Donald Trump the Megathread part II - Mod Warning updated in OP 12/2/26

If he had been shot, the MAGA crowd would be saying he should have brought a gun along as well.

I work with a lot of Americans, the reality is that plenty feel uncomfortable with discussing politics with plenty of other Americans. They know a portion of the public support the extreme things Trump has done, that know plenty of them either don't care that Trump is a rapist or think it was a conspiracy against Trump. On top of that, they know the administration and it's fans are happy to target the critics.

Thought I heard something along those lines (or at least remember being disappointed that his support was decent enough ,from the perspective of his gutter)

I think that could be from any year in general people get sick of political talk.

🙄

Cost 40 million too.

Its one of the reasons that many of them do the whole "don't discuss Politics or Religion" spiel IMHO.
It's easy to hold views that would diminish and demean others on the basis of their skin colour and religion if you only discuss those views with like minded people and avoid putting yourself in any conversations where your world view is challenged.
It's the default position for most Americans I know via work.

It's really odd too given the hard on for free speech.
If your world view means that others are less than you?
If your Christianity is performative and you pick and choose bible verse to bully, demean and control?
If your defence for those views when pressed is "I don't talk politics" or "Agree to disagree"

Then no, we don't agree to disagree.
The refusal to engage and defend political positions tells me all I need to know about such people.
That they're bigots and that they need to see others suffer.
It's absolutely maddening seeing those at the bottom of the American food chain, swallow the Demagoguery of Trump and a cohort of people whose wealth is so far out of reach that they believe they deserve to impose their vision, because they've donated huge amounts.
That because they're wealthy, they get to buy policy rather than vote for it.

The US has always skirted the line between Democracy and Plutocracy but?
It has fallen to oligarchy at this point and even with a swing back to Dems?
I don't know how that is unpicked without systemic overhaul.

Apparently Variety's film review of Melania was

"If they showed this film on a plane, people would still walk out."

+ 35 mil to promote

Amazon paid 40 Million for it. Of that 28 million went to Melania.

I wonder if Donald saw "The Producers", thought it was a documentary and decided he should make a guaranteed flop.

I'm sorry to say it, but more sensible and coherent noises come out of a cow's arse than out of Donald Trump's mouth. I doubt he even knows what day it is at this stage.

96% of the claimed $200bln in tariffs brought in 2025, were borne in full by the importer (as expected, by everyone but Don).
Paper from Kiel institute linked below but highlights include:

6 Why Don’t Exporters Absorb Tariffs?

A natural question arises: why don’t foreign exporters cut their prices to maintain access to the lucrative US market?

Several factors help explain this pattern.

Alternative markets exist. The United States is a large market, but it is not the only market.

Exporters facing US tariffs can redirect their sales to Europe, Asia, or other destinations.

If redirecting sales is feasible, exporters have less incentive to cut prices specifically for US buyers.

The Indian export data confirms this: Indian exporters maintained their prices across all destinations, suggesting they were able to find alternative buyers for goods no longer competitive in the US.

Cutting prices may not help.

Even if an exporter cuts prices, a 50% tariff is extremely difficult to overcome through price concessions. An exporter would need to cut their price by one-third just to offset a 50% tariff—a margin cut that would likely be unprofitable for most firms.

Given the choice between maintaining margins on reduced sales or slashing margins to maintain volume, most exporters apparently prefer the former.

Expectations matter. If exporters believe tariffs may be temporary or subject to negotiation, they have less incentive to make costly price adjustments.

Cutting prices in response to tariffs could set a precedent that invites further tariff increases in the future.

Maintaining prices signals resolve and avoids a race to the bottom.

Supply chains are sticky.

Many US importers have long-standing relationships with foreign suppliers and cannot easily switch to alternative sources.

This gives existing suppliers pricing power: they know that their US customers cannot immediately replace them, so they face less competitive pressure to cut prices.

7 Who Bears the Ultimate Burden?

Our analysis focuses on the first stage of tariff incidence: do foreign exporters absorb part of the tariff, or is it passed through to US importers?

The answer is clear: near-complete pass-through to importers.

But this raises the question of what happens next. Who, ultimately, bears the cost?

Importers and wholesalers face the immediate burden. They must pay the tariff at the border, which appears as a higher cost of goods on their books. They face a choice: absorb the cost through reduced margins, or pass it on to their customers.

Manufacturers and retailers who purchase imported inputs or finished goods face the next stage of the burden. If their suppliers pass through the tariff, they face the same choice: absorb or pass through.

Evidence from the 2018–19 tariffs suggests that most firms pass through cost increases to customers, though there is heterogeneity depending on market structure and competition.

Consumers are the ultimate bearers of the burden.

Whether through higher prices onimported goods, higher prices on domestically produced goods that use imported inputs, or reduced availability and variety of products, American households pay for the tariffs.

The $200 billion surge in customs revenue is not free money—it comes from American wallets.

The economic cost, moreover, exceeds the tariff revenue collected. Tariffs distort consumption patterns, leading consumers to substitute toward less-preferred (but non-tariffed) alternatives.

They disrupt supply chains, forcing firms to bear adjustment costs. And they reduce the variety of goods available to consumers. These “deadweight losses” are pure economic waste—costs borne by Americans with no offsetting benefit.

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