Well, I feel better. Don’t You? Actually I don’t feel at all better and neither should you. In fact you should be both worried and pi$$ed off. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick went on Fox (where else?) to tell us all we had better be “Optimistic.” Because Trump said so! I for one prefer a more solid reason to be optimistic than Donald Freaking Trump semi-ordering me to ignore people losing their jobs at ports and in other places/parts of the economy starting with truckers who’d move goods from ports to distribution centers due to his idiotic notions about economics and tariffs.
However, as Newsweek tells us Lutknucklehead… er, Lutnick says not to worry. That was his response to Fox’s Shannon Bream, his general message to all the Sunday news shows. (Sorry, I can’t insert the tweet for you) When pressed on dock workers and truck drivers being out of work and union bosses saying it’s already showing up in income and even job loss Lutnick blithely says ‘be patient.’ I can’t figure out how to embed it here but there’s a tweet from Aaron Rupert you really should check out. Prior to the video there’s some text that reads “Lutnick on his message to dockworkers who are out of work: “You should be very optimistic and positive, because the president truthed it out, and I rely on the president.”
Easy for YOU to say a-hole, and Trumpty too. I can’t help but wonder how many union port workers, as well as truckers and those who manage their routes who have union cards, were told by their bosses not to trust Trump and voted for him anyway. The old MAGA cult belief Trump would stick it to those OTHER people but not THEM. Trump loves to stomp on “suckers and losers” and many a MAGA is learning a MAGA hat or t-shirt won’t protect them from their Trumpty and his dumbass notions of how trade and economics function in the real world.
“We’re using the power of our economy to open their economy to our exporters. So that is happening right now. Yes, Scott Bessent is in Geneva talking to his counter parties right now, and let’s see what happens,” he said, referencing talks between the U.S. treasury secretary’s meetings in Switzerland with his Chinese counterparts.
Ok Howie, let’s look at and talk about what’s happening in the real world. You went on CNN’s State of the Union and said “The president said last night he was very optimistic and very positive. So you should be very optimistic, positive, because the president truthed out, and I rely on the president.” You blew off stuff about job loss and pointed to the agreement (?) for which no formal details have been worked out with the United Kingdom. ONE deal which is more like typical Trumpian ‘makings of a plan/deal.’ Anyway Lutnick tells us it’s “proof” Trump’s plan is working. Slowly. Well, as I said earlier you might rely on the President but I sure as hell don’t, and people with actual expertise in economics and trade don’t think Trump, who after all PAINTS HIS FACE ORANGE has a clue.
“Slowly working”, even if Trump’s supposed plan actually is doing so is nowhere near good enough. Serious, even catastrophic damage (some of which will likely be permanent) has happened at warp speed! Slowly working just won’t cut it dude! Frankly, this guy is a tool and an idiot even by tool standards. Of course he is after all a tool who works for Trump but here’s where I really, really wish I could embed a tweet. This one from the official CNN State of the Union account. I can however give you an astounding bit of text in it:
LUTNICK: “The world wants to sell us stuff.”
BASH: “But it’s not happening right now because of the president’s tariff policies.”
LUTNICK: “No, no, no, it’s only stopping – look, we are in a negotiation with China. We agree, we’re in – it has stopped, 145% on China, of course that stops it. But that, they’re negotiating that right now, that we are optimistic that that will open.”
See what I mean? Bash points out what that what Lutnick says is happening, the world wanting to sell us stuff isn’t happening. And Lutnick says no, it’s only stopping! Lutnick both agrees and disagrees with the facts at the same time. Trump in his first term said he’d only have the very best people surrounding him. Personally I don’t think he’s looking very hard, or for that matter at all for mere quality. Much less the very best.
I’ve thought of Trump as Gov. LePetomane from the movie Blazing Saddles. I’m starting to think he’s actually the scheming dirtbag Hedley Lamar and the Gov. combined. Only (sadly) in real life with real power. Sometimes we see the clueless doofus LePetomane and sometimes we see the evil Lamar.
This whole stupid and destructive trade war of Trump’s is pure Lamar. I think there is a sort of method to the madness. If Congress lets him get away with setting tariffs (and providing exemptions), a matter that’s actually something that’s Congress job under the Constitution and laws it’s the bigliest and best extortion racket ever. Trump’s version of the fictional town of Rock Ridge. Trump is butt-hurt over never getting a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe he’s thinking his tariffs will earn him one for Economics!
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My favorite name so far is, Howard Nutlick
THAT gave me a good laugh. Lughead also fits. I caught all kinds of grief when I was growing up over both my first and last names. It wasn’t fair but that’s how it was. THIS a-hole however invites ridicule so any sympathy I might have for someone with an unfortunate name that can be made fun of just isn’t there. This prick deserves far worse than sophomoric name calling.