What an evolution! From a mere stable genius to the Chosen One who orders international megacorps around — in just three years!
The MAGA saga continues on the Reality TV channel.
(If only we could tune out.)
38
"hereby ordered" = Fascism has arrived.
36
It's a shame that the people of America lack the will to rise up against the fool and tyrant who occupies the White House--and the party that fawns on him--like the brave people of France in their yellow jackets rose up against the bad behavior of their own unheeding politicians.
17
I guess Dan Scavino (Mr. Trump's former golf caddy turned White House social media director) shorted the market this morning.
15
Giving “it’s the economy, stupid” whole new meaning. Democrats he’s unwittingly helping you on the key issue!
4
OK Trump. Go big or go home.
2
How would you like to be in a commercial airliner with Mr. Trump at the controls and Sully Sullenberger offering him suggestions on how to land the aircraft? Then imagine the aircraft is the United States Of America. Groan...
Remember when Paul Ryan tried supporting Mr. Trump stating there was nothing in the Second Amendment saying American's had to be of sound mind in order to own a gun? Groan...
Mr. Trump, I am an 'old white guy' with no intention of supporting you and hopefully retirement is starting to look better & better for Mr. McConnell.
T.G.I.F.
14
Conservatives -- ruining America one day at a time.
24
The stable genius—the chosen one—strikes again!
12
Keep talking Trump. My contribution to the Big Casino (aka stock--or stalk--market) is minuscule. For the good of all, the more you talk, the more you can keep telling those shoveling to dig your political grave.
7
If The Bigger Loser has an actual plan, it would be to tank the economy now, then do something to try to improve it closer to the election, to try to make it look better for him then.
Either that, or he is just a narcissistic baby like we already know.
6
Trump voter don't know; Trump voter don't care. Trump voter don't own no stock.
8
When do we get an amendment outlawing government by social media...???
9
More brilliance from the "chosen one". God help us!
3
Are we winning yet?!
4
Regrettably I have a 'Donald J. Trump Signature Selection' shirt that was 'Made In China.' Finally time to toss it/him I guess.
Have a nice weekend!
3
Tweet from Trump: "Who is our greatest enemy, Jay Powell, or Chairman XI"?
Answer: "Donald Trump".
12
Donald Trump,Sr.'s tweets regularly and routinely expose is ignorant incompetent inexperienced intemperate insecure nature and nurture projected onto his ' enemy' of the moment.
By purporting to 'order' American companies to cease doing business with China, Donald Trump clearly didn't follow Khizr Khan's advice to Donald Trump to try to read and to understand the Constitution.
8
Trump, his family and his ring kissers should all be investigated for insider trading. It's obvious.
However if they are anything like the IRS and they are, Trump has nothing to worry about.
8
Trump has zero idea what he is doing
What a disaster
8
Thank all your friends and family who "just couldn't vote for Hillary".
13
I'm so tired of winning.
7
I now understand how farmers felt when they said they voted for Trump and they'll take a financial hit for him.
I'm willing to take the same hit to get him out.
We are a sick country.
12
Nothing is ever so right in the world that a madman can't set awry in the course of an afternoon!
8
US companies are “hereby ordered to stop doing business with China.”
It never gets old with this guy.
8
President Trump is single-handedly ruining the United States economy, not to mention the whole world’s. He revels gleefully in the notion that Chinese are going jobless while, thanks to his gratuitously misguided tariffs, American farmers have no markets for their produce and that the civilized world recoils at the prospect of negotiating with a serially mendacious grifter with all the reliability of an automobile made entirely of paper clips, shirt buttons and rubber bands.
It's all Trump-appointed Jerome Powell's fault, which takes some heat off President Obama's weary shoulders.
9
Jeff DOES get it: (do the math) How many allies do you see in this list?
Top Rare Earth Reserves by Country
China. Reserves: 44 million MT. ...
Brazil. Reserves: 22 million MT. ...
Vietnam. Reserves: 22 million MT. ...
Russia. Reserves: 12 million MT. ...
India. Reserves: 6.9 million MT. ...
Australia. Reserves: 3.4 million MT. ...
United States. Reserves: 1.4 million MT.
2
The “.Chosen One” has elected to throw an economic fit for his own amusement. Hopefully, voters will have the last laugh in 2020 as voter choose to give the “Chosen One” the door out of the Oval Office, and back to Trump World at Mar A Largo or other Trump properties where he can throw many fits in front of multiple mirrors or the kind of people who find his juvenile rants amusing!
5
Ivanka Trump's fashion line was made in China. As are Trump's cheap ties.
10
Monday morning's going to be a bloodbath.
8
Dear Republicans,
You told us that it would be good to have a businessman in the White House.
But Mr. Trump is not a businessman. He just played one on TV.
And now he has declared a War on Business. And, in Soviet style, he "hereby" tells private businesses what they can and cannot do.
What say you now, Republicans?
How do you like dem apples?
13
Wait, I thought that Republicans didn't like communist command economies where a central figure decided what, where and how much each company should produce. Why are they not up in arms about Trump telling companies where they can produce goods?
What hypocrites.
Don't like deficits until they are in power.
Don't like Fed rate reductions until they are in power.
Don't like "Imperial presidents" until they have Trump.
Don't like socialism until farmers need multiple bail outs.
Don't like communism until they have a president who decides that that he will dictate what will be manufactured by what companies and where.
When did American independence end?
19
What a shell of a "man" who the world is watching fall apart at the seams. And taking the country down with him.
2
The stock market gyrations have become as ridiculous as the One they follow - why would anyone actually believe the situation will get better after a tweet, or that China is close to making a deal ?
2
The only way his tweet rantings make sense is if he is deliberately manipulating the stock market to benefit himself, his family and buddies plus, perhaps, select Republicans, MBS, MBZ, and other insiders who are all laughing their way to the bank. All at our expense. Crooks of the first order!
7
EACE -a concept integral to Chinese and foreign to trump. By acting as he has trump has made it impossible for China to back down, even if they wanted to. In Chinese culture FACE is the most important thing you have in your existence. For Xi to back down to trump would be a huge loss of FACE. so it will not happen. I am sure there are well informed people at the State department (and even say Mitch's wife) that understand FACE and maybe could try and explain it to trump, not that he would listen or understand.
If you are not up on FACE, a couple of short lessons. Let's say you want to ask someone for something - you don't ask directly, because to receive a NO answer would be to lose face, so you ask indirectly or through a friend for example. When you are in a meeting and the Chinese member is unwilling to give a straight answer, the answer is likely NO, but they don't want to embarrass you (don't want you to lose face) so they say ... "we have to think about it a bit more". If you insist on a firm answer they will look at you as uncivilized, and stupid for not reading their intentions.
6
I'm still waiting for Infrastructure Week.
3
at what point does even negative interest rates become unable to bring balance into a situation created and worsened by an infantile, tantrum-throwing child? Trump is single-handedly destroying everything good in this world.
4
Trump is shorting the market again folks. Who’s going to investigate?
6
Didn't Trump say something about tanking stock prices should lead directly to impeachment?
2
Never fear. The Very Stable Genius is steering the economic ship. Captain, I’d like to inquire about those icebergs nearby. “Oh, those are for the party we’re having onboard on Saturday night!”
