Ego Economics

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work together for the benefit of all.

–John Maynard Keynes

It’s becoming painfully evident that Donald Trump is engaged in a tariff war he can’t possibly win. It remains to be seen how much ass-kissing he will demand from his sycophantic inner circle of jerks and fawning MAGA faithful before caving.

And cave he will! He’s walked back practically every tariff he tried bullying other countries into accepting. If you pardon the pun, he’s just about holding up against Jinping, the bull in a China shop. However, it remains to be seen how much pain and turmoil global markets and American citizens will have to endure so that Dear Leader can boost his ego.

His degree in Economics notwithstanding, Trump has had numerous business failures, including the signature achievement of six bankruptcies. He might just as well have awarded himself a degree from Trump University, just as he does with golf championships on his own courses. His only success appears to be in grifting from his cult following and surviving constantly shooting himself in the foot.

His stint as host of the reality TV show The Apprentice probably strengthened the delusion that he has any business acumen. Why the MAGA cultists believe he’s suitably qualified to make significant economic decisions affecting the country is a mystery.

Considering how narcissistic Trump is, it’s not inconceivable that his endgame is just to bully what passes for leaders around the world into bending the knee and succumbing to the same obsequious relationship he commands at home with the cronies he attracts in his inner circle, not to mention the credulous hordes that make up the MAGA cult. He’s hardly made a secret of his desire to be a dictator and craves the notoriety that Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un attract.

There is no doubt that Trump is not concerned for his citizens’ welfare. His primary concern is Trump and how best to place himself on a pedestal that will command undying fealty and worship. The destruction he leaves in his wake is just necessary collateral damage – the equivalent of Israel’s fictional human shields.

For his part, Vice President JD Vance, who once shunned protectionism, is now a true believer in the Trump tariff theatrics. Last week the hillbilly went so far as to insult Chinese workers by calling them peasants. China, meanwhile, have responded to the tariff lunacy most hilariously and satisfyingly by creating mocking AI-generated videos demonstrating the gross stupidity of Trump’s plan to “bring manufacturing back to America.”

America is now the laughing stock of the world. The country Hollywood spent decades mythically promoting as exceptional is now a poor caricature of itself. It remains to be seen if ordinary Americans can suspend their manufactured culture wars and petty partisan hatreds to take back their country from an increasingly dominant oligarchy.