Wall Street Journal (April 2)
“There is something not at all right when the weightiest decisions of a democratic republic depend so much on the mood of one man.” Before Trump, “there were forms and traditions and processes, there were strictures, rules, the law, expectations, all of which would hem in the head of the executive branch.” Today, however, the “president’s mood” determines everything. “People have become habituated to this, tolerate it, factor it in. But of course when you factor it in you are enabling and continuing it.”
Tags: Decisions, Democratic republic, Enabling, Executive branch, Expectations, Habituated, Law, Mood, Processes, Rules, Strictures, Tolerate, Traditions, Trump, Weightiest
New York Times (March 21)
“From his first announcement of the attack on Iran on Feb. 28, President Trump has issued a stream of falsehoods about the war.” It’s well documented that “lying is standard behavior for Mr. Trump,” but “lying about war is uniquely corrosive. When a president signals that the truth does not matter in wartime, he …. makes it harder to win by hiding the realities of conflict and by making allies wary of joining the fight. Ultimately, he undermines American values and interests.”
Tags: Allies, Attack, Conflict, Corrosive, Documented, Falsehoods, Iran, Lying, Realities, Signals, Standard behavior, Trump, Truth, Undermines, Values, War, Wartime, Wary
New York Times (March 15)
“Two weeks into a war against Iran that he chose to launch, President Trump faces a stark choice — stay in the battle to achieve the dauntingly ambitious goals he has set, or try to extract himself from an expanding and intensifying conflict that is generating damaging military, diplomatic and economic shock waves.”
Tags: Ambitious, Battle, Conflict, Damaging, Daunting, Diplomatic, Economic, Expanding, Extract, Goals, Intensifying, Iran, Launch, Military, Stark choice, Trump, War
Bloomberg (March 6)
“Until the conflict with Iran broke out, President Donald Trump was getting — by design or by chance — what he appeared to want in three pivotal financial markets: lower oil prices and Treasury yields, and a weaker dollar. The air strikes that the US and Israel launched over the weekend, and Iran’s counterattacks, are unraveling that.”
Tags: Air strikes, Chance, Conflict, Counterattacks, Design, Dollar, Financial markets, Iran, Israel, Oil prices, Treasury yields, Trump, U.S.
Fortune (March 5)
“A landmark Supreme Court ruling against President Trump’s tariffs has cost the federal government an estimated $1.7 trillion in projected revenue through 2036.” At its current spending rate, this sets “the United States on a course toward a national debt of $58 trillion within the next decade.”
Tags: $1.7 trillion, $58 trillion, 2036, Cost, Government, Landmark, National debt, Projected revenue, Ruling, Spending rate, Supreme Court, Tariffs, Trump, U.S.
New York Times (March 4)
“All eyes are on the Gulf states’ vulnerable energy facilities and on the Strait of Hormuz, the transitway for crude oil and natural gas that has been paralyzed by Iranian forces” as Iran seeks “to drive up the cost of war….. Unless energy shipments quickly return to normal levels, the upheaval could batter the global economy and ratchet up pressure on President Trump.”
Tags: Batter, Cost of war, Crude oil, Energy facilities, Energy shipments, Global economy, Gulf states, Iranian forces, Natural gas, Paralyzed, Pressure, Strait of Hormuz, Trump, Upheaval, Vulnerable
Bloomberg (March 2)
“For a global economy that’s been muddling through Trump’s tariff rollout and growing uncertainty over the impact of Artificial Intelligence on labor markets, the latest spike in Middle East tensions adds yet more uncertainty. Travel chaos extended through the region and beyond, while the world’s largest container carriers had to reroute ships to avoid the Persian Gulf.”
Tags: Artificial intelligence, Container carriers, Labor markets, Middle East, Muddling, Persian Gulf, Reroute, Spike, Tariff, Tensions, Travel chaos, Trump, Uncertainty
Washington Post (February 26)
“Many Asian governments used threats from President Donald Trump as a pretext to enact unpopular but necessary free-market reforms…. To get lower tariff rates, they agreed to pry open their closed markets to allow in American beef, auto parts and crude oil.” Now that the Supreme Court has ruled against the tariffs and Trump has instead “imposed a baseline tariff of 15 percent… some leaders feel buyer’s remorse.” In fact, it looks like the elusive goal of “liberalizing Asia’s tightly protected markets” may slip away, something that “would be a shame on both sides of the Pacific.”
Tags: Asia, Auto parts, Beef, Buyer’s remorse, Crude oil, Free market reforms, Governments, Necessary, Pretext, Supreme Court, Tariff rates, Threats, Trump, U.S., Unpopular
New York Times (February 23)
“Tariff turmoil” has returned to global markets. “Businesses and U.S. trade partners are again grappling with the uncertainty of President Trump’s trade war, even as he imposes new levies.” The President is vowing to extend tariffs under other means, but the recent “Supreme Court decision is likely to scramble, or at least slow down, some corporate investment plans,” including “commitments to reshore supply chains in the U.S.”
Tags: Businesses, Corporate investment, Decision, Global markets, Grappling, Levies, Reshoring, Scramble, Supply chains, Supreme Court, Tariff turmoil, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Uncertainty
LA Times (February 21)
“The Supreme Court’s decision Friday to strike down the majority of tariffs imposed by President Trump could provide some relief to L.A.’s trade-reliant economy — but only if they are not reimposed again through other means.” The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach form the largest ports complex in North America. “The tariffs dealt a blow to a large swath of businesses in Southern California and across the state, including farmers, automakers, home builders, tech companies and apparel retailers.”
Tags: Apparel, Automakers, Decision, Economy, Farmers, Home builders, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Majority, Ports, Relief, Strike down, Supreme Court, Tariffs, Tech, Trade, Trump