2
China has already shorted. . . So may have others associated with Trump. . .
1
Just imagine if a REAL crisis - not a manufactured one - hits.
We have a president with the reasoning ability of a 2-year-old, and a turtle sitting on a fence post...
5
If Elon Musk was fined for his tweets that moved TSLA shares, Trump should be too, for his role in swaying the markets.
He may be well within his rights as POTUS to levy tariffs on China, but he is showing irresponsible behavior by tweeting about it. No one is above the law or US cannot claim to be democratic. Shame on the current POTUS.
6
I guess there is some satisfaction in knowing that Trump's base will bear the brunt of his economic nincompoopery. His pointless tariffs are of course a regressive tax on American consumers. The coming Trump recession will, like all recessions, hurt the working classes especially hard. But their suffering will only deepen their cult-like devotion to the orange chosen one.
5
Show me the money, let's see the tax returns.
8
Trump will do whatever is necessary to destroy every aspect of the economy the environment education foreign relations nuclear disarmament immigration agriculture Healthcare. Republicans stand by and watch while the Country is torn to shambles.
4
People and pundits criticize Biden for lacking either the personality or the policies to excite the electorate...but that is exactly why he is the ONLY choice for the Dems to nominate. For this country to save itself, it must repudiate Donald Trump rather than embrace someone else. Health care, college tuition, living wage, the environment, even the economy, these are just distractions when the sitting president is a crazy man who has already said he believes he was "chosen" to save America and might have to stay beyond two terms. America needs to say simply, "You're fired" to this miscreant. Then it can go back to arguing about actual policies.
4
.....American companies were "...hereby ordered to..."
Hereby ordered? Does he think he is a King or an Emperor?
I would be embarrassed to hear even my teenager make such a statement while playing his video games.
The man is pitiful.
11
At this point it's painfully obvious "trump" is manipulating the markets, one assumes to profit off it. Him or those around him. Or both.
It's basically him saying "nice country you got there, would be a shame if anything bad happened to it" writ large. Somebody please stop him. We beg you. Before it gets worse.
3
I don't like the man, I don't like his style but I like what he is doing. He is fighting to get jobs back to the USA. Something the democrats used to talk about ; Jobs. Remember good union jobs? By just trying to get the jobs back Trump will win Pennsylvania.
Well there goes the Xmas sales season, obliterated by our self proclaimed chosen one.
2
Trump has gone all Charlie Sheen on us.
2
Trump relies on Roy Cohn's thug approach to threaten & bully to 'win' in business transactions. Trump suffered many bankruptcies playing high risk brinksmanship but slithered out from them , avoiding total ruin. His fiscal salvation was The Apprentice- not any big development deal.
Now - as a matter of proving his manhood - he is stuck in a crudely destructive tariff show down. The global economy is not some sleazy real estate deal in Long island, yet Trump postures as though it is. His advisors are now 100% yes-men as any critics have been fired. Trump's #1 interest is his rep to his base, not US national interest long term.
Whatever might have needed fixing with China does not seem to getting fixed playing chicken. It is easy to crash America's prosperity- hard to restore stability & solvency. Bravado has allowed Trump to evade consequence all his life; now we are witness to consequences he cannot hide from, even if he sings that same blustering song- that the Fed or Hillary is to blame for all bad things, that he is never responsible, never wrong and -alas- will never really pay the price for his idiocy.
9
How much more economic and political chaos does the United States need to undergo before the ignorant, incompetent Trump can be removed from office? He is a great threat to the well-being of all Americans and to the standing of our nation in the world. Trump is a symbol of the corruption of our electoral process and of Republican Party indifference to the needs of our country.
14
No one in Atlantic City, New Jersey is surprised.
7
So at the G7 is Trump going to strut around and order every other country to follow our “lead”?
3
"We don't need China". Whom is he kidding? We DO need China. Go to any store and see where perhaps 90% of the items are made. Ask the CEOs of Starbucks, Marriott International, Apple, YUM Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, etc.) and ask them which country is their primary growth market? We cannot ignore a billion plus people who are great workers and producers and are growing consumers.
10
one thing at a time, please !...how can the President expect us to pay attention to tariff wars, immigration policy, assault weapon massacres, Brexit, global warming, collusion / non-collusion with Russia, Jeffrey Epstein's enablers, the 2020 election campaign, etc., etc., etc. when our minds are totally focused on Greenland ?
10
I can't imagine Trump's friends and family aren't profiting from advance notice on such announcements whose predectably large influence on the markets makes foe easy money if you use the right instruments.
8
This appears to be shades of the Roaring 20’s that ended with the Great Depression which was world wide and followed by World War ll.
Trump and his Advisors are convincing the World that they have no idea what they are doing. Greed and anger is going to do Trump in. And none too soon. Unless, of course, Trump declares War. Then the Military Industrial complex will give investors a bang for their buck.
It is absolutely chilling to even contemplate this.
5
"S&P, Dow and Nasdaq Slide After China Tariff Threat and Trump Twitter Response"
What is causing all of this turmoil in the markets? Trump and his constant stream of unacceptable remarks which upset, scare, business and finance people around the world. Trump has no idea what he is doing and the rest of the world knows it. Trump's tariffs, his constant talk about trade issues he doesn't begin to understand, his belittling people like the FED Chief.
The Democrats need to start campaign to connect the dots on Trump and the almost sure event of our country and the world going into a Recession. This is Trump's doing.
5
He is purposefully gaming the stock market - who is benefitting?
6
Well, back to where we were a year ago. Given enough time, Trump will get us back to where we were 60 years ago.
1
Follow the money. Trump is intentionally manipulating stock price for his rich friends.
6
With most of Trump's current actions, you have to wonder if Xi and Putin are grinning from ear to ear. Do the Republicans care what this president is doing to our economy? I know that they don't care what happens to the little guy (including the farmer owning a family farm), but what about losing the dough in their own fat wallets? This will not end well--for any American except those championing our adversaries.
2
"We don't need China." We don't need over a billion potential consumers of American products? How much more damage does he have to do to the US economy before someone steps in and does something to stop him? Oh, wait. I forgot. The Democrats. Never mind.
3
Fortune 500 corporate greed moved MANUFACTURING to China to get big profits.
China like Japan were to make cheap goods only. All high tech by American Corporation!
Japanese made high tech goods.
China doing same, technology out of bottle and can not put it back in bottle.
1
well surprise, surprise, this turn of events was completely and utterly unexpected wasn't it.......
Trump is shoving the global economy down the toilet, because all he knows is how to break stuff, and all of congress is where? On vacation?
This must surely prove that the article last week proclaiming that we might all be in one big experimental petri dish, must be true. Nothing matters any longer, it seems. Everyone's future is residing on the forlorn hope that there'll be something left at the end of these 4 years. Don't hold your breath.
1
China is clearly smarter and know what they are doing, while our angry president continues to react and drive the country’s economy to the ground by his tweets and actions. The Chinese even timed their tariff announcement around Powell’s speech to create maximum provocation and reaction from Trump.
The US stands to lose. China will absorb the fallout.
2
Big business and stock market investors ought to ask themselves if having Trump in the White House is worth the beating they're taking. Isn't it time to ask your Republican friends in the Senate to take a look at the 25th Amendment, or do you want to continue to lose money?
