…the first shots of Trump’s second-term trade war were aimed at some of America’s closest friends and neighbors. This was more than unnerving to some members of Trump’s own team. …in the White House it was said there were now two types of people: those who loved tariffs and those who had lost the will to fight.
—M. Haberman & J. Swan, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
#trump #tariffs #tradewar
During his first term in office, Wall Street served as both Trump’s compass and constraint… In that way, the markets would act as a shock collar to limit the damage. But not even that could be counted on anymore.
—M. Haberman & J. Swan, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
#trump #wallstreet
Of all the things that tariffs could be—bargaining chips, sources of revenue, tools of raw power—it was the last of these that Trump savored most. Tariffs were the perfect blunt weapon to bully foreign leaders over matters that had nothing to do with economics or national security.
—M. Haberman & J. Swan, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
#trump #tariffs #tradewar