Trump, In South Carolina Last Night, Demands Another Chance To Bring On A Great Depression

Last night Señor Trumpanzee spoke at a fancy to-do in Charleston, South Carolina, the black tie optional South Carolina Silver Elephant Gala fundraiser. He spent the whole time lying his ass off about the economy in front of the 1,300 ticket holders. He promised to put tariffs on all foreign goods,

Click to hear the bullshitter bullshit

“Under my leadership, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world,” Trump said. “When I get back in office, I’m going to reverse Bidenomics and restore the trajectory I created toward increasing this country’s financial prosperity.”

Trump touted economic policies that led to the creation of 20,000 manufacturing jobs in South Carolina during his administration, and $140 million in federal dollars to help make the port of Charleston the deepest port on the east coast.

“Crooked Joe Biden only cares about enriching his family,” Trump said. “I care about enriching your family. And in every poll, we’re kicking Biden’s (butt).”

Trump arrived in the state toting the endorsement from House Speaker Murrell Smith, who announced Saturday his support for Trump in the primary.

…South Carolina Democrats criticized the former president before he arrived Saturday.

“Trump has shown us time and time again that he doesn’t care about the people of South Carolina. But you know who he does care about? The ultra-wealthy and the powerful,” said state Rep. Ivory Thigpen (D-Richland). “Trump spent every minute in office kneecapping working families while shelling out money to rich folks and corporations.”

“Donald Trump has never put the American people first. He uses his power to line the pockets of his special interest donors at the expense of working families, and he would do the same again if elected,” Thigpen added.

At the heart of Trump’s America First economic agenda is slapping tariffs on goods from other countries— protectionism. In effect, tariffs are taxes imposed on imported goods, making them more expensive for consumers and businesses. The main argument in favor of tariffs is that they can provide a competitive advantage to domestic industries by making foreign products relatively more expensive, thus encouraging consumers to buy locally-produced goods.

However, there are several potential drawbacks to using tariffs:

• Trade Wars: When one country imposes tariffs on another's goods, it often leads to retaliatory tariffs, resulting in a trade war. This can escalate tensions, reduce global trade, and harm the economies of both countries.

• Consumer Impact: Tariffs increase the cost of imported goods, which can lead to higher prices for consumers. This can particularly affect lower-income households, as they spend a higher proportion of their income on goods.

• Supply Chain Disruptions: In today's interconnected global economy, many products have components sourced from multiple countries. Tariffs can disrupt supply chains, affecting industries that rely on these components for production.

• Loss of Global Competitiveness: Tariffs can make it harder for domestic industries to access foreign markets, potentially reducing export opportunities and hurting competitiveness.

History has shown instances of countries implementing protectionist trade policies, including tariffs, to support their domestic industries. For example, in the 1930s, the United States passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised tariffs on thousands of imported goods. The act is widely seen as exacerbating the Great Depression by triggering retaliatory tariffs and reducing international trade.

And in 2018, Trump imposed tariffs on a wide range of goods, including steel (25%) and aluminum (10%), as part of his badly thought-out “America First” agenda. These actions led to serious trade tensions with several countries, including traditional allies like Canada, the EU and Mexico, and resulted in retaliatory tariffs on American goods. These countries considered the tariffs to be unjustified and responded with retaliatory tariffs on various American goods, including agricultural products, motorcycles, and whiskey.

Apologists for MAGAnomics have no specific evidence of positive outcomes that I’ve ever found resulting from the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by Trump. The tariffs' effectiveness and overall impact on the U.S. steel and aluminum industries are subject to debate among economists and experts. The actual outcomes of the tariffs were complex and the effects were not as clear-cut as intended. The negative consequences and challenges of the tariffs were more prominently felt by various industries and the broader economy, including trade tensions, retaliatory measures from trading partners, uncertainty for businesses, and concerns about global trade disruptions.