7
The headline to this article gives the impression that China’s statement is what occasion the dramatic drop in stock markets. In fact the market stabilized after that particular event. It was the ridiculous comments of our president who generated the hysteria and the major fall in markets today. Not unlike what he has done before and will probably do it again.
2
I am a Democrat and have been busy at my Ouija board willing the economic apocalypse.
3
And the country who has been buying US Treasuries to finance growing deficits is.... ?
1
@GY:
The US is paying interest on Treasuries, and is held to a schedule. Granted, China (holding 17% of debt) and Japan (holding 16%) could ask us to pay up but it would be at a loss for some of the debt held. Still, a scary proposition.
If the president could order corporations to come back to America, a president could have ordered them to stay in the first place.
What these events indicate to me is that it is time to stop worrying about which Democratic candidate can beat Trump and start focusing on which candidate is going to be a two-term president, because four years won't be nearly enough time to clean up this mess.
Sorry, Joe.
16
I for one am shocked, SHOCKED. You mean to tell me a serially bankrupt real estate huckster who lost an inherited fortune and failed at running casinos, which are essentially reverse ATMs, is not an economic genius?
17
I don't get it, if the "U"SA and China ruin each other's economies while Britain and Europe sabotage each other, who benefits? Oh, that's right, the manly Russian fella who influenced our election. It makes me sentimental for David Koch, when the antidemocratic terrorists were homegrown.
18
Seems like I should do all of my Holiday shopping before 1 September to avoid the extra $1,000 in tariffs (estimated average US family burden) caused by our "Stable Genius".
6
@Ed Andrews
Or just don't do holiday shopping at all. Give money to charity in your family's and friend's names.
1
Imagine same situation with a Democrat in office. Especially with the planet in this state. The media and congress (including Democrats) would be outraged.
The GOP is always winning because they are maniacally focused on their issues and cater to the brainstem not the intellectual parts.
Liberals think issues are obvious because they are logical and intellect wins in the end. “See... the planet is hotter and species are dying and we are seriously threatened as a species. We have proof and should be vindicated!”
The brainstem wins over the cerebrum every time in politics because we are wired for survival today (not for disasters in 5 or 50 years). How is Wall Street wired and are they winning?
W
(DNC: hire George Lakoff of get out of the way).
4
The chaos is encouraged by pence, mcconnell and the gop who have sold out the American people and the American values that made our word good for a false prophet they use to rape and pillage tax dollars from the hard workers.
The destruction encouraged by the conservatives and zealots are liberties that they take to deny others personal freedoms.
WE THE PEOPLE do not have infantially short memories.
WE THE PEOPLE accept that the gop is suicide bombing the country and destroying the people and United States of America beliefs they pledged to serve.
WE THE PEOPLE will aid in your preferred removal. And early retirement to fade away is suggested.
Right now - I am creating a list of those CEO's who actually stand up and clearly and plainly say NO to the absolutely fascist agenda by trump.
Women in politics have the guts.
Do Corporate CEO's?
6
You really have to work on your headlines. Stocks slide? Tumble, fall, dive? You do understand the predicament this puts every middle-class worker in this country who depends on a 401(k) or a IRA in order to retire, correct? This is not a joke.
5
@Diana C That forces ordinary people to be invested in this overgrown gambling game. They have no choice about the investment and their hard earned money is put at risk. If the market crashes everybody but the corporate executives who appropriated their paychecks and put the money into the game of propping up corporations will get blamed. It's more cynical theft against wage earners.
3
Trump accuses China of being a currency manipulator while he has proven himself to be the biggest stock manipulator. With a few tweets he can cause instant reaction in the market. If he happened to tell his cronies what he was about to tweet he can help them with advanced twisted insider trading info.
17
President Trump today gave Twitter the defensible position it needs to ban all seated elected officials from it's platform.
If his use of Twitter to deliver AN ILLEGAL ORDER to the ENTIRE NATION does not violate their terms of use....then it should.
I think it obvious now that Presidential communications should be identifiably FROM THE PRESIDENT.
They should come only via a third party such as the Presidential Press Secretary, or in writing via the press, or IN PERSON via radio or television.
The chances of a person's (even the President's) twitter account being hacked and used to deliver a message even more disrupting than the one the President (apparently) delivered today are just too great to ignore.
What if he had been mad/angry enough to type into his phone "I HEREBY ORDER that our nukes be armed and prepared for war"....simply because he wanted to send a message to China?
Twitter needs to ban all elected officials NOW.
There will NEVER be a more defensible position than this one for that logical action.
Next time might be after he has lost the election and uses Twitter to call the nation TO ARMS!
He has already told his supporters MANY times that:
"The ONLY way I lose the election is if THEY steal it from me".
With that statement we cannot deny that we know what he is capable of.
We have been warned.
NOW is the time for Twitter and other platforms to act to protect We The People from the temporary whims and erratic behaviors of it's leaders.
16
@M. Porter Wouldn't that be wonderful, if Twitter banned trump.
4
We are being smothered By subterfuge.
Here's the jist of it: Putin has 'hereby ordered' Trump to cause chaos around the world, and especially, in America.
Trump has to use the 'pretext of protectionism' (to look patriotic), in order to cause an economic collapse, otherwise it will look too obvious, that he is a Russian stooge.
This is EXACTLY how Russian politics operates. Think of the Matryoshka Doll: layer upon layer upon layer of deception, until you get to that final nugget of truth.
If you have a notoriously short attention span, and you are not capable thinking 'big picture' thoughts, you can totally get lost in the process. You won't know who, or what to, believe. (aka The Fog Of Asymmetric War.)
I just want Putin to know that some people see through his masquerade; at least, some people know who is pulling those strings on President Puppet.
I know that there are other people out there, that know EXACTLY what I am talking about but, this issue may actually be too complicated for the great majority of Americans to comprehend.
That's why it's so important for the mainstream media to simplify the message, and to CALL OUT the lies, immediately upon hearing them.
We are going to lose everything that we have worked so hard to create in this country, if we continue to let Trump go down this path.
"Amusing ourselves to death, doesn't even begin to explain it..."
10
The more red we see now, the more blue we'll see next year.
11
Congress really should investigate whether the Trump Organization or Trump family members benefit from short selling if Trump tells them just ahead of time that he is about to make an inflammatory statement or take an action while the markets are open that will send indexes drastically lower given that many of those statements and actions occur at moments when the stock markets have climbed over recent days or hours. Trump has a huge ability to move markets in minutes and the American people deserve to know if his company or family is making money off of his Tweets.
32
@BruceE
Maybe Putin is benefiting this way too.
2
Yet another impulsive, hit-back-harder" response from our president--who apparently hasn't a clue that the unpredictability of his trade "policy" (to the extent you can call it that) is one of the big factors driving our economy into the ditch.
American businesses have no idea what he will do from day to day. Will today be the day he escalates tariffs yet again? Or the one where he puts them on hold--to keep retail prices from going up just in time for Christmas? The day he chirps about lowering payroll taxes? Or pouts because the Danes won't sell him Greenland? Even after he says something definitive, they have no assurance he won't announce the opposite the very next day, no assurance the day after that he won't call reports of his previous pronouncements "lies, lies, lies” and announce a different tack altogether. And until they get some kind of stability--which they’ve got to know by now they can never count on from this White House--they will sit on the funds they might have otherwise used for investment. And that’s a whole lot of what’s driving our economy into recession.
