“To punish Harris-backing CEOs, all Trump has to do is hurt their companies with onerous new trade policies, then decline to pick up the phone when they petition for relief….And just to remind you: A re-elected Trump would likely be able to put his tariff agenda in place without a single additional word of federal legislation.”
Agreed, and no doubt he will attempt to try to punish his perceived CEO enemies, but there will be lawsuits, and chaos will ensue.
And if he manages to carry out this policy, the stock market will immediately collapse, as capital will start to disappear overseas very quickly. The markets hate instability, and no one will be able to figure out all of the companies on his enemies list. Not to mention, all the “new” CEO’s who made the list, just because they weren’t deemed loyal enough.
We’d become a kakistocracy much faster than I could even imagine. However, this won’t come to pass because Trump is ultimately is a coward, plus he’s too superficial to be the president that reigned over the next Great Depression.
The only question is whether any of the people qualified to be Treasury Secretary are even smart enough to figure this out?….:)
I wish you were correct but you are not. t***p will do whatever it takes to exact his revenge and it wont be just punishing the business. Look to Putin's Russia for the pattern he will use. But the results will be American, an economic collapse will send prices spiraling out of control and of course republicans will want an economic "belt-tightening" they will use this to justify slashing nearly all domestic spending from the budget. There will be a literal blood bath with the overnight cancellation of medicare, medicaid, social security for as Ramaswamy said the good of the country.
No doubt he’ll seek revenge with government contracts, but he will destroy this country’s economy if he tries his tariff plan. Not to mention, it will literally have major negative consequences the moment he applies them, and capital will free as our GDP plummets, leaving us with an insurmountable of debt we can’t pay.
Chances are he’ll go tariff lite; he gets to say he kept his promise, without making any significant changes to our tariff policy. Otherwise, our economy is doomed!
Hopefully there some sane people in that administration that keep him from going off the deep end, because what he’s proposing will be the death of the “free markets,” and people and companies won’t invest in a nation that won’t uphold the rule of law. Also, nations and individuals will stop buying US treasuries. We saw the rule of law disappear in Russia around the time of the millennium, and the reason western firms no longer do business there, except in oil and gas, where the contracts are based on international law.
Come to think of it after careful reflection, Madison Square Garden should be renamed "Madison Square Garden of Evil". After yesterday's s**t show of walking human excrement taking the stage, one can only conclude the "Garden" is the ripest sewer on the planet. Every one of the attendees is an enemy of our democracy. They are vile, vulgar and toxic. Time to flush them into oblivion.
My thought is that the "rally" went according to plan – that is, if one's objective was to intimidate an audience of fence sitters into not opposing Trump, then one might create an event like yesterday's with all its threatening rhetoric. Doesn't take much squinting to see the through line running from election officials to business tycoons (including newspaper owners) to the entirety of the Republican party to the undecided voter. Intimidation is his go-to move.
History repeats itself well beyond 1939. Among other examples, Roman emperors with their aristocracy built the coliseum to entertain and control the citizens/their mob with gruesome games between slaves /non-natives etc. All hail history. Will America repeat it?
Jfc. What an absolute shit show of a weekend for MAGA politics. I hate that there are elements in our society who want a dictator.
The House has to look at ditching the Hastert Rule and the consolidation of power in the Speaker. It's hard to believe that they've so willingly given up their own authority.
There is no official "rule". This was a construct purely of the republican party. A smart Speaker of the house, say Nancy Pelosi brings legislation to the floor that can pass and she doesn't really care where she gets the votes. Republicans have no use for consensus or compromise which is why they are incapable of governing.
From the referenced WaPo piece: “The elites and the money — they sense Trump is going to win. You don’t think Jeff Bezos looks at Polymarket?” said Bill White, a Trump fundraiser.
Do these people listen to themselves? It’s one thing to say Bezos made this decision to cover his assets. That would be cowardly and immoral but logical. But that he decided based on what a bunch of gambling boneheads are betting on in Polymarket? If that’s true it just proves how much luck and not brilliance plays into a billionaire’s success.
Two amazing and powerful sources dropped this morning that amplify the value of female leadership. Neither is a "men vs. women" argument. Rather they are an invitation to look past gender and focus on the character traits and leadership style that are so desperately needed right now, and a stark contrast to what we heard at MSG last night. I am certain these will resonate with most Bulwarkers and support what we are working toward. Please share with anyone you know who has used the "if only she wasn't a woman..." argument.
