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jane's avatar

djt should be in a mental institution. That having been said, what sacrifices are djt and his cronies going to make? Billionaires have much, much more economic breathing room than hundredaires or thousandaires. It would be good for morale if djt and his cronies led the way in sacrificing for the war in djt’s head.

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Eva Seifert's avatar

They're selling worthless "coins" or whatever to their gullible believers and pocketing billions from them. Sacrifice? The word doesn't exist in their vocabulary unless it applies to people who don't have a million/billion to blow on THEIR toys.

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Marliss Desens's avatar

He's decorating the Oval Office in gold!

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Michael's avatar

Another brilliant piece. Thank you.

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Eva Seifert's avatar

It is beyond belief that a man, hell every single cabinet member, whose family and acquaintances literally spend tens of thousands of $$$$ on ONE piece of jewelry or clothing or a purse, who has everything gold-plated, who takes golfing trips that cost the TAXPAYER millions of $$$ for EACH trip, who overcharges the people protecting him by a factor of 5 and charges to the taxpayer, who is conning people into buying over priced junk made in China while raking in millions/billions for a piece of worthless "coin" has the gall to tell normal kids who are lucky if they get fed, never mind get a toy for Christmas, giving up a favorite toy will make the economy better. Those folks are literally stealing the government to make THEIR personal economies better - the HELL with the rest of us!

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Becky Daiss's avatar

Your subtitle says it all "His trade war is like World War 2, only much dumber and entirely self-inflicted." There are many things I love about substack. One of them is the headlines. What it says in the headline is what you get in the post. And the headlines are usually creative and witty and pack a punch. This is how headlines are supposed to be - enticing and informative.

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Michael Wild's avatar

I think the most important fact is that the real pain from Trump's tariff war - which like that great genius Hitler he's declared against the whole world- has barely began. Things will only get worse. And worse. And worse. I think it's a fair bet that calls for paying 'a little bit more' will soon sound for what they are - the idle chatter of the very rich and comfortable.

Concerning the farmers I reckon they were badly let down by their leadership. They should have gone ape when Trump talked of bringing in tarrifs in the election campaign. Any fool could have told them that when a trade war starts one of the first industries to suffer is agriculture. It's really easy to buy beef, soy-beans, wheat, pork etc from countries other than America. And that's exactly what's happened. I'd be interested in a political nerd's analysis if this could have an electoral effect in some states or if the rural states are so deep red it won't matter.

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AR's avatar
1dEdited

Itʻs interesting that you called Trump a MAGA Pied Piper, because I read the other day that Germans who opposed Hitler called him, "the Ratten-fänger" (the rat-catcher). The German title for the Pied Piper story is, "Der Rattenfänger von Hameln."

(A bit of trivia from the *excellent* book, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans 1933-45, by Milton Mayer. I can't recommend this book enough. It's easy to read and, even though Mayer didn't intend to be a prophet, it shines a bright light on our current problems in the US. It's not about Hitler, it's about the everyday people who cheerfully became Nazis. When I read a paragraph that exactly described Chuck Schumer's and Nancy Pelosi's recent ho-hum attitudes, I knew I'd hit the jackpot when I got this book from the library!)

Sorry this is a bit off-topic, but I thought people might be interested. I totally agree with everything you wrote about sacrifice.

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Stephen Robinson's avatar

Thanks! That’s so interesting.

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David J. Sharp's avatar

Hmm, ask yourself, When was the last time Donald Trump paid for anything? (Answer: Probably at Fordham.) Now, Why should we suffer for this man who is blissfully unaware of reality?

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CD's avatar

At least I got a chuckle out of the headline :) The rest is damn serious!

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David J. Sharp's avatar

“MAGA Maoism” — perfect! Let’s suffer for a fantasy future portrayed by a genuine conman—America the Beautiful?

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ERIC LUNDE's avatar

thanks. It does seem trump has some problems understanding the basics of a consumer-based economy. this economy survives on excess. two dolls is depression-era gifts, if that. seems they all need a primer on this.

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M. Apodaca's avatar

How many GI Joes are kids allowed to have?

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Marliss Desens's avatar

In MAGA world, it is "sacrifice for thee but not for me."

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Jeff Pomerantz's avatar

Not that I would give advice to Donald Trump (or would he take it!) but this “sacrifice for the greater good” is quite rich coming from him. Imagine if Trump said, “In the spirit of shared sacrifice I’m not taking any more weekend golf excursions in 2025.” I can’t think of a less likely thing he could say!

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Rick's avatar

Trump's tariffs are likely to be his Little Bighorn Battle.

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