So what will our president do tomorrow? About the only thing we can say with any certainty is that it will be impulsive, unpredictable, quite possibly outrageous and in the form of a tweet--and that, for those very reasons, it will take us that much closer to recession.
15
Congress could do something about this: they could take back their constitutionally granted mandate over foreign trade. But the Senate won't, because, among other things, Mitch McConnell's wife has her finger in the pie.
Trump now goes off to the G7 advocating not even bilateralism but unilateralism. America can just go it alone, without military allies, he says, without trading partners, without all the mechanisms that made America, and the whole world with it, a freer, better, and more prosperous place to live.
Trump has made the world worse, the actions of one man, and it calls into question the dictatorial powers Congress has ceded to the American presidency.
Vote against this man, but then demand the reform that says that an American president cannot lay waste to our country and the world with it.
36
"I hereby order American companies to immediately start looking for an alternative to China"....and place all of their orders with Trump Casino Productions.
20
@Socrates:
Some of his associates, including Chinese and Russian investors, are surely selling short. I am as well. . .
9
Someone please email me when we arrive at zero.
Bernie will save us along with Warren. Socialism with a twisted grin.
First step, eliminate all private health insurance.
Confiscate any non-PC books in the name of Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
A winning policy to oust Trump?
You bet.
I can hear them cheering in Berkeley.
4
@simon sez That means I have to back date my email.
@simon sez
Bernie the oh so dangerous socialist [sarcasm] would never say "I hereby order American businesses..." to do anything, because Bernie would not be trying to undermine the Constitution by saying and doing the opposite of what it says.
Democrats controlled Congress for nearly 60 years straight when they taxed the rich to help workers with massive government spending*. And while they were doing that the economy grew faster than it does now.
When the Democrats stopped fighting for the America worker, voter turnout went down, productivity growth went down, GDP growth went down, and they lost control of the states and Congress.
Supply Side Economics is a complete and utter failure. It is time to try Demand Side Economics again, because demand drives supply, not the other way around.
Bernie is not against markets. Bernie is against billionaires manipulating markets and the government to steal from everyone else.
Anyone who is not a billionaire should get behind Bennie and Warren.
*Democrats controlled Congress when they invested in America:
-11.5 million government jobs with he WPA and CCC building k infrastructure around the Country.
-The Interstate Highway System with help from Ike.
-Winning and paying for for WWII.
-Sending GIs to college for almost free.
-Helping GIs with mortgages and small business loans.
-Large amounts of basic scientific research.
-putting humans on the moon.
-Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
-Civil Rights legislation.
1
"The Chosen One" has had quite the bizarro week, and now he's off to the G-7, apparently wishing he could renege.
Should he continue acting as irrationally as he has, I hope the 'gang of G-6' either puts him in his place or throws him out of the room. And if they do toss him, I don't imagine Ivanka would be so quick to glom onto his empty seat at the table.
28
What are the Democrats waiting for, the complete collapse of the economy before they impeach this lunatic? It's obvious that because Trump has packed his administration with Yes Men they will not invoke the 25th Amendment so impeachment is the only way out of this insanity.
Trump has no idea how difficult it is for many industries to switch suppliers quickly or how much damage his trade war will do. This country should have been moving away from China years ago, but greed was too much of a motivator so our industries got deeper and deeper into China's pocket.
To extract ourselves from Chinese manufacturing takes an in depth plan and serious negotiation. This trade war will cost the US and China much more than either can afford to pay.
Time to pull the reins in on Trump he cannot order US industries to do anything without Congress passing laws.
18
@VMG Congress won’t act. A recession will rid of him.
1
The people who can do something about the lunatic in the White House are waiting until the trouble is on their door step or hits them directly in the pocket book. Until then it’s someone else’s problem. By then, I fear, it will be too late.
1
@VMG
You should ask the Republicans why are they sitting in silence.
Trump is obviously concerned that if he were to not run or lose the 2020 election, he would immediately face with the task of defending himself against numerous lawsuits from both Federal and States, cities and individuals .
He could avoid being impeached, but he might not be able to avoid the inevitable drain on his wealth if he were to lose the election.
1
It's O.K. Can't you just feel the intensity of the support that is galvanizing behind this president's trade war? His trade advisors assure us it's coming. The American people and businesses have been given their charge. We must immediately disengage from all things China. That horrible Xi has angered our president All hands on deck, man the barricades.
7
CNN reported that probably Trump thought today was the day Powell was supposed to announce the FED’s decision on interest rates.
That day is in Sept.
Big mistake.
Did anyone think to scramble the nuclear codes. ?
17
@New World
But according to Bone Spurs the economy was booming, people have tons of cash and are spending why do we need the Fed to step in? So much winning, my head is spinning.
16
Trump will be the Herbert Hoover of our era time. Any good that he accomplishes - and there have been some, such as finally calling out China's predatory economic and industrial policies - will be swamped by the coming recession and stock market crash.
The real issue come 2020 - to what extent will Democrats use control in DC as an opportunity to do some good by reforming America versus just putting forth a slew of socialist-progressive nonsense that will just continue the a downward slide of America to Europe lite.
5
Medicare for All would not be a downward slide for my family. Investing in the health and education of Americans would bring far greater dividends to our nation than throwing more trillions at our bloated military industrial complex.
12
@Common Sense
"...to do some good by reforming America versus just putting forth a slew of socialist-progressive nonsense that will just continue the a downward slide of America to Europe lite."
Um, if you've lived in Europe you would know how nice it is not to worry about paying for basic healthcare; how nice to worry just about your grades, not about how to pay exorbitant college tuition, how nice to have public transit that works all over, not just in a few towns. Yeah, "Europe lite" is really hard to deal with.
6
@Common Sense A sensible national health plan would be a bargain in the long run. As are investments in education and infrastructure.
You really need to understand the word "socialism" and stop learning distorted jargon from Fox News.
4
China's tyranny and theft of our intellectual property should have been dealt with long ago.
We now have a President who is doing it right by our country and our future.
Anyone with an ounce of self respect and patriotism can see that.
Apparently commonsense and those like me are a minority in this echo chamber. But not in the world outside, and that is a good thing.
5
The TPP would have been effective and would not have damaged the global economy.
11
@Zejee
TPP was the trade equivalent of Affirmative Action.
Trump's approach is to promote countries who earn their place to trade with us.
TPP is dead and buried. The only reason to dig it up is to do an autopsy.
1
@Bhaskar Shouldn't the corporations be responsible for their own intellectual property. I thought conservatives worshiped personal responsibility.
I guess corporations aren't "people" in this case?
8
An open letter to any sane Senators and Cabinet Secretaries:
If invoking yourself as "the Chosen One" and glancing skyward, or referring to yourself as the "King of Israel", or tweeting "Our great American companies are hereby ordered" to stop dealing with China (!). Or declaring the chairman of the Federal Reserve, whom he himself appointed, an "enemy of the state"; are NOT enough to begin debating invoking the 25th Amendment, than WHAT IS?
