“Trump chose to do what he did for the most stupid, petty, and malicious reasons, despite the fact that the economic effects his decisions would produce were obvious and predicted by anyone with half a brain.”
https://paulwaldman.substack.com/p/has-any-president-done-this-much
Has Any President Done This Much Intentional Damage to the Economy?
All of Trump's big policy initiatives are economically disastrous.
Boosting energy efficiency remains the best way to insulate yourself and our economy from idiots playing with weapons in the Strait of Hormuz.
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/30/energy-iran-war-gasoline
America's less energy-intensive economy braces against Iran war shock
Over recent decades, the share of U.S. economic activity has increased in service industries that demand less energy.
And look - to accuse Trump of strategy is a category error. He does 1000 tactics at once and is sufficiently shameless not to care if 999 fail. But everyday we let POTUS say dumb things without calling him out is another day the world questions whether the American people are as simple as he is.
So IF other countries did as Trump suggests they should, you just increase demand through a fixed pipe at US ports. The time it will take to ramp up production is measured in months, not weeks. Spiking gasoline prices going into midterm elections seems... dumb?
US rig counts are down dramatically since Biden left office thanks to a mix of a slowing economy, uncertainty around investing in the US and Trump's newfound love for the Saudis which - until recently - kept oil prices below the ~$70/bbl level that starts to erode Saudi market share.
Yes, the US has become a net exporter, thanks to fracking expanding supply and efficiency curtailing demand. But you can't just snap your fingers and add drilling rigs, pipelines and export terminals.
We can't normalize the idea that the President of the United States just says random things on the internet because he has feelings. But this is a recipe to further increase US gasoline prices. What happens to US oil prices if we increase demand? This is Econ 101 stuff.
Somewhere in Switzerland right now (13 tons of stolen chocolate not shown).
https://youtu.be/6AicW3Xp9EM?si=1YNTuMn6RdVKXJb2
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory "I've Got a Golden Ticket"
Trump Says Iran Agreed to Allow 20 More Ships of Oil Through Strait of Hormuz
The president, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, cast the permission as a “sign of respect.” He also asserted that the United States had already achieved “regime change” in Iran.
If respect is measured in how many oil tankers Iran allows to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump is the least respected President in history.
