it's clear that this administration is using the power of the government and the president's bully pulpit to threaten the press, and not just in a metaphorical sense. All of the above examples demonstrate a threat of physical violence. [snip]

This past weekend, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was yelled at in a Louisville restaurant while sitting with his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. A man approached their table and angrily told they should leave the country. When other patrons spoke up and told him to leave them alone he shouted, "They're coming for Social Security!" (This happens to be true. McConnell told CNBC just last week that the only solution for the massive deficit caused by his massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy is to cut "entitlements.") [snip] 

Of all the people in our public life to get angry about this, the last you'd expect would be members of the media, who are being demonized by the president and these very same politicians. But some of them are quite upset and have taken to social media to scold citizens for addressing their leaders in this way...

It's a safe prediction that our "free press" will be the last to understand the danger of passivity in the face of aggressive Republican efforts to neuter democracy in this country.

Robert Reich on the truth about the "Trump economy":

Too often, discussions about “the economy” focus on overall statistics about growth, the stock market, and unemployment. 

But most Americans don’t live in that economy. They live in a personal economy that has more to do with wages, job security, commutes to and from work, and the costs of housing, healthcare, drugs, education, and home insurance. 

These are the things that hit closest home. They comprise the typical American’s standard of living. 

Instead of an “economic boom,” most Americans are experiencing declines in all these dimensions of their lives.

Kate Briquelet takes a detailed look at Trump thorn Michael Avenatti's finances (spoiler alert: shades of Trump!):

Civil court filings paint a picture of Avenatti as a hard-charging attorney who enjoyed the luxe life—jetting around the world to race cars with a Saudi prince and treating his wife and their friends to luxury villas in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Yet he and his companies owed hundreds of thousands in unpaid taxes and in compensation to one former colleague, who claims Avenatti stiffed him out of millions in law-firm profits. 

A review of court documents reveals that Avenatti, his former law firm Eagan Avenatti, and his former company Global Baristas, the majority owner of the Seattle-based Tully’s coffee chain, have owed millions in unpaid federal and state taxes in Washington and California, as well as hundreds of thousands in past-due rent to landlords. 

The Democratic Party doesn't need this guy now or in 2020.

Alex Steffen writes about the carbon lobby's doomed battle to stave off action on climate change:

The clean economy will eventually put the dirty economy out of business—but just how soon is the crux of the climate fight. 

The carbon lobby’s agenda is not to win—few investors seriously think fossil fuels are in for boom times ahead—but to lose slowly, to stall for time, to maintain the appearance of unshakable ubiquity (and thus profitability). 

Looking at the building global political momentum on climate, the growing competitiveness of the new economy, and the rising financial risks facing fossil fuel companies, we begin to see just how vital the Trump administration and the GOP Congress are to slowing action on climate. They (and Russia) are working as essentially the only strong counterforce to rapidly accelerating climate action. They are the core constituency for predatory delay. 

The prescription of electing Democratic majorities in Congress this year would help, but we need to have a real President who won't stymie actions that such a Congress would pass.

As always, we close with our recommendation to check out Infidel 753's excellent link round- up for a wide- ranging selection of interesting topics, oddities and amusements.