Where is the bar? Where is the decency? Where is the recognition that this man is doing irreparable harm to our institutions and the long term survival of the Republic?
37
I'm wondering how many of his close associates know about his tweets before hand. Seems like a good way to scam the stock market. Wonder if it is worth a closer look by the SEC.
33
May I remind people -- especially Republican members of Congress -- that this man has direct access to The Button? And that his two closest cabinet members believe in The Apocalypse?
33
Perhaps it will take a worldwide recession for the GOP enablers to wake up and "Dump Trump" at last.
I am SO tired of winning. And so is my investment portfolio.
28
A madman at the wheel, and a serial bankrupter. How utterly predictable that he would drive the markets--and more importantly, the economy--into the ground.
33
“[I] hereby order companies to start looking for an alternative to China.”
Can’t roll my eyes hard enough at this. Could King Donnie have a page in medieval garb unfurl a scroll to great fanfare and read this “decree” to his court, while he is at it?
Ridiculous.
36
American companies were “hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China.”
Ummmm, not really clear that the president can order companies to do anything.
Any statutory backing for the "order" beyond the Trump strategy of holding his breath until people give in him what he wants?
20
@WJG: It's perfectly clear that Trump cannot order them to do any such thing. Trump believes that he's owner of a business; every other entity is a subdivision, and every citizen an employee-at-will.
2
@WJG please please let him start holding his breath now. It’s possible if he does we can get him to forget what he’s doing and lapse into a coma saving the economy and the world a bunch of trouble
1
I said from the time Trump entered the race that he'd win. Nativism, racism, religious fundamentalism, and capitalist economic fundamentalism, had created an environment which was perfect for his brand of narcissistic destructive crazy.
Now that Trump's in, does anyone seriously think we can get him out? While all previous American presidents, even Nixon, had limits, Trump has none. Nixon was never impeached, but Barry Goldwater told Nixon he was finished, and Nixon believed it. Can you imagine if powerful Republicans told Trump the same thing? (I can't imagine it, but that's beside the point). The point is that every president before Trump, even Nixon, had limits. Trump has none.
Worse, look at constant vitriol and demagoguery of Trump. This absolute chaos, in which Trump is even crazier and more destructive than normal, is a direct result of his facing reelection.
It is why we have Trump causing a constitutional crisis on Monday by ignoring both Article 1 and The First Amendment in his refusing to accept any acts of Congress and in labeling the free press the "enemy of the American people", social upheaval on Tuesday and Wednesday in his attacking Democrats and then Jews as un-American, and economic chaos and markets plummeting on Thursday and Friday, when he attacks China and Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, as the "enemies".
Trump is burning the whole country to the ground just to shore up his nativist, Evangelical, protectionist, and xenophobic base.
48
@Robert B Trump is actually the culmination, veritably the apotheosis of the trend in the Republican Party to turn into the Cult of Trump Personality. The two main groups that comprise it mirror the Confederacy--the wealth (plantation owners) and the poor whites. One thing's for sure--that Trump's shooting on 5th Avenue proves true like the stopped clock right twice a day--those people exercise their right to VOTE. And boy, do the Cult leaders know it!
My hope is in keeping in mind that the majority (who haven't usually voted) never wanted him or his Republican ilk in the first place. So, now in the face of both craven Republicans and corporate Democrats in Congress, we must go out and vote all of them out, out, out--while we still have the chance! (Franklin: "A republic,...if you can keep it.")
5
@Robert B
While reading your great comment, I realized that this re-election is the first time Trump has ever had to really 'work'.
2016 was a branding exercise and rally ego trip fun, he didn't expect to win politically but knew he would win in expanding his name brand.
2020 is a whole new ballgame for Trump. He has a record which he can lie about but the facts can be verified this time. Thus Trump has to really work every day to spin gold out of dirt and it's getting harder and harder for him. He wants to be the dictator he was at the Trump Org. but the American government is not going for it - so far. Trump does not know what to do and will keep lashing out.
9
This is good news, I hope all the Rep supporters finally get that he is an “fill in yourself”.
2
The graph of the week's S&P performance looks like an electrocardiogram of an irregular heartbeat that suddenly goes...
The alert goes off at the nursing station, but that doesn't mean they can do anything about it.
7
...“hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China.” Sounds like the operation of a command economy to me and the kind of statement that would make even Bernie blush. Where are the so-called 'free market' Republicans who claim such an aversion to socialism?
32
They are on one of their many paid vacations.
3
We don't need Trump and, frankly, we would be FAR better off without him. The whole world would.
36
Frankly, I did not expect the economy to crater until after the election, early in Mr Trump's second term.
It appears that I've considerably underestimated Mr Trump's reverse Midas ability.
32
Time for "We the People" to have a recall election!
16
The chosen one is such a genius, his strategy is absolutely amazing, nobody knows trade more than he knows trade. It’s just too bad nobody else can figure out how his strategy supposed to work.
11
@Canewielder
It’s like believing in God.
Ya gotta have faith.
2
As Trump, his family and sycophants continue to feed at the Federal trough. Not a good look.
26
Today was just the warmup. Expect the full meltdown at the G7 in France. I'm looking forward to reading his tweets on his way home from the safety of AF 1 at 30000 feet. That's when he does his best tough guy rant.
42
Hopefully the House elects a competent Speaker - one who will push for the obvious and necessary impeachment proceedings.
9
I'm an educated middle class 70-year-old woman who knows little about economics or how the markets work. What I do know is, from Hoover to Bush, to this one, the R's have never missed a chance to enrich themselves to our detriment.
When they are in the majority, they have eschewed any semblance of exercising financial checks and balances and have gone to great lengths to cut domestic safety net programs while insisting that tax cuts, that benefit them, move the economy forward.
From the beginning of this administration or whatever you care to call it, my guess has been that the only thing that could defeat Trump was a recession.
While I don't welcome the prospect of it, I also hope that my grandchildren can stop having activie shooter drills in their schools, that they can breathe clean air and can safely call themselves Jews and a Democrat in the same sentence.
So unwisely or not, a recession may the only way to make the R's in the Senate push back, show the farmers who support Trump how his lies are affecting them and release our nation from the spell of the mad King.
Is that too big of price to pay?
77
@Linny no
3
Trump put six companies into bankruptcy. He's working on number seven right now.
40
I for one cannot wait for another economic collapse under a Republican administration hellbent on pursuing discredited economic theories while throwing around cash to the wealthiest Americans and driving-up the debt for no apparent benefit.
A catastrophe immediately followed by a massive push for austerity at the expense of the (rapidly-shrinking) working and middle classes the split second a Democrat takes office.
Of course, this form of class warfare will be normalized as an absolutely necessary course of action, many Democratic legislators will inexplicably go along with it in the spirit of bipartisan compromise, and no, we will not be able to hold anyone responsible because "it's time to move on".
We've been here before and we always pretend that it's something new.
44
So much concern for IRAs, the stock market shift, cost of their I phone, and no voice of concern in the comments for millions of Americans who lost their once good paying manufacturing jobs to China. Is it any wonder that the working class and old school Democrats turned to a false prophet in a Trump. Unless and until their is a reestablishment of the bond between Democrats and those left behind in the push for globalization and unfettered immigration and until there are steps to remedy those injustices the Dems will not regain their original base. Talk is cheap, both sides have been watching from the sidelines for decades, issuing platitudes and doing nothing.