The first is Brene Brown's Podcast "Unlocking Us" with Kamala Harris.
Great pieces as usual. Bill, thanks beyond thanks for your remembrance of the 1970 Knicks. It brought a tear to my eye and a glimmer of hope to my soul. You and your colleagues keep hope alive for which many thanks.
These are the very same people that in the spring of 2008 derided presidential candidate Obama because of sermons made by the pastor Rev, Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Obama denounced his former pastor for what he termed “divisive and destructive” remarks on race and eventually, under pressure, resigned from the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
There is no way but down with Trump and his team. How much of his following is into this compared to looking away but willing to vote for him? In other words how deep is the American problem?
Elon Musk behaving like a not-too-bright 12-year-old and calling Kamala Harris a c***? Wow. Shocking. Who could have seen this one coming? /s
I guess this is why 50+ years of women's rights are being reversed. So morons like Elon and his online band of degenerate fanboys can snicker at each other a la Beavis and Butt-head while calling a major party presidential candidate "c***." That's fantastic. Jfc.
Tucker’s “you’ve been a bad girl” tirade was a big demonstration of this degenerate fanboy attitude you rightly point out. How come his story wasn’t about the bad son who wrecked the car and got in a brawl at school? Because the stand in bad girl was female voters for Harris. We all deserve punishment and he expressed that in the grossest and most junevile way while delighting in being sexist.
Unfortunately an uncomfortably large portion of the republican party is the same, they act like emotionally stunted 12 year old boys snickering over dirty words in the dictionary. The most exemplifying evidence of this was "let's go brandon", which was simply embarrassing.
We're getting down to it everyone. The next 2-3 weeks will be intense and the next 2.5 months are very uncertain. So I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank the writers and publishers of the Bulwark for creating this site and this space for its community. Many of us have different political views and philosophies, but we are able to speak to each other with respect and to have intelligent conversations. Yours are the newsletters that I never delete without reading from my inbox. I can't say that reading the Bulwark or the comments always makes me feel better, but at least I know that I am not alone, either in my fears for what may be, or my fraught feelings towards my own family members and friends who even now support Trump.
I hope things go the way we all want next week. But for now, to quote the inimitable James T Kirk, "Once more into the breach dear friends...."
Thank you Bill for a reminder NOT of a vision of America, but of what America truly is. I remember that game because my brother, God rest his soul was a fan. The "vision" that t***p and Stephen Miller is a sick caricature meant only to gain them power.
Thought I was doing pretty good today and then you put that thing in about security clearances which should scare the living uh doody out of all of us.
let's dispense with this idea that "this is what voters want" -- millions of our voters are getting a complete and total misrepresentation of their man --and this isn't real democracy at work here -- it's some weird malformed version in which half the public has views that are highly manipulated in various ways by their information streams. this is one of primary reasons i don't think biden or any one can sit back and "oh well democracy, funny thing it is sometimes...here's the nuclear button! off to the bike path!" No that's not what's going on here -- the will of the people, give me a break...
Point is there is an information overload out there. There is the true MAGA which is at most 30% and they want t***p and nothing anybody says or does will change that. They will only listen to praise of him nothing else. Then there is the rest of the republicans they are still for the most part fixated with FOX which is all too happy to sanewash t***p, lie about Kamala and generally keep their viewership on track to not pay attention to anything else just mark that R. Then there is that middle and smaller percentage that listen to a lot of voices and so much will depend on them, that is why it is still important to try and the get the truth out there. There is no question that if t***p wins the electoral college he will be a minority president, just as he was the first time, just as W was in 2000. This is how our system works.
if he wins he will try to "double bend" all the rules. for example we can imagine things -- if he wins, and gets all of congress which seems a good chance -- he'll say he has a mandate and immediately demand perhaps to be put into power. he'll get some support for that...
Well, the battle lines are clearly drawn. That rally makes it clear if it wasn't already. It is the epic battle of Good vs. Evil.
“To punish Harris-backing CEOs, all Trump has to do is hurt their companies with onerous new trade policies, then decline to pick up the phone when they petition for relief….And just to remind you: A re-elected Trump would likely be able to put his tariff agenda in place without a single additional word of federal legislation.”
