So, #Trump unleashed #economic #chaos with his sudden obsession with applying high tariffs to Canada and Mexico, and smaller (!) tariffs on China. The #markets are not going to be happy tomorrow.

So, why did he do it? I have #ideas.

The fentanyl-and-immigrants pretext is obvious and so thin no one can take it seriously. He only put it forward so he could declare a national emergency, which let him impose tariffs without consulting Congress.

Project 2025, as far as I remember, did not call for an economic war on the US's biggest trading partner.

The billionaires - is it too soon to call them the American #oligarchs? - aren't going to benefit from economic chaos, at least not in the short or medium term.

So, why?

Trump is an #uncomplicated person. He's not stupid, but he's #aliterate and intellectually incurious to a fault. He's extremely vain. He's not interested in much besides himself, and believes winning isn't the biggest thing, it's the only thing. And because of his poor understanding of economics (and most everything else), he believes all trade - all deals - are a zero-sum game. For him to win, you have to lose. If he sees you benefit, that means he lost, and he loses face. Megalomaniacal vanity and losing face are incompatible.

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#USPol #Canada #USA #Mexico #tariffs #TradeWar #economy #vain #vanity #why