9
@Ted Those jobs are never coming back from China. The American consumer couldn’t afford to pay American workers American wages. The companies will simply go out of business. Why is this so difficult to understand?
7
@Ted
"Unless and until their is a reestablishment of the bond between Democrats and those left behind.."
Are you joking? The entire Democratic platform is about helping America and you castigate them for offering hope when the very voter you mentioned ignorantly turned to Trump. And you blame the Democrats?
7
@Ted
You can blame republicans for their war on unions and workers too. Stop blaming China. With proper union participation and respect for workers, our jobs would have stayed here. These companies do not want to pay us real salaries. They want them pennies. Deep down inside you know this, but you are not facing the truth.
4
When the Fool or Court Jester is elevated to King, the result is the US today.
19
Boy conservatives hate paying taxes, but they love seeing millions of everybody's money wasted on nothing in the name of Trump.
Trump needs to stop tweeting. Everyone knows this, yet his fans keep cheering him own and own. If people rejected his tactics and methods, he would learn a thing or two. But no, just constant adoration that has made a monster and a mega ego that is crushing the economy and our country.
11
Here’s a theory. We know how he only does things to please his supporters. Perhaps his intent is to grind the economy into the dirt so even his supporters will finally be relieved when he calls it quit. That way he won’t be disappointing them. We can call it self impeachment.
13
These stock market plunges prove that the only reason columnist Paul Krugman had to apologize - after his 2016 prediction that the markets would dive after the election of Trump - is that the barons of the US economy simply didn't have the intelligence to understand the implications of Trump back then.
49
@Pete
I love this comment and wish I had more than one upvote to give! Alas, if only I was from Wyoming, my vote would count for more...
16
@Pete
They understood perfectly well, they knew they would make good for years on unlimited spending and money printing while also getting the capital gains tax cuts in place so that they could withdraw their winnings in full.
5
@Pete
You are right on. Krugman only has to wait to be correct.
4
As in most of the Trump tariff wars episodes, something big gets buried in the background. In this case, China is going to be setting tariffs on American oil. That means they are going to have to replace it with a cheaper source. The most likely source is Iran. China is already defying Trump by buying Iranian oil, but increasing the amount to replace American oil will bring about a much greater International standoff. If it comes to this it will make his tariff wars seem small by comparison.
28
@Michael
Perhaps when the Trump administration attempts to detain a tanker loaded with Iranian oil bound for China in international waters
1
Let's see:
1.) Jerome Powell, Trump's own Fed Chairman, is an "enemy" for trying desperately to stave off a recession threat.
2.) But Russia is still our friend and needs to be in the G8 despite being only a distant 12th in GDP.
3.) And we don't need to sell China the $179 billion in goods they buy every year.
4.) And, yeah, those crazy companies who also buy $558 billion in goods from China are now "ordered" to just stop it and buy stuff elsewhere. After all, KAG hats are now "made in the USA" and if they can do it so can Amazon, the Post Office and everybody else.
4.) Mass murderers need access to assault rifles, not background checks, though they do have mental health issues which can't be treated because, you know, they don't deserve to have a healthcare plan they can afford.
5.) Greenland's for sale, except that, oops, it's not, so we'll just show those cheap and uppity Danes who's boss by last-second cancelling on a State visit.
So, did I miss anything this week's edition of the Very Stable Genius in the White House?
153
@Brannon Perkison .
Yes, you missed that it's all Obama's fault. "It's a mess." said trump. "We've spent the last 7.5 years with someone who didn't follow the constitution," proclaimed pompeo. And on and on and on.
6
@Brannon Perkison
Yeah, you missed one: Farmers and rural communities are ground down into the Earth once again.
2
@Brannon Perkison I heard he wasn't even invited to Denmark.
Key take-aways from the implementation of the Smoot-Hawley Act:
" The Smoot-Hawley Act in 1930 increased tariffs on foreign goods imported into the U.S.
At the time, many economists thought it was a bad idea and urged President Herbert Hoover to veto it.
Today it is often blamed for worsening the Great Depression worldwide. Even the official U.S. Senate website refers to Smoot-Hawley as "among the most catastrophic acts in congressional history."
Does any of this sound familiar? Trump is terrified of a recession. We will be lucky if that is all we get.
48
But this is excellent news! These wild gyrations may discommode the day-traders and the short-termers, but that's a small price to pay for knocking the stuffing out of Trump's claim for benefiting the economy. As layoffs multiply and prices at WallMart escalate, the loyal support of his base will erode, paving the way for a return to sanity - unless of course the Democrats fall victim to their Far Left mongers
Barry Goldwater proclaimed that "Extremism in pursuit of (fill in the blank) is no vice, and Moderation is no virtue." Rubbish! Incremental improvements based on tried and proven programs are how democracies progress.
13
@sedan1I purchased a dishwasher in April. Today at the same store, the price has doubled, from $599 to $1049. Are we winning over consumers yet?
3
Hard to believe Jarred isn't playing the peaks on the market during all of this. He's certainly got the inside dope.
I sure hope the SEC is monitoring his portfolio.
52
@Tony
You got it wrong.
These moves by trump are not planned or premeditated.
These are meltdowns and temper tantrums
He loads shoots and aims.
1
@Tony both him and his good buddy M.B. Salman of Saudi Arabia - we live in weird times.
1
Mr. Trump said that American companies were “hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China.” It’s official. We’re living in a dictatorship.
45
@Erik Schmitt
Well, Berkeley, home of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, should find that familiar.
2
If you follow, you know that the market drops when China or the US threaten or take aggressive measures which stoke fears of an all out trade war. This has happened six or seven times. But each time, someone backs off and the market recovers. If there is persistent hostility, the market will likely keep dropping. But so far, it has been much more talk than action. Investors need to watch closely. As of yet, it is not clear how our trade relations with China will fare. And unless and until it becomes clear which way this is going, the market will probably keep bouncing around.
13
Census Bureau: U.S. Goods and Services Exports 2018 (billion) $2,500.0; 2017 $2,351.1 △ 6.3%. Loosen the thong; tariffs are great.
2
@Tim
Tariffs had nothing to do with that, and you know it.
4
Democrats should be cheering but instead they are complaining that Trump is hurting businesses that supposedly are his core support. I’m sure that it’s inconvenient for lazy US businesses to have to consider sources of supply in countries other than China. They worry that their ambitious competition will be able to sell for less.
4
Democrats don’t cheer when people’s livelihoods are at stake.
4
Trump tweeted earlier "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China" That sentence came from someone who is on the brink of dictatorship or insanity. The Dow is not the only threat to our economy and the least of the threats to our democracy.
80
Stocks are not the only thing going over the edge.
60
It appears that trump is aiming to get us into a recession. Why would he do that? A recession would be a great excuse to fire up his base with promises of more draconian measures to keep out immigrants and cut social benefits more drastically (food stamps, health care/medicare, housing assistance, etc.). Remember, only he can fix it!!
