April 2, 2025: The World Waits For Tariffs
Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams gives a free marketing boost to Kash Patel's book...
IT’S LIBERATION DAY!
Psyche. “Liberation Day” is the name Donald Trump chose for the day he applies reciprocal tariffs, and although he likes the name, most of the normal people in the world are waiting with bated breath to see what this does to prices, and the economy, and the world.
I’m sad I didn’t get to archive yesterday on account of a busy day at work and a lack of sleep the night before; if I had archived, I would have been able to celebrate the fact that voters in Wisconsin delivered the most expensive middle finger in HISTORY to Elon Musk yesterday 🙂 He dropped no less than $20 million on a “nonpartisan” Supreme Court race (I put nonpartisan in quotations because there are no qualms about the reality that this race is, indeed, very partisan) to ensure that a Republican won the Supreme Court so the maps could continue to be drawn to favor Republicans… but the voters of Wisconsin, it seems, don’t appreciate billionaires assuming their votes are for sale. There hasn’t been much to celebrate since the election, but it’s safe to say that Donald Trump dissenters got to breathe a little easier last night, if only for a moment.
It’s 7:00am and I’ll be following the live updates from New York Times today, since it’s sure to be an interesting day with these new tariffs…
A Nobel laureate and ex-leader of Costa Rica says the U.S. revoked his visa.
Oscar Arias Sanchez has been a vocal critic of President Trump and is just the latest in this string of people losing their visas without being given reasons why.
I was listening to an episode of Post Reports yesterday, and they were literally giving advice about how to keep your information safe at the airport because officials are allowed to ask to look through your phone there, and it seems that TSA has even started asking citizens to hand over their phones too… Post Reports never said it outright, but they danced around the reality that the Trump administration is acting unlawfully.
‘A big psychological boost’ for Democrats in a string of elections.
The Wisconsin race wasn’t the only sign of something brewing… over in Florida, there was a state senator and a house representative election; the Republicans still won there, but by WAY less than they won in November. Democrats are taking it as a sign that Trump might not have as much support as his self-described “mandate” suggests.
Trump plans to unveil expansive global tariffs.
Deutsche Bank Research says that the tariff moves he’s already done have the US tariff rate at 12 percent, the highest level since WWII, while the new tariffs could bring that rate closer to 18%.
Last time we saw a rate like that, it was increasing the Great Depression.
Israel has announced it will cancel all American tariffs. Vietnam is cutting their American tariffs as well.
Expected to make announcement at 4pm today
A federal judge orders legal funds for migrant children to be temporarily restored.
Look dude, I understand there are no easy answers where immigration is concerned, but this is more of a referendum on who the United States is, as a people; are we okay with children, UNACCOMPANIED children, to stand in court without counsel? If the answer is no, then we should celebrate the overturning of a truly evil act. If the answer is yes, then we should drop the moniker of “land of the free”.
S&P500 opened 1% lower and the Nasdaq is 1.5% lower this morning.
A judge ends the Eric Adams case, but says the U.S. cannot use charges as leverage.
He showed his ass. Let the record stand forevermore that Democrats can be just as fucking corrupt as any Republican. I hope New York votes him out so soundly that he ends up moving out of state.
8:51am
I’m on Ground News now to do a deep dive of any stories I’ve missed these last few days:
Massive X Data Breach Exposes Information on 200 Million Users
Breach allegedly originated from a disgruntled employee during mass layoffs after Elon took over.
Reuters: Trump preparing executive order to increase weapons exports, sources say
Raises the total purchase amount that triggers a congressional review, allowing the President and military contractors to sell larger orders without involving Congress
Tesla reports 336,000 vehicle deliveries in first quarter, 13% drop from a year ago
Analysts were expecting more, even with the lower sales projections.
Sales fell by 36.8% in France and 63.9% in Sweden just in March alone.
