Post

Conversation

Derek Thompson
@DKThomp
Something v profound here about the whole Trump experience. Trump stepping over Congress to punish Chinese manufacturers (his tariffs) while stepping over Congress to un-punish Chinese social media (his stay of the TikTok ban) is one of the clearer cases where I don’t think it’s possible to really articulate any coherent ex ante strategy for this administration. The best a Trump explainer or defender can do is watch what he does and explain after the fact that it’s brilliant. So you get a bunch of very (or mildly) clever ex post explanations but nobody can tell you what’s gonna happen next week. How’s this supposed to work for … four years? I don’t get how you run an economy with a bunch of priests standing around a lottery ball machine, explaining why each new number is the perfect expression of an infallible god.
Quote
Matthew Zeitlin
@MattZeitlin
i'm a broken record about this but our failure to follow our own ban tiktok law while it's actively being used in a front of the supposedly existential trade war we're in with china is baffling
Image
321.6K
Views
David Watson 🥑
Post your reply

Aaron Astor
@AstorAaron
The common thread is: What is good for Trump personally? He thinks Tik Tok helped him win the election...therefore it is "good." Of course, the takeaway here is that he is basically soliciting bribes from every country in the world...which is what his tariff policy facilitates.
11K
Elissa
@ElissaBeth
Either the stated reasons for policies are not the actual reasons (which is why we see contradictions) or the administration's policies are not driven by a coherent plan at all. Seems possible that Trump simply likes tariffs and likes TikTok, and various advisors have deeper
4.9K
Emre
@emre_mayo
In a wartime scenario America will have onshored manufacturing, but be defeated by teens indoctrinated on Tik Tok burning cities down from the inside.
1.7K
That’d be great
@theautomatedtom
It actually worked out pretty well last time, although you could argue that the equities markets were beginning to overheat before COVID was loosed upon the world.
64
The Captain's Blog
@williamnyy23
I don't get how you run an economy by printing money and accumulating crippling levels of debt, but that's what we've been doing for nearly three decades now.
2.6K
Thomas Peebles
@PeebsPoker
TikTok should be 100% banned, I don’t understand why it hasn’t been. The danger is clear, the law was bi-partisan, users/creators have been warned for years at this point, and there’s little on the app that can’t be done on Reels, Shorts or another American app.
100
Chadzilla
@chadzillain
TikTok is very popular. Losing our entire production economy to China is very unpopular. That’s the summary.
1.4K
Atlas3D
@Orwelian84
its also utilitizing a pocket veto power the POTUS does not actually have and congress is so apathetic and lazy they are just letting it happen.
68
Allan
@AllanRicharz
"I don’t get how you run an economy with a bunch of priests standing around a lottery ball machine, explaining why each new number is the perfect expression of an infallible god." But enough about the Fed...
78
Ken Broad
@Metis65
Trump is a populist phenomenon caused by the Left’s myriad of failures, both to produce for and persuade the working class voters of this country - including minorities! As you and
@ezraklein
document in Abundance, your party has created the opposite - scarcity and popular
Quote
Derrick Evans
@DerrickEvans4WV
Bret Stephens, a writer for the NY Times tells Adam Schiff right to his face: "California, I’m sorry to say this, a beautiful state, has become Exhibit A in progressive misgovernance."
0:54
1.8K
Jake Smith
@fixitjake
I throughly enjoy how you so called educated elites cheered our political system putting America 37 trillion dollars in debt, and then question President Trump trying to fix it. Please do carry on because your credibility is in the toilet.
735
Keep Calm and Tweet On 
@SeIpsa
Trump like TikTok. TikTok help Trump win. TikTok good. Trump be nice TikTok. Trump no like trade deficits. Trade deficit mean we lose. Losing bad. Tariffs help us win trade. Tariffs good. The end. There is no nuance. Its all first order thoughts.
331
Tyler Tone🐊
@tscwared
There’s the corruption angle but at the same time he is exempting consumer electronics so iPhones stay the same price. He wants to have his cake and eat it to with the public.
730
Andrew Lang
@archibaldcrane
"I don’t get how you run an economy with a bunch of priests standing around a lottery ball machine, explaining why each new number is the perfect expression of an infallible god." This is an incredible line
25
LOLO Mac
@LOLOMac4life
“I don’t get how you run an economy with a bunch of priests standing around a lottery ball machine, explaining why each new number is the perfect expression of an infallible god.” Best expression of what’s happening that I have read.