29
It's become clear that Trump doesn't see new supporters out there, and that his re-election strategy is to pander even more to his core supporters. But how do you hold the attention of voters who already voted for you and may now be harboring doubts? By being more aggressive than ever! Trump knows how to play this one. I suspect many of his tweets are drafts written months ago, being loosed on the public according to daily shifts in approval ratings.
16
@Christopher Haslett
Those very voters voted for Trump to bring back steel, coal, manufacturing, etc. What they got is a situation where none of those industries will be adding jobs, if there is a recession. If anything, there will be more white blue collar workers out of work.
Of course, maybe that is what he wants. a very angry base. A base than needs scapegoats to blame for their misery. And, scapegoats to take their vengeance on.
With nearly 400 million guns out there, Trump has an army. And, people willing to do his bidding.
Trump's intent is to stay in office, regardless of what happens next November. Creating conditions similar to 1934 Germany will help him achieve his goal.
The only things preventing things from getting totally out of hand is removing Trump from office via the 25th Amendment. Impeachment, at this point, will take too long.
22
@Christopher Haslett
By being more aggressive than ever! Trump knows how to play this one. I suspect many of his tweets are drafts written months ago, being loosed on the public according to daily shifts in approval ratings.
I think you give him way to much credit. He's impetuous and erratic — part of of his personality disorder. He hasn't a clue about economy or long-term economic strategy. He just wants to sound tough.
13
Watch fro it to go down on Monday. Our so called "president" has decided to raise all current tariffs, involving c]China, to 30% come 1 October. That means a 30% tax on Chinese imports, paid by US consumers.
He waits to to the "witching month" to do it. End of the Federal fiscal year, and the month where third quarter profits are announced. And, a month that the stock markets has taken a beating (1929, 1987, 2001, and 2008; to name a few).
Expect the start of a recession territory, maybe as soon as the numbers comes out for July - September. And, the second quarter in row drop from October - December. That with a possible stock market drop of about 20% from the beginning of this month to the end of the year.
It doe snot take a rocket scientist to figure our that our "president" has absolutely no clue how the economy works. And, he is going to beat predictions, and create a recession before the year is out.
Finally, even if the fed were t o lower interest rates to 0%, what has been set into motion will not prevent a recession. A recession that could be as bad as the Great Recession.
36
Trump has been living off the Obama economy since he has been in office.
But at some point we are going to get the real Trump economy... and good luck to the US and the world then.
144
Donald just loves messing with people. One little tweet and global markets dive.
After a lifetime of inadequacies, he finally is important.
Our salvation is that he also loves calling it all off and watching things go back to normal. Again, he pulls the chain.
I suppose we must accommodate him, but let's not pretend he's being strategic when he's only impetuous.
42
“We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them,” Trump wrote.
Waiting for the other shoe to drop and Xi to announce they are having “serious production problems” at some of their rare earth manufacturing sites and supplies need to be curtailed and severely rationed until the difficulties are overcome.
35
@Jeff--you don't get it. Industry will start diversification. Sure, they will have production in China, but also many other places. It is happening now.
1
Ever worked in the commodities industry? Doesn’t sound like it. You’re in “good company” neither has the “Chosen One”.
The critical issues about all commodities are the quality of your reserves, your production costs and in what quantities. None of which you supplied answers for. It’s obvious that other sources are more expensive so how much will that increase production costs and slow of all products that employ said commodities. Ramping up production is very expensive and few companies would be willing to make investments in reserves if the next tweet puts those reserves in the red.
17
It is you who doesn't get it. Republican economic policies always lead to recession. Truck's irrationality only speeds up that result.
4
Congress needs to come back from vacation and accelerate impeachment hearings. This is not normal. Trump is a danger to the world, to our savings, and to our sanity.
The way this is being taken as an extreme edge of business-as-usual is terrifying. They wouldn’t stay on vacation if we were invaded. Well, guess what...
118
@Bohemian Sarah
NO!!! We do NOT want that guy impeached. We need him to stay in the Oval Office up until Election Day to serve as the poster child of why we need to put a Dem in the WH in '20.
Putting Pence in there will cause all the moderates to let out a sigh of relief and then it's Pence for 4 years.
Is THAT what you're asking for???
1
While this is true: "As recently as July 26, the S&P 500 was up almost 21 percent for the year. But after four consecutive weeks of losses, investors are sitting on a more modest 13.6 percent gain."
It is also true that over the last 12 months, from last year at this time, the S&P 500 is basically unchanged.
20
President Trump says "We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them." After he's finished denigrating and alienating the entire planet, who will be left to purchase American products, considering that many of those products are manufactured in the same countries Mr. Trump insults? Of course the market will go down in response to increased tariffs threats.
It will be interesting to see what happens at the upcoming G-7 summit. At some point, despite America's economic wealth, the rest of the world will make deals and treaties among themselves. In less than three years, Mr. Trump has turned the United States into an international pariah.
86
@jrinsc
By the time there is a G-7 summit, the world will be in a repeat of the Great Recession. The second deep recession created by the Us. The first one, by unregulated Wall Street; the second by an irrational Us president.
23
@jrinsc Wouldn't be surprised if Trump bows out of the G-7 summit. At least I hope he does. Can you imagine the embarrassingly unhinged remarks he's likely to make?
2
@jrinsc
And a banana republic at home.
1
Erratic behavior from the President is giving both consumers and businesses the shakes. We're retired and trying to figure out how to conserve our savings until this man is out of office. Looking at the stock market trends over the past 5 years, there was a steady rise until 2018. It's still in positive territory, but now it's all peaks and valleys, up and down. Very nerve wracking. Add to that the ballooning deficit, and, frankly, we're nervous about the future.
70
@Jann
I am in the same boat; I expect my IRA to drop about 20% thanks to this erratic behavior. But, guaranteed, Congress will not help out with Social Security COLAs, making things even worse.
28
@Nick Metrowsky
Congress will not?
The Dems will. It's McConnell and Co. who are only interested in helping the rich.
3
China is an out of control big bully, and it requires a bigger bully to bring it in order. Regardless of what many people here say, President Trump is correct in this.
I worked at a very, yes VERY, large tech firm in Houston and we did not even allow the Japanese engineers to visit our manufacturing plant. The manufacturing processes and techniques were intellectual property. Now, that same company is making stuff in CHINA. I am flabbergasted at this change. No wonder China has become the manufacturing factory for the world...because companies like where I worked moved their making know how and high tech equipment to China where the Chinese copied everything and we are in this mess that we are in.
President Trump should FORCE US companies to return their manufacturing on home ground and bring back the jobs.
As they do in the military, you have to break down the new recruits to build them up again, this is what has to be done.
2
@NA We can argue the merits of standing up to China but the implementation is entirely wrong. You do not attempt it isolated, unprepared and with no long-term plan.
67
@NA
So you really think that Trump could FORCE American companies to bring their manufacturing home? And you say you worked for a large tech firm in Houston? What did you do there? You certainly weren't in management, because you would know that it is business and industry that OWNS the president. He is not going to FORCE them to do anything, and of course he doesn't have the legal or legislative power to do so.
