11 Bluesky texts from Senator Chris Murphy, posted overnight to explain what Trump's tariffs are really all about:

[pat_k]

21. While the points may be true, I think that to 47 it is simpler than that.

Last edited Thu Apr 3, 2025, 10:12 PM - Edit history (2)

Yes, 47 undoubtedly recognizes his tariffs can be leveraged to bring the powerful to heel, but I don't think that is what is driving his obsession with them.

47 is simpleminded. Taxing great wealth and income to benefit the common weal is an affront to him. His obsession with tax cuts is driving his obsession with tariffs. To him, tariffs represent massive federal revenue. That's all. He has no vision of using tariffs as economic policy. He just sees dollar signs. He views the federal government coffers as the president’s personal piggy bank from which he can dole out benefits to those he sees as peers (other rich guys). That's it. He doesn't care what it does to the economy. In his head, any loss in GDP is just being sucked into the federal coffers. Then it's "his" money to hand out in massive tax cuts for the wealthy.

The worthwhile people (those with great wealth) must keep “their” money (never mind they couldn’t make that money without the support of the public sector, educated workforce, infrastructure, and on and on). No one and nothing else matters.

In his pea brain, the fact his tariffs probably represent the most massive and regressive tax increase in history is a feature, not a bug.

I think he has the same view toward the so-called "savings" from decimating the executive branch. Never mind that the operations of executive agencies represent a very small fraction of the federal budget (don't know who coined it, but from a budgetary perspective, the U.S. government is basically an insurance company with an army). He doesn't care. He sees dollar signs. It’s “his” money and he is absolutely confident “his” Congress with go along with whatever he wants to do with it.