Tariffs Fuck-Update #2 of ?
Trump blinks even sooner than expected in return for some Mexican troop redeployments
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Even earlier than anticipated, Pres. Donald Trump sold out all his tariff-loving supporters and blinked today, backing down on his tariff threat.
Trump on Saturday signed an order to impose a 25% tariff, starting Tuesday, on everything from Mexico coming into the U.S.
Almost immediately, markets tanked and corporate America unsheathed their knives.
So, Trump announced this morning that he was caving. But Mexican Pres. Claudia Sheinbaum announced it first, so let’s start with her.
In her post, Sheinbaum said she and Trump had come to a deal to push back the threatened tariffs by a month, during which her negotiators will try to come to terms with Trump’s crack diplomatic team of Fox hosts and Wall Street billionaires.
Sheinbaum said she agreed that “Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.”
Now, what we don’t (yet) know is how bullshit that is, how well she played Trump. Were those soldiers all already scheduled for border duty? Who knows (yet).
But there was more: “The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico,” Sheinbaum posted. Not illegal trafficking. Trafficking.
Mexican leaders have long said that the availability of guns from America is a primary driver of drug-gang violence in Mexico. But it’s not clear what that alleged Trump commitment consists of or how he’ll violate it. Maybe we’ll get details of whatever concession Trump made on guns...
But not from Trump!
His statement said nothing at all about making a commitment on guns:
“I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States. These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country.”
So, other than Trump, who else didn’t report Sheinbaum’s description of the two-sided agreement, even though her announcement came out first? At least some American media!
And, by the way, just on Friday, Trump claimed he wasn’t looking for Mexico to do anything. “We’re not looking for a concession,” he said, as TFN pointed out this weekend. Which means accepting a concession is actually him backing down.
And just yesterday Trump claimed that the reason for the tariffs was to drive down the cost of pharmaceuticals and help balance the trade deficit.
But he just made those problems worse. Slowing the sales of U.S. guns will mean Mexico is buying even less from America.
And as for pharmaceuticals, the only way sending 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the U.S. border will bring down drug prices is if they’re all named Luigi Mangione.
We’ll have more details — maybe! — in tomorrow morning’s TFN.
Jonathan Larsen is a longtime TV news producer and journalist who’s worked at MSNBC, CNN, ABCNews, The Daily Show, Air America Radio, and The Young Turks.
Sheinbaum is no dummy. Maybe dragging out the ceasefire on the tariffs by a month will
conveniently make stupidhitler forget all about this nonsense. You know he's always "squirrel!!!"
and then he's off to another brain-fart.
She's playing economic chess, and dotard can't sit through a game of checkers.
Thanks, Jon. Your reporting is excellent.
Magnificent, Jonathan. Not to be confused with MAGAnificent, which does not exist.