65
@NA - Since when do Democratic countries force Corporations to uproot their operations? Are you saying that major tech companies & all large & small businesses importing from China are expected to pay the equivalent of $330/month which is what FoxConn pays Chinese workers to assemble i-Phones in China. Not to mention the environmental impact on the USA. Although knowing Trump he would most likely back removing all environmental regulations in the USA & agree to pay USA workers $330/month for assembling phones & other tech equipment. I read that the giant FoxConn company didn't even hire any local workers but rather imported them from Taiwan & 40% of them are temp workers w/o any benefits or long term employment opportunities. Besides, large Corporations can just as easily relocate their headquarters out of the USA if the profit/loss analysis isn't favorable to their CEO. Very bad precedent for the President of the USA to impulsively tweet a command from the comfort of his Lazy Boy chair while watching Fox & Friends instead of working on real long term plans for American jobs & business growth.
40
Another year and a half of this?, and we can expect that things will likely accelerate. The incompetence, unpredictability, and total lack of accountability. One major new problem a day is not enough anymore, and there is nobody to stop it... How does this end?
98
@Lucas Things will definitely accelerate. Trump is fighting for his life. And that is not a figure of speech.
5
I just watched a live feed of our mayor and primary candidate for president, Pete Buttigieg speak in New Hampshire about his newly released mental health plan. It was uplifting to hear him speak so articulately and passionately about the very grave issues all Americans are concerned about and how he would work with compassion to pragmatically remedy these once he becomes president. At the same time Mayor Pete was speaking, the current occupant of the White House tweets incoherently demanding U.S. companies leave China! And how the Fed chairman is an enemy! The stock market plummets, the Amazon rainforest burns and POTUS fiddles on his cell phone that undoubtedly was made in China.
224
@Karen J. Pete Buttigieg is the only sensible choice for moderate Republicans and Democrats alike. And having heard Mr. Buttigieg speak, debate and explain his policy positions, I feel he is in a class by himself, and I will be willing to pay a large sum of money to be in the room when he goes head to head against 45. The meltdown will be epic and most likely spell the demise of the GOP for at least the next voting cycle.
78
Yes! That is the best answer! The exact opposite of Trump. A candidate who lives as if he truly believes there is a God. And even if you don’t believe (like me) you can put faith in someone who has moral courage and a conscience. A soldier who is ready to fight for America, yet respects human life in all forms, even foreign-born. A champion of women’s right to choose. A man who likes women and children (and dogs). Someone who is educated yet continues to learn, who delights in other cultures and wants to know more. Someone with an open heart and an open mind. Oh I could go on forever. The list of deplorable Trump things is infinite. And yes Pete Buttigieg is, indeed, the exact opposite of Trump. Make your own list. You’ll see.
22
The Republicans who support Trump, come what may, should now realize he is ruining the economy and does not know what he is doing. They need to get some republicans to run against him in the primary. Otherwise they may be responsible for the downfall of their party in 2020.
Are they more afraid of Trump and so cannot act to the benefit of the republican party.
38
When will the WSJ branch of the GOP wake up and start speaking out against Trump, even if only on the economic uncertainty he's wreaking on the global economy.
Isn't market manipulation illegal, if not impeachable? https://www.classlawgroup.com/securities-fraud/stock/market-manipulation/
Would be great to see Trump dragged out of the White House and into court on his last day as Commander-In-Chief. Can't imagine a pardon from Biden, Harris, Sanders or Warren.
117
@Jay
What makes Trump truly terrifying is that the Republicans in the Senate will march lock-step with him, so the damage he does will be magnified exponentially.
12
@Jay
Oh, you can bet some smarmy criminal in the Trump administration like Mnuchin is making a ton of money off of this. Manipulating the markets is both illegal and impeachable, but Trump did this before he even became President, pretending to takeover companies, driving up their stock and then dumping it. Of course, they did nothing then and they'll do nothing now. Trump is above the law, remember? Because William Barr said so.
5
Are you kidding? Obviously he is going to pardon himself preemptively.
2
Please! -
everybody tweet that Mr. Powell is NOT ''the enemy'' - and that the real ''enemy'' soon (in 2020) will be defeated!
62
Is he purposely trying to crash the stock market? Why can't he just shut up?
149
@Patty O. My guess, assuming Trump can think this far ahead, is he wreaks havoc until next spring, when he just shuts up and lets things be. Him doing nothing will be the stability the market seeks, leading to a sustained rise and with it, a ballooning of his reelection likelihood.
15
Good take Bradley..
5
@Patty O. I suspect that Trump, Jared, Ivanka and the Cabinet are shorting every stock they own.
9
Just another stock play.
24
For all those who have supported Trump because of stocks: can you see where we are coming from now? Putting aside everything else problematic with Trump, how are his volatility, hubris, and ego possibly good for the economy?
103
Democrats should clearly, strongly, and publicly condemn Trump's trade wars. They are damaging the US economy, the Chinese economy, the economy of the EU, and that of the whole world. And if other countries are poorer, they will buy less from us.
Although Trump has done many awful things, his trade wars are among his worst offenses because they hurt the poor everywhere.
34
Everyone, and by that, I mean the entire world, can be excused if they don’t know how to react to the daily goings on in political Washington. Is it possible for one obsessed individual to cause such havoc, and still control the levers of government without a general rebellion against his destructive behavior? Unless and until a group of Republicans push back forcefully, President Trump will leave behind an America with few allies, and even less respect.
54
And who can really say that Trump or his surrogates are not profiting from insider knowledge about his sudden decisions?
224
@Believer in Public Schools or shorting the market?
29
@Believer in Public Schools
This makes perfect sense: economically and with their personal motivations.
18
@Believer in Public Schools. LOL. OF course, they are! And when America is bankrupt, guess who walks away with it?
3
Thanks Mr. Trump. We in big, global business needed you to point the way toward lower costs. We couldn't have done it without your direction.
Regards,
MFG in China and everywhere else based on corporate needs and competition.
15
Trump was in over his head from day one.
226
But early on Mitch told us not to condemn Trump, give Trump time, he was just learning the job; we needed to be patient until he learned the job. Truer words were ever spoken.
IMPEACH while he’s out of the country!
2
So much winning. He can't even get out of his own way.
117
Let's hope that graph mirrors Trumps re-election chances.
"We don't need China." Laughable.
130
I certainly do not find this laughable. I come from a time when not everything was made in China. These days the cup holders for our tanks are likely made in China. And that is laughable.
4
@C. Whiting
I think it is a graph of Trump's emotional intelligence, which is the inverse of the VIX. As his emotional intelligence declines the the volatility of the stock market increases.
13
@Wolf Bein
Why does it really matter if the cup holder is made in China. As long as it works, we are saving $$$! If the cup holder needs to be made in America, lets try to get the cost of production matched to China's. With a fully automated facility, these cups can be made in the USA at a good price point.
4
I'm watching our country fall apart and can't do anything about it until November 2020 when I can vote? Will we last that long?
286
@Enough is enough I’ve felt that way since the election, held ransom by a bombastic showman who cares not a whit about what is good for his countrymen, let alone the rest of the world. This is not a reality show; this is our collective future and survival of the planet!
55
@Enough is enough
Better hope the election isn't compromised.
18
If only we had a parliamentary system.A vote of no confidence and we wouldn't have to wait until 2020.
5