145
InmanRoshi
@InmanRoshi
Trump cares more about US Grifters/Influencers who need the Chinese Social Media Platform than US Small Business owners who need Chinese Manufacturing Suppliers.
294
Danack
@MrDanack
"How’s this supposed to work for … four years?" I don't see how the current situation will last 8 weeks. There's going to be shortages of goods, and Americans just don't seem that likely to handle that at all.
309
Shane O'Brien
@njdevilz324
I had hoped tariffs wouldn't be implemented and were just a negotiation tool :(. One semi possible theory I've heard is the other countries tariffs were to negotiate a way to prevent China from backdooring their products through their country to the US legally. Tariffs are bad.
234
CryptOsho
@crypt_osho
Trump isnt actually afraid of china, he just uses china scare mongering for domestic political reasons. He does actually care about the trade deficit though. That’s why he’s allowing tik tok for now, because banning it would hurt him domestically.
8
Kot z wysp
@kotzwysp
Is there any data that sales pitches from Chinese companies in TikTok translate to actual sales? Usual conversion rate on TikTok is terribly low it’s like literally couple of people per million views.
29
wave after wave
@ChosenTime50
It’s basically throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. Obfuscate the lack of strategy by claiming he’s some negotiation genius that can’t reveal his tactics.
116
Carey O'Halloran 🇨🇦
@Carey14098
What a fantastic sentence. “How’s this supposed to work for … four years? I don’t get how you run an economy with a bunch of priests standing around a lottery ball machine, explaining why each new number is the perfect expression of an infallible god.”
287
LevelOneRaccoon
@LevelOneRaccoon
We are dependent on our chief military rival for our industrial capacity. Historically that has been a mighty big woopsie. Who tf cares about tik tok, closing it is a threat to free speech so keep it open.
52
stonygirl
@stonygirl
Were you not alive 4 years ago? This is exactly how it was last time. Chaos, on top of chaos. Never knowing from one day to the next what is going to happen to the economy or watch market or my 401K. That man literally destroyed my retirement account 3 times just by tweeting.
33
ck
@ckstevenson
"I don’t think it’s possible to really articulate any coherent ex ante strategy for this administration" The strategy is to make Trump money, and fellate his ego. That is THE PRIORITY, singular. Everything stems from that. It's always been obvious.
63
Janell Longa
@jlonga1
Simple. You don’t. People decide not make decisions, which is the worse possible thing that can happen.
13
whoabr201
@whoabr201
Its easy. Occam's Razor. Foreign adversaries used social media to influence our election and help Trump win. Trump likes winning. Trump thinks the US running a trade deficit is us getting "ripped off". They will undercut Trump in a trade war that they know Trump can't win.
406
Sui.Generis
@SG3neris
Quote
OpenSecrets.org
@OpenSecretsDC
Court docs mistakenly made public reveal GOP megadonor, Jeff Yass, was deeply involved in TikTok’s genesis. Yass has funded an advocacy drive to prevent its banning and is also the largest donor this election cycle, with more than $46M in contributions. nytimes.com/2024/04/18/bus
Show more
228
BobHope
@borntobemild69
I think his only strategy is to Make News. He doesn’t care how it’s perceived. He wins when you talk about him. Unfortunately, it’s effective.
3
Sock Puppets United
@ReasonedCenter
It's almost as if Congress shouldn't have spent the last 4 decades punting power to the Executive, isn't it? You can't create a king and then complain that the king has powers.
166
TrumpWonCryLibs
@Y192814512
Tiktok would not have been banned. Merely divested. It would continue to operate regardless. Problem is... no Chinese owner. Banned from China.
36
Bruce Kirby
@BruceRKirby
You are missing the core consistency to his actions: ignoring the law and the Constitution to do whatever his mood desires.
42
James Bendon
@JBendon177
Derek, what is your logic? TT doesn't have anything to do with the on-shoring of manufacturing, it actually helps American businesses and content creators. Tariffs are meant to stop the import / export imbalance and the advantages that CHN has. Like tariffs.
28
DanielDravitt
@Daniel__Dravot
Son, this is a hall of fame sentence: "I don’t get how you run an economy with a bunch of priests standing around a lottery ball machine, explaining why each new number is the perfect expression of an infallible god." Golf clap.
8
jon
@portilloscake
Abundance. Import 20 million build 5 million homes. Abundance. Coherent. Abundance.
15
CrusaderKangz
@CrusaderKangz
Why would or should a random person be able to predict the strategic moves and internal calculus of the White House?? Do you see how dumb this complaint is?
38