Now Trump wants to be king of the world
Donald Trump said he was running for a second presidential term to lower the price of eggs, etc. He actually ran for a second term for three reasons: to stay out of jail, to seek revenge against opponents, and to get richer quicker. It is quite clear his focus since taking office is the latter three.
He is so focused on staying out of jail himself that he’s putting in rare effort to keep another autocrat out of jail. Trump sent a letter to Brazil threatening to impose a 50 percent tariff on its products unless they back off prosecuting former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting a coup to stay in office after losing his last election.
Calling Trump’s bullying “evil and megalomaniacal,” Paul Krugman published a rare second post late Wednesday on the matter:
Now, this wouldn’t be the first time America has used tariff policy for a political purpose. On the contrary, the international trading system we set up after World War II was in part motivated by the belief of U.S. officials that trade, in addition to being economically beneficial, was a force for peace and would strengthen democracy around the world. They were probably right, and in any case it was a noble goal.
Now Trump is trying to use tariffs to help another wannabe dictator. If you still thought America was one of the world’s good guys, this should tell you whose side we’re on these days.
Marcy Wheeler reminds emptywheel readers that Trump launched his trade war to address a purported emergency in U.S. trade deficits (goods, not services). In fact, the U.S. enjoys a trade surplus with Brazil. No, Trump is trying to punish Brazil for daring to hold Bolsonaro to account for the same crime Trump committed:
This is not a trade emergency.
It’s a democracy emergency.
A sovereignty emergency.
A coup accountability emergency.
Krugman sees it. He asks:
Does Trump really imagine that he can use tariffs to bully a huge nation, which isn’t even very dependent on the U.S. market, into abandoning democracy?
So as I said, evil and megalomaniacal. If we still had a functioning democracy, this Brazil gambit would by itself be grounds for impeachment. Of course, it would have to wait in line behind all the other grounds.
Does Trump think he’s king of the world? Why, yes. Yes, he does.
He’s also desperate to see the Jeffrey Epstein list “coverup” brouhaha disappear.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking. We have Texas, we have this. We have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable,” Trump said. He berated a reporter for wasting his time in a meeting during which Trump spent 15 minutes talking about decorating the Cabinet Room and musing about applying gold leaf to the crown molding.
Crimes he’s committed against the republic are not the only ones he’s eager to disappear down the memory hole.
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