Agreed, and no doubt he will attempt to try to punish his perceived CEO enemies, but there will be lawsuits, and chaos will ensue.
And if he manages to carry out this policy, the stock market will immediately collapse, as capital will start to disappear overseas very quickly. The markets hate instability, and no one will be able to figure out all of the companies on his enemies list. Not to mention, all the “new” CEO’s who made the list, just because they weren’t deemed loyal enough.
We’d become a kakistocracy much faster than I could even imagine. However, this won’t come to pass because Trump is ultimately is a coward, plus he’s too superficial to be the president that reigned over the next Great Depression.
The only question is whether any of the people qualified to be Treasury Secretary are even smart enough to figure this out?….:)
I wish you were correct but you are not. t***p will do whatever it takes to exact his revenge and it wont be just punishing the business. Look to Putin's Russia for the pattern he will use. But the results will be American, an economic collapse will send prices spiraling out of control and of course republicans will want an economic "belt-tightening" they will use this to justify slashing nearly all domestic spending from the budget. There will be a literal blood bath with the overnight cancellation of medicare, medicaid, social security for as Ramaswamy said the good of the country.
No doubt he’ll seek revenge with government contracts, but he will destroy this country’s economy if he tries his tariff plan. Not to mention, it will literally have major negative consequences the moment he applies them, and capital will free as our GDP plummets, leaving us with an insurmountable of debt we can’t pay.
Chances are he’ll go tariff lite; he gets to say he kept his promise, without making any significant changes to our tariff policy. Otherwise, our economy is doomed!
Hopefully there some sane people in that administration that keep him from going off the deep end, because what he’s proposing will be the death of the “free markets,” and people and companies won’t invest in a nation that won’t uphold the rule of law. Also, nations and individuals will stop buying US treasuries. We saw the rule of law disappear in Russia around the time of the millennium, and the reason western firms no longer do business there, except in oil and gas, where the contracts are based on international law.
Come to think of it after careful reflection, Madison Square Garden should be renamed "Madison Square Garden of Evil". After yesterday's s**t show of walking human excrement taking the stage, one can only conclude the "Garden" is the ripest sewer on the planet. Every one of the attendees is an enemy of our democracy. They are vile, vulgar and toxic. Time to flush them into oblivion.
My thought is that the "rally" went according to plan – that is, if one's objective was to intimidate an audience of fence sitters into not opposing Trump, then one might create an event like yesterday's with all its threatening rhetoric. Doesn't take much squinting to see the through line running from election officials to business tycoons (including newspaper owners) to the entirety of the Republican party to the undecided voter. Intimidation is his go-to move.
History repeats itself well beyond 1939. Among other examples, Roman emperors with their aristocracy built the coliseum to entertain and control the citizens/their mob with gruesome games between slaves /non-natives etc. All hail history. Will America repeat it?
Jfc. What an absolute shit show of a weekend for MAGA politics. I hate that there are elements in our society who want a dictator.
The House has to look at ditching the Hastert Rule and the consolidation of power in the Speaker. It's hard to believe that they've so willingly given up their own authority.
There is no official "rule". This was a construct purely of the republican party. A smart Speaker of the house, say Nancy Pelosi brings legislation to the floor that can pass and she doesn't really care where she gets the votes. Republicans have no use for consensus or compromise which is why they are incapable of governing.
From the referenced WaPo piece: “The elites and the money — they sense Trump is going to win. You don’t think Jeff Bezos looks at Polymarket?” said Bill White, a Trump fundraiser.
Do these people listen to themselves? It’s one thing to say Bezos made this decision to cover his assets. That would be cowardly and immoral but logical. But that he decided based on what a bunch of gambling boneheads are betting on in Polymarket? If that’s true it just proves how much luck and not brilliance plays into a billionaire’s success.
Musk is a fascist oligarch!
Two amazing and powerful sources dropped this morning that amplify the value of female leadership. Neither is a "men vs. women" argument. Rather they are an invitation to look past gender and focus on the character traits and leadership style that are so desperately needed right now, and a stark contrast to what we heard at MSG last night. I am certain these will resonate with most Bulwarkers and support what we are working toward. Please share with anyone you know who has used the "if only she wasn't a woman..." argument.
