Posted on 05/06/2025 1:41:09 PM PDT by karpov
When Americans were experiencing inflation and shortages during the Biden presidency, there was an internet meme going around that juxtaposed a paltry egg with the iconic 2019 image of a grinning Donald Trump, welcoming the national championship–winning Clemson Tigers to the White House, spreading his arms to display a massive bounty of burgers piled in front of him. The underlying message behind that joke became a central part of the 2024 campaign: Under Trump, Americans had plenty; under Biden-Harris, they had less.
Yet bizarrely, the man who for decades has been a symbol of unapologetic American excess is now defending his tariff policies by making a case against abundance.
When confronted with the reality that, should his tariffs go fully into effect, Americans will no longer have access to low-priced goods that are currently being imported, Trump is now arguing that children are going to have to get used to having less.
Last week, Trump said at his cabinet meeting, “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
Asked about it on NBC’s Meet the Press, he reiterated the talking point, saying, “They don’t need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. They don’t need to have 250 pencils. They can have five.”
While there are no doubt parents who sympathize with the idea that kids don’t need more plastic junk from China, there is no reason why the president should be telling parents what their kids do and do not need. Beyond that, the central justification for Trump’s tariffs has been the populist argument that free trade only benefits wealthy Wall Streeters at the expense of lower-income Americans. But it isn’t the super rich who will have problems buying things for their children under Trump’s tariff regime, but rather families who rely on access to cheaper goods to be able to afford any sort of toys (or other goods) for their children.
It’s hard to think of a greater gift to Democrats during a chaotic and expensive Christmas shopping season than footage of Trump (who never faced the prospect as either a child or a parent of having to make do with less) yammering about American children being spoiled.
It would be one thing if there were reason to believe that the short-term sacrifices Trump is asking of the American public were accompanied by a plausible path toward a payoff somewhere in the near future. This was the case with the economic downturn during the early part of Ronald Reagan’s first term, when the combination of tight monetary policy and tax cuts took time to take effect and create the conditions for a boom that began two years later. But unless Trump backs off or his unilateral assumption of tariff power is blocked by Congress or the courts, Americans will suffer real pain — and building factories and manufacturing capacity is not something that can be accomplished in a few months or even a few years.
Whether it was Jimmy Carter calling for national sacrifice in his “malaise” speech, or former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki mocking people who might have their Peloton deliveries delayed by supply chain disruptions, dismissing the legitimate economic concerns of American consumers has never been a winning political strategy.
"Americans are broadly skeptical that Trump’s recent wave of tariffs will yield meaningful economic benefits, particularly in the short term. Most expect the tariffs to lead to higher consumer prices, and few believe they will bring in more revenue than they cost, while about half think they will result in increased U.S. manufacturing jobs. In addition to higher prices, the disruption could include supply chain problems, reduced U.S. exports, business slowdowns, job losses and an economic recession.
While Republicans express more optimism and a greater willingness to accept economic disruption, independents and Democrats are far less convinced — about both the potential upsides of the policy and the worthiness of enduring any economic pain to achieve them.
These findings suggest a challenging political environment for sustaining aggressive tariff policies, particularly as the public’s appetite for disruption is limited. Anything lasting more than a few months will severely test Americans’ patience, and anything beyond a year is even less likely to be tolerated.
To date, Trump has shown a willingness to make exceptions to the high tariffs he announced on April 2, amid pushback from other countries and key U.S. industries. As economic consequences continue to unfold, public opinion may prove to be another constraint on how far the U.S. can go in reshaping its trade relationships through tariffs."
At least half of Americans are ignorant
At least one third of the posters on this thread at this point are ignorant. (Hint: It ain’t you, goodnesswins...)
Not to be outdone by the WSJ the formerly conservative NR chimes in on the horrors of empty shelves because of Trump’s America first non-globalist agenda.
For these clowns at NR to defend the status quo ante as “free trade” is beyond despicable. It’s as if any attempt to right that listing ship was indefensible to them.
“Trump is now arguing that children are going to have to get used to having less.”
You can have a free country and less junk, or slavery...
Excellent post Pissant, right on the money.
I wonder if anybody who is bitching about the price of dolls has noticed that the cost of fuel is lower. I guess dolls are of strategic importance whereas fuel is just a luxury.
Oh, we must do it for the children!
The tariffs are about cutting off the money going to create the weapons that will be fired at us when the CCP decides to take Taiwan. Last week a half a trillion dollars.ilitary supplemental bill started working through Congress. That’s in addition to the regular military budget. It’s focused largely on expendables.
It will be a happy day when the toads at NR and WSJ have to admit they’re wrong about tariffs just as they were wrong about free trade. They are terrible at economics. Trump views tariffs as tax revenue. Trillions will flow into the treasury shrinking the deficit while factories pop up like mushrooms and jobs boom. Red China’s economy will collapse. Trump promised to make America rich again. At least he has a plan. WSJ and NR are paralyzed by fear and prisoners to the status quo.
I still have the ‘Anyone But Trump” issue of their Feb 2016 rag. Some of the authors have come around. This was 6 years after I went on their cruise(2010). 800 followers. onboard. I doubt they count get half that many now. VDH was given a ‘inner’ cabin. I ‘nodded’ him out of respect for his scholarship. I’m done with them.
I did have the pleasure of sitting at the dining table with Derbyshire and the late Andrew Breitbart. Fantastic fella. Really wish he wouda’ lived.
Should I sign up for the Mike Gallagher(Larry Elder) Alaska cruise? Got the money. Celebrities I can avoid. It’s the freeper-types I’d enjoy the most.
The Master of Misdirection is at it again and why not, the press takes the bait so easily.
He didn’t fix everything in three months! 😭😭😭
National review.
I scanned a bit of it - false premises heaped upon false premises.
If there are problems with tariffs we will know sooner than later. I was a little bit worried for the first few days but I haven’t seen any evidence of any decrease in abundance. One day they didn’t have any yellow onions at the local market but that was only one thing and it passed by quickly. One of my prescriptions went up to 3 times what it was before. Otherwise I have been able to buy everything I have been looking for and I haven’t noticed any price increases worse than what Bidenflation caused. But really as one of the smarter people I am not worried.
It is. Recall that special issue they put out before he was elected the first time. Numerous guest editorials.
I wish I could go on a cruise with those guys. I enjoy listening to them and others sometimes on the Salem Radio Network.
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