Trump Accidentally Wrecks His Own Case for Tariffs in 3 Crazed Tirades
The Supreme Court is about to rule on Donald Trump’s tariffs, which lower courts deem illegal. But guess what: Trump himself has badly undermined his own case for them. He’s claimed broad tariff powers by absurdly declaring trade deficits an economic emergency. But he keeps admitting to other rationales for them. In a crazed and truly bizarre tirade in Davos, he said he hiked tariffs on Switzerland partly because a female leader’s voice annoyed him. He unleashed a long, unhinged rant in a letter threatening Brazil with higher tariffs over its treatment of ally Jair Bolsonaro. And in another strange and rambling tirade, he threatened to impose tariffs on European countries opposing his quest to seize Greenland. We talked to MS NOW’s Steve Benen, who identified this pattern in a good piece. We discuss all these threats, the GOP’s complicity with the Mad King’s whims, and what it’ll mean for our country if the high court greenlights such obviously absurd abuses of power. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.