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FAFO: Trump admits his policies will cause 'pain' for Americans [1]

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Date: 2025-02-02

“No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power” ― P.J. O'Rourke

On Sunday, America’s worst economist took to Truth Social to do something he rarely does. Trump told the truth. Before rushing out the door of his vacation home to enjoy his second golfing day in a row, the meat-fingered creme caramel tapped out in ALL-CAPS :

“THIS WILL BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA! WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),”

The MAGAs will not like this prognosis. They thought they had elected the best possible President. A man who, with the wave of his gilded wand, would create an America richer and whiter than any Caucasian citizen had ever dared to dream. He would turn water into champagne. Raise a dead Confederacy. And recreate the Garden of Eden for the exclusive enjoyment of Christian Nationalists. Why had he not mentioned there were rocks on the road to this earthly paradise?

Why not indeed?

Having summed up all possible positions vis-à-vis pain — without mentioning what the source of the pain will be (take your pick) — he added:

“WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID. WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW BEING RUN WITH COMMON SENSE — AND THE RESULTS WILL BE SPECTACULAR!!!”

The truth-telling has stopped. The smug self-congratulation is wide of the mark. Every disinterested analysis of Trumpism shows that common sense is an uncommon virtue in the MAGA sewer. As for the future, anything can be true until time proves it false. Meanwhile, the bookies rate the odds of Trump doing something SPECTACULAR for the country equal to the odds that Jesus was a gun-toting Republican.

Should any victim of the cult be concerned about his lack of specificity, Trump ignores the big economic news — the tariffs on our allies, and the expulsion of a hard-working labor force. Instead, he celebrates his latest wet dream — an increase in the number of states.

“Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada — AND NO TARIFFS!”

Let’s dispose of this nonsense. Are taxes higher in Canada? It’s hard to say. How much a citizen in America and Canada pays in taxes depends on their income, deductions, and the state/province they live in. A comparison between the two countries' tax brackets also has to account for the exchange rate . But the numbers show that American taxes are not “much lower”. And could be higher — especially if you are a working stiff. Canadian taxes also pay for the citizens’ health care.

Next, let’s ask why Canada needs “far better military protection”? Is someone threatening to invade them? In addition, Canada has no overseas territories to protect. And the country is already a member of NORAD — not that Russia or China is likely to dial up a nuclear strike. Putin may be a despotic megalomaniac, but he’s not that insane. And China is not about to blow up its biggest debtor and best customer.

While he was campaigning, Trump acted like a typical politician. He promised high-calorie, weight-reducing cake — ie he indulged in fantasy. Now, like any politician who won their race, he has to dial back ethereal expectations to match the blow-to-wallet impact of his promises.

The MAGAs may have believed Trump when he said his policies would make them smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass in their lawn. But Trump knows — or at least should know — that adding the cost to something increases its price (tariffs). And making it harder and more expensive to grow, produce, or make stuff (mass deportation) leads to shortages and inflation.

Many on the right are beginning to realize — to their horror — that Trump is

A. going to do what he said he was going to. And:

B. what he is going to do will be disastrous for them.

Take the sad case of Melik Abdul. He is a GOP strategist and a member of the Black Americans for Trump Coalition. On Saturday, Abdul went on CNN to complain that the racist-in-chief is making life difficult for Black voters who supported his second re-election bid. What did Melik expect? What is there in Trump’s history that gave the deluded pundit reason to believe Trump gave a damn about him?

Abdul’s beef was rooted in Trump blaming DEI for the airplane/helicopter crash over the Potomac. He took exception to implicit racism/sexism on Trump’s part. Combined with the buffoon’s lack of focus on bread-and-butter issues. He said:

“I call it the woke right, on the right, who are were literally saying that, I think the male pilot had 1000 hours, the female, this phantom female pilot had 500 hours of training time. They don't know anything about what the requirements are. They don't know how long that person had been in service. Donald Trump appealing to these people in his second week, when we're not talking about the economy, we're not talking about any of that. We're talking about DEI and he [Trump] had no evidence and people are out there defending it."

Liberals slam MAGAs for being morons. Some political ‘experts’ suggest that is simply partisan generalization and an attempt to unfairly diminish your political opponents by using unfounded and casual slurs. Bullshit. The evidence is clear. Anyone who supported Trump, and who isn’t looking to buy a yacht, bought the snake oil because they ignored all the warning signs — like an idiot. It’s on them if they don’t like the taste.

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