President Donald J. Trump, former “reality TV” star, often seems merely to skirt reality.
“Our trade deficit ballooned to $817 billion,” President Trump exaggerated to the “men and women of U.S. Steel” last week.
“Think of that. We lost $817 billion a year over the last number of years in trade,” he went on.
“In other words, if we didn’t trade, we’d save a hell of a lot of money.”
This is the sort of dopey bunk a drunk at a bar might say, after the fourth shot had obliterated any remnant of economic understanding from his synapses.
But the president said this in Granite City, Illinois, in front of cameras, a live mic, and a cheering crowd.
And yet, as I wrote yesterday at Townhall, Donald Trump is now explicitly aiming at a worldwide free trade policy, negotiating to break down trade barriers and get rid of subsidies on … well, “non-automobile industrial goods.”
I’m almost afraid to ask him why not all industrial (and, for that matter, agricultural) products. Could one expect a coherent answer from someone who does not understand that an $817 billion “trade deficit” means that we, the consumers of the United States of America, got stuff from each billion spent? Each dollar?
And yet, if he pulls off worldwide free trade agreements — for whatever reason — he may almost be worth the attention that Bussa Krishna, of the southern state of Telangana, India, gives him.
The man set up a shrine to worship Donald Trump.
I will never do the same. But I’d tip my hat to almost anyone who fosters trade, and the peace and progress trade brings to the world.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
3 replies on “The Trump Trade Enigma”
The left claims —
If Trump is elected he will cause a depression. Instead, the economy has recovered from the doldrums of Obama days and is booming.
Trump will cause nuclear war with North Korea. Instead, Trump is bring peace to a sixty year war.
Trump is a Russian puppet. Instead, Trump is far tougher in dealing with Russia than Obama ever was.
Trump’s ignorant tariffs will be utterly disastrous. Instead our trade partners are coming to deal more fairly with us.
Donald Trump is absolutely the Democrat Parties worst nightmare.
They can’t buy him off because he’s already a billionaire.
They can’t undercut his popularity because average people are much better off financially.
They can’t say he’s a warmonger because despite the tough talk he’s gotten North Korea to disarm.
They can’t get the military to overthrow him because the military is on his side.
What we have today is NOT free trade. What happened to the elimination of trade barriers? That’s what we were promised. by the Clintons and the Bushes. It didn’t work out that way. Surrendering our livelihoods to outside forces for the promise of low priced-goods is not trade, and it’s not free.