That's It, Donald!

Both Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau have tried hard to establish a personal relationship with Donald Trump, their theory being that flattery would open Donald's brain. But both men have learned that Donald doesn't have an open brain. All he has is an ego that looks after his own needs.Trump shook each man's hand and showed him to the exit. Macron and Trudeau now know that they cannot deal with Trump. Rick Noack writes in the Washington Post:

Both Macron and Trudeau voiced especially harsh criticism of Trump on Thursday, even though other leaders who have been more at odds with Trump remained somewhat less vocal. Both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May sent their spokespeople to condemn the tariffs, rather than make a personal statement.

Meanwhile, Macron ominously warned that “economic nationalism leads to war. This is exactly what happened in the 1930s.” His World War II reference could hardly have been less veiled. Trudeau similarly referred to dark times of history in his response, saying: “These tariffs are an affront to the long-standing security partnership between Canada and the United States, and in particular, to the thousands of Canadians who have fought and died alongside American comrades-in-arms.”

Nothing they said penetrated Trump's skull. As Edith Bunker once said while gazing at Archie's pate, "Grass don't grow through concrete." Others in Europe have had no illusions about Trump. European Council President Donald Tusk has always had Trump's number:

At a summit in mid-May, European Council President Donald Tusk. . . lashed out at Trump over his policies regarding Iran, Gaza, trade tariffs and North Korea.

“Looking at the latest decisions of Donald Trump, someone could even think: With friends like that, who needs enemies?” Tusk said. “But, frankly speaking, Europe should be grateful by President Trump. Because, thanks to him, we got rid of all the illusions. He has made us realize that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.”

It's true that Europe and Canada need the United States. But they don't need Trump. Justin seems to have concluded that dealing with Trump is a dead end:

At least Trudeau already appears to be preparing for a time after him. “This is not about the American people,” he wrote on Twitter Thursday. “We have to believe that at some point their common sense will prevail. But we see no sign of that in this action today by the US administration.”

After Robert Mueller completes his task, perhaps Americans will to come to the same conclusion.

Image: The Hill

Hit The Swing States

Canada has to respond to Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium. But the response must not equal Trump's stupidity. Lawrence Martin writes:

You have to threaten him, says former free-trade negotiator Gordon Ritchie, with retaliatory measures that inflict real political damage. “Go after the swing states,” he says. Send Mr. Trump a message that if he persists with his plan, Ottawa will target imports from Pennsylvania, from Ohio, from Wisconsin, from Florida.

They are all states that are critical to his political prospects. They are heavily dependent on Canadian trade whether it be in machinery, metals, pharmaceuticals or agricultural products. Canada, which is the leading export destination for 38 states, is Florida’s No. 1 economic partner. Measures could be taken such as changes to tax rules for snowbirds “that would be a real gut punch,” says Mr. Ritchie.

It seems clear, that with an election going on in Pennsylvania, Trump's tariffs are meant to garner votes there. The Canadian response should be predicated on taking votes away from Trump. And, in the end, the Congress has to approve all trade treaties:

A show of tougher Canadian resolve might help spur Congress to stop Mr. Trump. Though the President has the authority to negotiate international trade agreements, the Constitution grants Congress power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations.” A 1962 trade law that allows the President to impose tariffs if required by national security is cited as the basis for his measures. But in the case of Canada, a long-time ally and defence supporter, it is a demonstrably specious contention.

One suspects that Congressmen and women will vote in their own self interest. And their self interest doesn't coincide with Trump's self interest -- or analysis: 

In the annals of bilateral relations, it is hard to find examples of a presidential action so shoddily conceived as this one. It wasn’t thought out. It was blurted out. On national security it makes no sense. On trade deficits (with Canada there is none) it makes no sense. On China, purportedly the chief target, it makes no sense in that it hurts American allies more.

Trump's actions are colossally stupid. Canada's should be wiser -- much wiser.

Hot Air

Michael Harris believes that all of Donald Trump's tariff talks will amount to nothing:

My two cents worth is that Trump’s tariffs will fizzle like just about everything else he says. As always, the cycle is the same, first comes the rhetoric, then the weasel words, and finally the reality.

It would pay everyone to remember that Trump conducts himself like a narcissistic, flimflam man off his meds. He resides in a mansion of hyperbole and vanity mirrors. It hardly matters what he says anymore because he so rarely does what he says anyway.

Trump's recent trade rhetoric fits a now well estblished pattern. In the end, it's hot air -- nothing but air:

Remember all those women Trump was going to sue for their “fake” claims that he sexually assaulted them. He never launched a single lawsuit.

Remember how Mexico was going to pay for the Trump Wall? Congress has now been handed the tab.

Remember how he was going to scuttle Obamacare and how “easy” it was going to be to replace it? There is still no replacement for Obamacare.

Remember how Trump warned that the special counsel in the Russia investigation would be crossing a “red line” if he investigated Trump’s business dealings? Mueller is now investigating the whole damn clan, including the president, and he’s still on the job.

 There is a reason, however, for all the hot air:

Coincidentally, a Pennsylvania Republican in the heart of steel country is set to face the people in a special election in just over a week. Trump is desperately trying to hold onto the congressional seat vacated when the pro-life Republican incumbent was found to have counselled his mistress to have an abortion.

Trump can only think short term. He doesn't have the attention span for sustained thought. So we'll  see how sustained Trump's tariffs will be.

Image: Pinterest

An Orange Idiot

For awhile, it looked like Donald Trump was going to declare war on North Korea. Now it's beginning to look like he's declaring war on . . . the world. Paul Krugman writes:

We’ve known all along that Donald Trump is belligerently ignorant about economics (and many other things). But up to this point that hasn’t mattered much. He took office amid a sustained recovery that began under his predecessor, and that recovery had already lifted the U.S. economy to the point where “normal” policy rules apply: interest rates are above zero, monetary policy is effective again, so short-term economic management is in the fairly reliable hands of the Federal Reserve, not the chaotic Trump White House. What the president didn’t know couldn’t hurt us.

It's now abundantly clear that his ignorance could hurt all of us. He simply doesn't understand trade:

Trump has always had a thing about trade, which he sees the way he sees everything: as a test of power and masculinity. It’s all about who sells more: if we run a trade surplus we win, if we run a trade deficit, we lose.

This is, of course, nonsense. Trade isn’t a zero-sum game: it raises the productivity and wealth of the world economy. To take a not at all random example, it makes a lot of sense to produce aluminum, a process that uses vast amounts of electricity, in countries like Canada, which have abundant hydropower. So the U.S. gains from importing Canadian aluminum, whether or not we run a trade deficit with Canada. (As it happens, we don’t, but that’s pretty much beside the point.)

He has no idea how closely integrated the world economy has become:

We live in an era of global supply chains: just about everything produced in America (and everywhere else) uses inputs produced in other countries. Your new car may well have a chassis assembled in the U.S., an engine and wiring system made in Mexico, electronics from Korea and China, and, of course, steel and aluminum from Canada.

So, when he raises tariffs on products from other countries, he sets off a tit for tat cycle:

So we can’t “win” a trade war. What we can do is start a cycle of tit-for-tat, and when it comes to trade, America — which accounts for 9 percent of world exports and 14 percent of world imports — is by no means a dominant superpower.

A cycle of retaliation would shrink overall world trade, making the world as a whole, America very much included, poorer. Perhaps even more important in the near term, it would be highly disruptive.

Put simply, Krugman writes, Trump's actions are "surpassingly stupid." With each passing day, it becomes clearer that the president of the United States is an Orange Idiot.

Image: TRUMP