AND THEY DESERVE EVERY BIT OF THE PAIN THEY FACE
Trump Media shares drop after warning the president’s trust and other insiders could sell stock
This is CNBC: The underlying business of Trump Media is much smaller than other public social media companies. The firm reported less than $4 million in total sales in 2024, with a net loss of about $401 million. The company said earlier this year it plans to expand into financial services.
I just want the record to show that there was a time where these types of activities would have been disqualifying for a candidate on either side of the aisle.
US News: Trump Health Layoffs Include Staff Overseeing Bird Flu Response, Source Says
The current plan is to either lay off, fire, or give early retirement to like 20,000 out of 70,000 workers.
BBC: What tariffs has Trump introduced so far?
2/4/25: 10% tariff on goods from China
3/4/25: 10% tariff on Chinese goods doubled to 20%; 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10% on Canadian energy
3/6/25: Tariffs on Canadian potash - used in fertiliser by US farmers - reduced from 25% to 10%
3/12/25: 25% tariff on global steel and aluminium imports
4/2/25: 25% tariff on all cars coming into the US comes into effect today
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: "It is clear that the introduction of new tariffs would have a heavy impact on Italian producers. I also believe it would be unfair to many Americans, as it would limit access to our excellent products to only those who can afford higher prices.”
Italian President Sergio Mattarella called tariffs a “profound mistake”
It’s a quarter past 10 now, and I’m reading an article released by the White House called “Tariffs Work - and President Trump’s First Term Proves It,” where they state in bold font: “Despite the rhetoric from politicians and the media, studies have repeatedly shown tariffs are an effective tool for achieving economic and strategic objectives — just as they did in President Trump’s first term.” The article proceeds to list out several sources that seem to confirm their statement;
Two sources were written by an organization on the advisory board of Project 2025
One source specifically states “The report is not an assessment of the complete, economy-wide impacts of the tariffs under sections 232 and 301 and cannot be used to draw broad conclusions about whether the tariffs under sections 232 and 301 produced a net benefit for the U.S. economy overall,” but that did not stop the White House.
They even cite Janet Yellen, Biden’s former Treasury Secretary, saying that tariffs do not increase prices… but they FAIL to point out that the tariffs Yellen was discussing are nowhere NEAR as widespread and steep as the tariffs the White House intends to implement today. That’s the irritating part… It's really easy to fool unscrupulous readers by making a bunch of data look convincing, but it’s just as accurate as using the weather last year to predict what you’ll wear today; it’s not quite the same situation.
It’s just shy of noon now.
I got to leave work early today, and I’m hanging out at John’s house now :) He’s working from home today, so I’m just hanging out on his couch and catching up on the news. We have another hour or so until the Rose Garden tariff announcement, and most of Europe and the world at large seems to be waiting for it. We’ll see which way the wind blows…
NYT: The entire staff of a federal program that helps poor Americans pay for heating has been fired.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program was created in 1981 nad helps some 6.2 million people across America pay their energy bills, but the administration laid off the entire staff today
Stanley Woodward Jr. had previously defended J6 Rioters as well.
I’m having trouble typing the next story with a straight face, but I kid you not, the New York Times is reporting that Mayor Eric Adams had a news conference today, following the dropping of his charges, where he specifically credited the dropping of the charges by saying “Jesus stepped in and uses who he uses,” and then followed by recommending Kash Patel’s book to all New Yorkers… you know, the book that argues Americans are the victims of a deep state cabal. As the Times reports, “... his brandishing of the book at the news conference seemed to underscore the bargain he has been accused of striking with the Trump administration..” While the judge overseeing Adams’ case explicitly said the government would not be able to revisit the charges at a later date, it’s clear that he feels indebted to Trump, and that’s dangerous for New York.
Lastly, I haven’t gotten super into the subject because I’m intending to do a deep dive of all the cases soon, but it should be noted that there are HEINOUS human rights abuses being carried out by the American federal government on a daily basis. To this day, the White House has not provided any proof that these men deserved to be sold to a prison camp in an authoritarian country. Please trust when I say I WILL be providing an update soon.
You’ll probably hear from me again soon, considering the tariffs will be announced soon…