The New MAGA Hat

Just the thing for caving

So it appears that Trump has backed down on tariffs, probably because the US Treasury markets were freaking out.

Or because it was all a scam to allow Trump and his Evil Minions™ to trade with the knowledge that the aforementioned import taxes would not actually go into effect. (Why not both?)

I am not sure if this is a humiliating back-down, but if anyone in the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) have any political acumen (they don't), they should be calling it such.

It does not matter if it is true or false, they should be calling Trump a wuss who caved to China.

President Trump finally blinked.

It took a week for the plunge in the stock and bond markets—along with a sustained campaign by executives, lawmakers, lobbyists and foreign leaders—to prompt Trump to roll back for 90 days a major element of his sweeping tariff plan.

The president said that the reaction to the tariffs was getting a bit “yippy”—like a nervous athlete unable to perform—and he relied on his instincts to change course as he watched the bond market tank and listened to business leaders including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon express fears of a recession. The episode was classic Trump: He took a drastic action, closely tracked the reaction, kept advisers and allies guessing and then changed course.

In this case, the extraordinary reversal was announced via Trump’s social-media platform just hours after so-called reciprocal tariffs officially went into effect. He tapped out the post in the Oval Office as he sat with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump also significantly raised tariffs on China.

Shortly after Trump published his post, as markets rose, Bessent stood outside the entrance to the West Wing and explained that the move to pause some of the tariffs was discussed Sunday when the two men met. “He and I had a long talk,” Bessent said before a crowd of reporters. “This was his strategy all along.”

 Yeah, sure.  He was always planning to do this.

Also, I have this bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.