Petitioning the King

Trump believes crashing the economy is worth it if he can extract what he needs from the rest of the world.

It’s clear by now that Trump’s imposition of tariffs has been a disaster. The market has crashed, wiping away all gains since he took office, companies are laying off employees by the hundreds, fears of a recession are reaching a fever pitch, and far from pressuring other countries into coming to the negotiating table, they’re going around the United States and entering into new trade agreements without us. New reporting suggests that Japan and South Korea are coordinating with China to respond to our tariffs. How’s that for 4D chess? At a time when American superiority is threatened by China, Trump is driving other countries into the arms of China.

And so given how disastrous these tariffs are on the economy, and given how potent the issue of high costs are (Trump himself admitted that he won the 2024 election as a result of high costs), it would lend itself to reason that he would want to avoid this like the plague. Even someone like Trump (who can’t bring himself to admit fault because he views any capitulation as a sign of weakness) can see how disastrous this is and should want to cut his losses.

Which raises the question: why plow ahead?

The answer is that Trump doesn’t care, because what he stands to gain is far greater than what he stands to lose. He wants blanket tariffs on every country in hopes that, as a condition for removing them, the countries each pledge to give him something. And that “something” usually benefits him personally.

Think about how he’s employed this strategy before. Take, for example, the law firms. He imposes blanket punishments in the form of executive orders, and then one by one the firms fold. And that includes giving him between $40 and $100 million in pro bono legal services, not to mention a tacit understanding that they’re unlikely to litigate against him. In other words, he owns them. And now his biggest obstacle - the courts - just got a little easier for him.

Consider the news networks that have capitulated. ABC News settled a frivolous defamation lawsuit for $15 million. CBS seems likely to settle in Trump’s $20 million defamation suit against 60 Minutes. Do you honestly believe that those networks are going to be as hostile to Trump after paying him millions? Me neither.

Consider the tech billionaires. Mark Zuckerberg immediately revamped Meta’s content moderation policies and moved its fact checking operation from California to the totally, definitely more neutral state of Texas. Jeff Bezos neutered the Washington Post and spent $40 million on a Melania Trump documentary that I’m sure tens of people enjoyed. They’ve created a much more favorable environment for the president; he knows it and so do they.

Trump has employed the same strategy over and over. He preemptively targets the entities or people who pose a threat to him, knowing that the only way for them to crawl out of that hole is if they not only capitulate, but also pledge some degree of loyalty. It’s already worked with law firms and media companies and tech billionaires and universities. He wants them to come and beg, knowing full well that whatever they offer to get back into his good graces will ultimately benefit him. Only now, it’s not just getting some university to capitulate, it’s getting a world leader to capitulate on behalf of an entire country. That’s valuable for him; by his estimation, certainly enough to offset the pain he’s causing. After all, the pain doesn’t impact him, so ultimately, he’s not particularly concerned. He doesn’t need to pull from his 401k. He doesn’t have to worry about the impacts of tariffs on housing or rent or groceries or cars or electronics or food. He is a billionaire who doesn’t pay for anything. Americans suffering is a price that he’s willing to have us pay.

So Trump will impose these tariffs and sit back and wait for other world leaders to petition the king and grovel with their offerings that will ultimately expand his power and influence, all the while we are the collateral damage. We all get thrown under the bus; 350 million people suffer so that one man can benefit.

Now comes the hopeful part: we’re wise to his plan.

There is a reason that the Trump administration suddenly rescinded the nomination of Elise Stefanik to be UN ambassador, fearing Republicans would lose a seat in a district that Trump won by 21 points in November. And they saw what happened in Wisconsin, where Trump-endorsed conservative candidate Brad Schimel lost by 10 points in a 50-50 state. And they saw what happened in Florida, where even though Democrats lost a pair of special elections, the races saw an average 16-point swing to the left. And on Saturday, they saw millions of Americans take to the streets to protest their overreach. This matters because this administration derives its power from the perception that it is untouchable and can act with impunity. The fact that Americans are standing up, turning out, and fighting back threatens their entire power structure. I know it doesn’t feel like we have much to celebrate, but I want to be clear: the energy, the momentum, and the enthusiasm is on one side right now, and it’s not Donald Trump’s.