Trump Sends American Consumers Down the Drain
And so it begins. Donald Trump, President of history’s foremost living argument for the practical benefits of economic liberty and international free trade, has slapped massive tariffs on imported washing machines, apparently in direct response to demands from the U.S. manufacturer, Whirlpool. If that sounds exactly like crony capitalism to you, then your ears are working well.
Why should anyone be surprised? During his presidential campaign, whenever Trump was asked about his political donation history, which is dominated by support for major establishment figures of both sides of the aisle, including huge donations to Rahm Emanuel’s mayoral campaign when Trump was seeking permits to build in Chicago, and similar efforts in New York (not to mention his bigly offerings to the Clintons), his answer was always some variation on, “I’m a businessman, so of course I paid off politicians who could help me in my business.”
His cult members ate it up, and repeated it in online comment sections whenever someone dared to question the principles of a presidential candidate who would cavalierly define himself as a cynical operator completely comfortable with the concept of buying political favors.
This cynicism is the reason Trump was miffed a couple of weeks back, during his “See, I’m a sane guy” photo-op meeting with Senate leaders — where he promised the Democrats that he would sign a clean amnesty bill if they put one on his desk — when people laughed at him for suggesting that the best way to get Republicans and Democrats to come together on the immigration issue would be to let everyone have some earmark spending for his own personal aims.
It simply hadn’t occurred to him — and, given his age and current position, will presumably never occur to him — that the money he was casually recommending the senators pay each other off with would be tax dollars. In other words, the corporate and political elite trading favors and scratching one another’s backs at the direct expense of the general citizenry is the most natural thing in the world to Chief Little Fingers. His annoyance at the laughter greeting this suggestion showed that he has no idea why anyone would have any objection to it.
How fitting that the chief intended beneficiary of the washing machine tariffs is named Whirlpool — as in down the drain, which is where American consumers will be sent if Trump continues to follow through on his campaign commitment to protectionism. And it seems likely that he will follow through on this promise, since it resonates well with a large portion of his “alt-right” base, who love Trump precisely because they are not looking for a liberty-loving representative in the White House, but rather a father figure who will protect them from the monsters and shadows forever.
Hop on board the Trump Train!
