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My Precious, Trump’s Obsession [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-04-08

“My precious,” famously uttered by Gollum—also known as Sméagol—in “The Lord of the Rings,” captures his obsessive attachment to the One Ring. It also perfectly captures Donald Trump’s long-standing infatuation with tariffs. That obsession dates back as far as 1987, but by 2025, it has metastasized into a full-blown trade war. Egging him on is his tariff whisperer, Peter Navarro—a man known for pushing fringe economic theories. In 2019, it was revealed that “Ron Vara,” a supposed trade expert whom Navarro repeatedly quoted in his books—especially “Death by China”—was entirely fictitious. The name is actually an anagram of “Navarro.” Despite that deception, the book helped Navarro gain influence within Trump’s 2016 campaign, thanks in part to Jared Kushner. Navarro later defended the use of Ron Vara as an “inside joke.”His publishers and some co-authors aren’t laughing. (Source: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/771396016/white-house-adviser-peter-navarro-calls-fictional-alter-ego-an-inside-joke)

Trump is trying to remake the global economic order and believes he holds all the cards—because, after all, we are America. Or at least, we were. His actions are sullying that name. America has become a projection of Trump: a bully threatening allies like Canada, fantasizing about purchasing Greenland, and eyeing the Panama Canal like a19th-century imperialist. We’ve turned away from allies and cozied up to Putin—not Russia, just Putin. It's bizarre. It's dangerous.

We are cowardly, evidenced by how we’re fumbling diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia. We’re ahistorical, acting as though the past has nothing to teach us. We’re greedy, with "America First" turning into "Screw Everyone Else." We’re deluded—thinking the world will kneel at our feet. We’re lawless, because of the way we are attacking free speech and the right of assembly as well as denying due process. We are heartless, because of the way some 200,000 federal workers have already been fired. We are stupid, because stupidity is Trump’s superpower.

Of course, not every American is part of the “We.” He only won by 1.5%, his beautiful, illusory mandate is gone. Many of those who voted for him now regret it—and the numbers are showing it.

In the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll before Trump’s so-called Liberation Day on April 2, 2025, Trump’s approval rating fell to 43% overall, 37% on handling the economy, and just 30% on lowering the high cost of living. (Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/03/trump-approval-falls-reuters-ipsos-poll/82788932007/) This is bad, but the next poll may be horrific. The non-MAGA “We” are outraged. This poll also found that 11% strongly identify with MAGA while 52% are opposed.

On Saturday, April 5, 2025, there were over 1,400 Hands-Off demonstrations in all 50 states. Organized by more than 150 activist groups, turnout exceeded expectations—some say by fivefold. Rebecca Solnit, author and activist, spoke at a rally in San Francisco and reported early estimates of over three million people. (Source: https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/millions-stood-up-april-5-hands-off-day-of-action/) You can read her remarks at this link. But one protest is not enough. The next one is scheduled for April 19, 2025.

With Trump you always get hubris, even if most of it is pure bluster. His “leadership” since January 20, 2025 has already erased $11.1 trillion from the stock market, with over half of the losses due to his “beautiful” tariffs. The value of the dollar has lost 5.5% (Source:https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/currency) and the price of a barrel of crude oil— West Texas Intermediate—has dropped from $76.79 to $60.70, a decrease of 21%. (Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/cl.1?)

Warning signs are flashing. Courtenay Brown reported that, “Black Rock CEO Larry Fink warned on Monday that most chief executives would say the U.S. economy is currently in a recession.” (Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/04/07/larry-fink-recession-economy-tariffs) Trump has taken a strong economy and a good country and trashed both of them.

China is hitting back hard, matching Trump’s 34% tariffs. In response, Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff—effective April 9—unless China backs down. He also vowed to end alltrade talks. (Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-stock-market-52a00ea2bb92a067ee72343941b02cd4) So, the question is who is the rat and who is the corner. I’m betting that Trump is the rat, and that China will corner him. Stay tuned.

Recession is terrible. But this could spiral into stagflation—a brutal combination of stagnant growth, high inflation, and rising unemployment. It crippled the U.S. in the 1970s for nearly a decade. And Trump is barreling toward that cliff.

But the most dangerous damage is harder to quantify. Trump has shattered global trust—the coin of the realm. Trust is the invisible foundation of the international system. And without it, nothing works—not alliances, not trade, not diplomacy. The dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency relies on that trust. If that goes, everything changes.

In short, Trump hasn't just made bad policy—he’s threatening the very order that has underpinned American strength for decades. If America becomes a rogue power, no longer a reliable partner, no longer a moral or economic leader, then the world may retaliate—not just with tariffs, but with a realignment that could leave the U.S. on the outside looking in.

That’s the cost of “My Precious.”

Day 76: days left to January 20, 2029: 1,383 days

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/8/2315328/-My-Precious-Trump-s-Obsession?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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