I’ve written a lot of mostly negative things about Trump on this blog. Almost none of them have been policy related. The reason for that is because I don’t know anything about presidential policy. I’m lucky enough that for the most part, I’ve viewed the presidency as mostly optics, and that rarely do their decisions actually affect my life. Instead, I’ve criticized Trump as a leader.

But today, one day after Liberation Day, it feels like it has to be said how stupid these tariffs are.

Since I don’t understand this stuff well, I found this tweet as the best explanation for how poorly planned and executed these highly unpopular tariffs are. It’s very long, so you may have to click to expand, but it lays out for a normal person why this is so stupid.

Almost no one genuinely thinks this is part of a larger plan that will ultimately bolster the US economy. Instead, consumers, small businesses (like ours), and large businesses alike will deal with potentially severe consequences and simply cross our fingers that the world keeps turning or that our benevolent leader calls an end to this.

As the market tanks, a lot of people are likely sitting and thinking “this is not what I voted for“. I don’t think there’s value in “I told you so!” games, but people who voted for Trump knew he was chaotic and unpredictable. Many warned that he was full of it when he talked about how much he cared for the American people. Who knows, maybe he’s a genius and we just can’t tell yet, but for being less than three months into a four year term, I for one, am not optimistic.

The last point I want to make is something I touched on a few months ago when I explained why I wouldn’t vote for Trump. Don’t get me wrong, I think culturally some good things have happened since he’s been elected, mainly the ‘vibe shift’ so-to-speak of pushing out far left politics. But he has taken over the Republican party in a way where you cannot cross him. Him (and Elon) have so much influence that no Republican will openly defy them. That is the beginning stages of where democracies fail.

These tariffs are a perfect example. Which person in the white house wants to stand up and say “maybe this isn’t a good idea” when they’ll essentially lose their career over it? We’ve let a madman take the wheel and no one in his party, regardless of the circumstances, will tell him he’s wrong. It sounds dramatic, and I’m not informed enough to even make this statement, but the foundation of the US democracy is sort of being tested by all this. At this point I’m just hoping to get through four years where the guard rails hold strong and we can move on from whatever damage is done and norms are broken.

Maybe I’m vastly overreacting to one thing, but do I have faith that he will make sound, rational decisions in the best interest of the country and its people moving forward? Simply put, no, I do not.