Trump's theatre of buffoonery, utter chaos
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| Donald Trump |
Only this time, the buffoonery is not on the streets
or in a theatre, it's at the Oval Office, the world’s most powerful political
office. The Office of the President of the
USA. The world rejected such pranks. East Asia, specifically, was blunt: “We
won’t be bullied,” said China; “Infantile extortion,” chimed in the Japanese.
The US president, Donald Trump, is too small for his
boots. He is incompetent, Indecisive, confused,
and destructive. A man who has reached his “Maria Antoinette Moment,” wrote the
Financial Times.
Maria Antoinette was the famous foolish queen of French King
Louis XVI of the seventeen Century who famously wondered why “People cannot eat
cakes” when told the demonstrators in the streets are protesting the lack of bread.
The Americans are calling him “brutal Scrooge.”
The leader of the World’s richest country is driving it to
the dogs by isolating it and destroying its economy. Last month, he imposed
tariffs on all countries of the world including Penguins, bears, and Volcanoes.
The reaction was swift. The domestic capital markets tanked, shaving off
$10 trillion in value within a week. Japan, which was hit with a 46 percent
tariff, responded by hitting where it hurts most. It offloaded U.S. Treasury bonds, sending the US financial market on a downward spiral.
Quickly, Trump “suspended all tariffs for 90 days, hoping for
a deal with all 189 countries.” What he
did not tell us is; he was afraid that the government securities market would
tank. Japan and China hold a large chunk, 23 percent, of US public debt. As of
February 2025, Japan held US$1,125.9 trillion in US treasury securities, China
was second, holding $784.3 billion, reports Reuters.
Trump is rattling
snakes- not one but many. If they hit back all at once, how will he
survive? The Canadians and Mexicans have
stood up to him, with Canada locking out US produce and restricting its own
energy exports, including oil, gas, and electricity to the US.
He is demanding deals from all over and getting no response.
The only deal he got – the Ukraine Mineral deal, but he was outmaneuvered by President
Zelensky of Ukraine.
All appear to have
chosen one lethal weapon, the US market, both the Main Street and Wall Street.
So when Japan dumped US gilt-edged securities, the US Treasury Securities market panicked, and Trump had to relent. China did not sell. But that was not
important. China responded by slapping an 84 percent tariff on US imports and
then upgraded it to 125 percent when Trump elevated the Chinese tariff to 145 percent.
China, the second-largest economy in the world, has
demonstrated a willingness to fight the US blow-for-blow. It not only raised its own tariffs against US
imports to 125 percent, virtually locking US exports out of China, but it has also
ordered its Airlines not to buy Boeing Aircraft. Reports indicate that there
are 179 Boeing aircraft on order from China Airlines for delivery in the next five
years. In addition, it stopped exports of critical minerals, including rare
earth.
Already, there is panic in the US regarding trade with China.
Shipping to the US has shrunk 35 per cent this week. It could get worse, and
some Large Retailers are warning of empty shelves by June-July.
It is not clear how much of her $1,125 trillion holding of
US debt Japan offloaded. But it must have been large enough to shake the
market. The country has warned that should “the infantile bullying” continue,
it could offload a large chunk of it. China still holds on to its $784 billion
debt, probably for use at a later date.
Trump is walking a tight rope at home and abroad: He wants
to cut taxes for the rich at home and plug the budget deficit by gutting public
expenditure. Both are unpopular measures
because they spawn unemployment at home. He
believes foreign countries pay tariffs to sell in the US market: Wrong. The
exporters know that tariffs, being a tax, will increase pain for the American
consumer.
Trumpnomics is at loggerheads with Economics. Something or
someone has to give. The question is, what is that something, or who is that
someone?
Unilateral tariffs are
unpalatable. Trying to blackmail a deal out of sovereign states is dumb. Ukraine (a country at war, and which depends
in large measure on the US for arms to fight Russia) was the first to show
some spine. It rejected a deal to sign
away its natural wealth in exchange for arms.
Europe, probably because they are NATO member together with
the US, has been restrained in its response to the US insanity. Germany and
France, however, are showing signs of irritation, especially regarding Ukraine's support.
If Japan, which views Trump policies as Extortionist, and
China, which sees him as a bully, offload US debt, the dollar will die as an
international currency. He has already rattled confidence in the US as a Safe
haven for investors; a weakening of the US dollar could destroy it. Already,
the economy has shrunk 0.3 percent in April from 2.4 percent in March 2025.
Is he ready to burn the house to cook a sandwich? That
remains to be seen.
Two things are certain, though: He shall not force
manufacturers to set up shop in the US in the next four years, and also, he
will not cut taxes for the US oligarchy.
Apart from economic
and financial risks, Trump must also evaluate the Political risks for himself
and his party. Should he turn a blind eye to political risks, the mid-terms
next year will be a blood bath for Republicans. Or they will soon desert him
to save their political careers.
If the democrats control both the House and the Senate,
Trump will be impeached, no doubt. And even his supporters could be praying for
such a result. Maria Antoinette’s folly brought down the French Monarchy. Trump
could be brought down by his own incompetence sooner than 2028.
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