Trump started his disastrous trade war with China, thinking he could bully them into making concessions. They just ignored him. Then he imposed tariffs, thinking that would bully them. They just ignored him and imposed tariffs on the United States.
In an attempt to get China to come around to him, Trump met with them but offered them nothing. They walked away. And just recently, Trump tried to bully them again into accepting his conditions. They responded by ignoring him and increasing tariffs on the United States. So Trump raised tariffs again on China.
Instead of coming to an agreement to remedy a mess Trump created, he keeps doubling down and pulling further away from any kind of resolution. The result is that all Americans will have to pay a new Trump tax on all Chinese imports, which will increase prices. (Trump lies when he says Americans won't have to pay for his tariffs.)
Now, obviously panicked at the mess he's created and can't undo, Trump is lashing out madly at anyone and everyone (details here).
And now comes word that Trump is going to try to do the same thing with Europe that he did with China, blow up relations and impose tariffs (details here). No doubt when that fails, he'll double down on stupid again.
If there is a silver lining to this cloud, it's that Trump's looming trade war recession further weakens his chances for re-election. As Josh Barrow wrote in an excellent piece in yesterday's New York magazine (link here), "This Is How Trump Will Tank the Economy and His Presidency."
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