The first is Brene Brown's Podcast "Unlocking Us" with Kamala Harris.
The other is Anita Hill's guest essay in the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/opinion/kamala-harris-dignity.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Vk4.Cq13.643vJzrQg5Tx&smid=url-share
(just so you know .. will be sharing this again in the Triad comments later 🥰)
Great pieces as usual. Bill, thanks beyond thanks for your remembrance of the 1970 Knicks. It brought a tear to my eye and a glimmer of hope to my soul. You and your colleagues keep hope alive for which many thanks.
These are the very same people that in the spring of 2008 derided presidential candidate Obama because of sermons made by the pastor Rev, Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Obama denounced his former pastor for what he termed “divisive and destructive” remarks on race and eventually, under pressure, resigned from the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
There is no way but down with Trump and his team. How much of his following is into this compared to looking away but willing to vote for him? In other words how deep is the American problem?
Elon Musk behaving like a not-too-bright 12-year-old and calling Kamala Harris a c***? Wow. Shocking. Who could have seen this one coming? /s
I guess this is why 50+ years of women's rights are being reversed. So morons like Elon and his online band of degenerate fanboys can snicker at each other a la Beavis and Butt-head while calling a major party presidential candidate "c***." That's fantastic. Jfc.
Tucker’s “you’ve been a bad girl” tirade was a big demonstration of this degenerate fanboy attitude you rightly point out. How come his story wasn’t about the bad son who wrecked the car and got in a brawl at school? Because the stand in bad girl was female voters for Harris. We all deserve punishment and he expressed that in the grossest and most junevile way while delighting in being sexist.
Unfortunately an uncomfortably large portion of the republican party is the same, they act like emotionally stunted 12 year old boys snickering over dirty words in the dictionary. The most exemplifying evidence of this was "let's go brandon", which was simply embarrassing.
Elon is what happens when you convolve moral turpitude, extreme wealth, and a lack of personal accountability.
No wonder he and CFT are becoming big besties.
We're getting down to it everyone. The next 2-3 weeks will be intense and the next 2.5 months are very uncertain. So I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank the writers and publishers of the Bulwark for creating this site and this space for its community. Many of us have different political views and philosophies, but we are able to speak to each other with respect and to have intelligent conversations. Yours are the newsletters that I never delete without reading from my inbox. I can't say that reading the Bulwark or the comments always makes me feel better, but at least I know that I am not alone, either in my fears for what may be, or my fraught feelings towards my own family members and friends who even now support Trump.
I hope things go the way we all want next week. But for now, to quote the inimitable James T Kirk, "Once more into the breach dear friends...."
Thank you Bill for a reminder NOT of a vision of America, but of what America truly is. I remember that game because my brother, God rest his soul was a fan. The "vision" that t***p and Stephen Miller is a sick caricature meant only to gain them power.
Thought I was doing pretty good today and then you put that thing in about security clearances which should scare the living uh doody out of all of us.
let's dispense with this idea that "this is what voters want" -- millions of our voters are getting a complete and total misrepresentation of their man --and this isn't real democracy at work here -- it's some weird malformed version in which half the public has views that are highly manipulated in various ways by their information streams. this is one of primary reasons i don't think biden or any one can sit back and "oh well democracy, funny thing it is sometimes...here's the nuclear button! off to the bike path!" No that's not what's going on here -- the will of the people, give me a break...
Point is there is an information overload out there. There is the true MAGA which is at most 30% and they want t***p and nothing anybody says or does will change that. They will only listen to praise of him nothing else. Then there is the rest of the republicans they are still for the most part fixated with FOX which is all too happy to sanewash t***p, lie about Kamala and generally keep their viewership on track to not pay attention to anything else just mark that R. Then there is that middle and smaller percentage that listen to a lot of voices and so much will depend on them, that is why it is still important to try and the get the truth out there. There is no question that if t***p wins the electoral college he will be a minority president, just as he was the first time, just as W was in 2000. This is how our system works.
if he wins he will try to "double bend" all the rules. for example we can imagine things -- if he wins, and gets all of congress which seems a good chance -- he'll say he has a mandate and immediately demand perhaps to be put into power. he'll get some support for that...