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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: To distract from his economic incompetence, Trump imitates Stalin [1]

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Date: 2025-04-11

Wall Street Journal:

Stocks Renew Selloff as China Trade War Sinks In Dow, Nasdaq retreat more than 2% after global stocks surge in response to President Trump's partial tariff pause The declines accelerated after the White House said the tariffs imposed on China by President Trump in his second term add up to 145%, not the 125% it previously indicated. Stocks then pared those losses in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq Composite, which posted its biggest gain in more than two decades on Wednesday, ended 4.3% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1,015 points, or 2.5%.

Paul Krugman:

Trump Is Stupid, Erratic and Weak The disaster of Trumponomics continues Anyone sounding the all-clear on tariffs, or Trump economic policy in general, should be kept away from sharp objects and banned from operating heavy machinery. We’re in a hardly better place than we were before Donald Trump announced a tariff pause (in a Truth Social post, of course.) In fact, we may be in a worse place. Let me make four points about Trump’s post-pause tariff regime. 1. Even the post-pause tariff rates represent a huge protectionist shock 2. Destructive uncertainty about future policy has increased 3. We’re still at risk of a major financial crisis 4. The world now knows that Trump is weak as well as erratic Still a huge protectionist shock

x In a special mix of incompetence and evil, Trump has combined his disastrous implementation of 1930s tariff policies with Stalinesque targeting of political adversaries. The 2020 election wasn’t stolen and speaking the truth is only a crime in countries ruled by tyrants. https://t.co/JwcnsCvhBx — Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) April 10, 2025

Steve Chapman/The UnPopulist:

Tariffs Are Trump's Tool to Consolidate His Hold on Power They won't only be injurious to the U.S. economy but also to its liberal democracy because he will use them to reward friends and punish enemies Trump’s focus on restricting foreign goods isn’t merely economically suspect—it also advances his alarming authoritarian agenda. The greater his involvement in setting the terms of trade with other countries, the more weapons he has to reward pals, enrich his family, and punish those who don’t obediently fall into line. Waivers from his tariffs can be used to get what he wants from companies that import. Bloomberg reported the following finding from a recent study: “Public companies whose executives donated to Republican candidates had a higher chance of winning exclusions from President-elect Donald Trump’s first-term tariffs on China, while those that gave to Democrats saw their odds fall.” No wonder that hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin has said, “I am gravely concerned that the rise of tariffs puts us on a slippery slope towards crony capitalism.”

x The whole point of Trump's game is to create massive uncertainty and put everyone at his mercy. "Countries are calling up to kiss my ass" - that's the key line. — Isabella M. Weber (@IsabellaMWeber) April 10, 2025

Michael A Cohen/Truth and Consequences:

Trump Blinked ... Again Trump's tariff policy is still a disaster, but slightly less of a disaster than it was 24 hours ago. Why did the bond market sway Trump? At times of financial peril, investors look for safe investments, like US Treasury bills. However, the fact that investors were fleeing this usually reliable safe harbor suggested that financial markets were losing confidence that the US government would repay its debts. Throw in that the dollar was supposed to weaken as tariffs went into effect — but instead moved in the opposite direction — and it is little wonder that investors were spooked. In the words of former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, “We are being treated by global financial markets like a problematic emerging market.” So where do we even start trying to understand what’s happening? Let us count the ways. No, Donald Trump is not a great deal maker, which is the incomprehensible spin that the White House tried to put on this reversal

x Did Elon musk make you vote more likely for Schimel or less likely (Wisconsin)



More - 5%

Less - 34%



Blueprint - RV - 4/3 — Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) April 9, 2025

Dan Pfeiffer/The Message Box:

Why Trump Surrendered So Quickly on His Tariff Plan Some of Trump's most influential online fans are none too happy about the tariffs Since his surprisingly large (but still relatively small) win, Trump has seemed politically untouchable. He was elected despite being convicted of crimes, indicted for other crimes, and inspiring a violent revolt on the Capitol. Since being elected, Trump has committed countless acts — including pardoning the January 6th rioters and having his aides text about impending military attacks — that would have derailed other presidencies. But the reaction to the tariffs is proof that Trump cannot defy political gravity. He may not recover from this fall. Trump’s honeymoon was always going to be short-lived but he ended it by unilaterally deciding to crash the economy.

G Elliott Morris/Strength in Numbers:

DOGE is not cutting the deficit Real federal spending is higher in 2025 so far than in past years, and DOGE is making it harder to raise revenue To put it another way, real government spending has gone up by 120 billion dollars since this point last year — or 12 with ten zeroes, 120,000,000,000. That is not an insignificant number; it is about ten times as much as the U.S. spent on the Agency for International Development last year, for example. Of course, an increase in the overall budget cannot be directly attributed to DOGE, just like a total decrease can not be credited to them without proof of cuts of this magnitude. It is possible, to be generous to Musk, that he really has saved $120 billion but spending in other parts of the government has increased. But at the very least, Musk isn’t really delivering on what he’s selling. And he may in fact be hampering his own efforts: Take for example the tens to hundreds of thousands of firings and re-hirings DOGE has been responsible for. All the paperwork the government does to affect personnel changes must come with labor and other costs. The indiscriminate cuts also cause waste by virtue of leaving loose ends for other people to tie up. This is just an anecdote of course, but several of my friends in the government are working in half-empty offices with no official directives because their programs have shut down, but they have not been fired.

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