UPDATED: From “Chosen One” to “Emperor of All Commerce”
UPDATED BELOW:
We all heard Trump’s inane ranting this week from calling himself the “chosen one” to him saying he’s going to cut payroll taxes (never mind) to escalating his trade war with China that was doomed from the start. The outrage of the week, though, after China retaliated by slapping a 5% tariff on crude oil (crushing US oil prices), Trump appointed himself “Emperor of All Commerce” and tweeted out:
“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.”
The response on Twitter was EXACTLY what you’d expect: Republicans ran for the exits and were virtually radio silent, and Democrats as well as Trump critics pounced, and #iherebyorder started trending. Adam Schiff tweeted:
“As long as we are claiming constitutional powers we don’t have, I hereby order the President to stop tweeting.”
George Conway got into the act, hilariously tweeting:
“I hereby order everyone on Twitter to hereby order something. #Iherebyorder” and “I hereby order Republicans to get real about Trump’s mental state.”
The hashtag is extremely entertaining, but let’s be clear – President of the United States is president, not king, emperor, or dictator. It’s the most powerful position in the world (I shuddered as I typed that), but it’s limited. He can’t order private business to do ANYTHING. That’s why they call it the private sector. What he could do, though, is lead by example, and get his own goddam businesses out of China. Both he and Ivanka’s cheesy crap is made in China as well as his 2020 campaign banners.
Trump is completely off the rails, driving the global economy in the ditch with his idiotic trade war. His latest tantrum is only an attempt to control what he has no authority over, and I expect this to get worse and worse. Think about it – when he was campaigning, he said over and over that only HE could fix what was “wrong” with America (even though the economy was fine, thank you very much). He also repeated that he knew more about the economy, warfare, ISIS, technology, and trade than ANYONE when, in fact, he didn’t know shit about any of those things. All Trump knows about is reality television and that’s how he’s running the government, with his daily episodes of out of control tweeting and stupefying chaos.
We’re in this pickle because a huge portion of the electorate is stupid. That’s a given. However, we remain in this pickle because the Congress is broken. Over the years it has ceded its Constitutional authority over to the Executive branch. Trade policy is the Congress’s, not the president’s. Trump is using national security as his reason for driving his personal vendetta against allies and trading partners, and Mitch McConnell is sitting on his fat ass letting it happen. McConnell has blocked every effort to stop the wrecking of the US and global economies and for this reason, is actually worse than Trump, since he actually DOES know better.
Enough of this is enough. Get off your ass, Mitch, and do your goddam job. Either do that, or get out of the way and let someone else do it.
UPDATE: Trump asserted on Twitter early this am that he indeed CAN order companies to leave China. He quoted the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 as his authority, but, of course, he’s wrong. This law was passed to provide a framework for dealing with criminal regimes and terrorists organizations and was enacted to LIMIT a president’s authority to unilaterally act without proper declarations of emergencies that affect immediate national security. It has NEVER been used for commercial trade disputes. My feeling is that, per usual, Trump shot off his Twitter and some law library rat has been scurrying around trying to find some legal thread to tie it to, just like the Muslim ban and his “zero tolerance” policy that has created one of the largest human rights crisis in US history at the southern border.
This one, like all the others, won’t end well for either Trump or the US’ standing in the international community.
Eloquent.
1H.L.Mencken was a prophet.
2“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
Would it be wrong to wish MoscowMitch would go join Koch?
3from yesterday’s Alternet:
George Conway
@gtconway3d
I hereby order the White House staff to take @realDonaldTrump to Walter Reed, and to convene the cabinet under Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment.#Iherebyorder
Terry Dresbach
✔
Replying to @gtconway3d
I hereby order that we all time travel back to November 2016, knowing what we know.#Iherebyorder
Smitty D
@smittyd060
I hereby order you to get off my lawn.#iherebyorder
Orange Leader
@OrangeLeaderUSA
Replying to @gtconway3d
“I hereby order all the Filet-O-Fish in town.”#Iherebyorder
Kurt Eichenwald
✔
@kurteichenwald
#Iherebyorder @POTUS, @DonaldJTrumpJr @EricTrump @IvankaTrump and the Trump Organization to immediately STOP doing business with China. Perhaps before ordering everyone else to do it.
Shelly
4@TexHellCat
#IHereByOrder all toilet paper be hung in the correct position.
Non Twitter user but hey, the water’s nice.
#IHereByOrder all children in concentration camps to immediately flown, first class, to Trump Tower NY. Housed in suites and be given carte blanche room service with the lobby to be commandeered as an ICE free play area. With free magic markers to be given to each child.
5What Trump’s insane ramblings will do is hasten the inevitable recession. I agree with Bill Maher, I’m hoping for the recession to happen before the 2020 election; this may be the only way to peel off some of his supporters
The pain of the recession will be nothing compared to the devastation that Trump will cause if he keeps screwing us over with his idiotic economic policies.
6Trump’s Tweets are even more unhinged when he’s suffering from jet lag. As usual he was the biggest bag of nuts on the plane. The only thing he’s qualified for at this point is the 25th Amendment.
7The sad thing is, we can’t be sure that a 5:4 Supreme Court decision wouldn’t say Congress left the definition of “emergency “ to the President’s discretion.
We really need to rein in the Imperial Presidency.
8And pray for better health for Ruth Ginsburg
9“Suckers” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb219dz_NeA
10this (-) is how shocked I am, at the latest Trump clownery. that said, it seems that at least 40% of the electorate remains in support of him, as long as he continues to hurt someone, anyone.
11Thanks, megasoid. I love Randy Rainbow. He nailed it on tRump suckers.
12I would add this additional quotation, also attributed to H. L. Mencken
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
H. L. Mencken
13And this quotation, from Robert Heinlein:
.. Vox Populi, Vox Dei translates as “My God! How did we get in this mess!”
14cpinva says:
it seems that at least 40% of the electorate remains in support of him,
cpinva,
I spoke with my neighbor yesterday, and without any encouragement on my part he explained to me:
Neighbor: People think Trump is crazy, but in fact he is a absolute genius. The Tweets he sends out which sound nonsensical to the average person? They contain secret messages meant for the people who really control world governments and economies…
There’s a lot more including mind control by the fake media, etc, but all I kept wondering was, “doesn’t the President of the United States have phone numbers for the real leaders of the world? Can’t he send them messages directly through a secure phone line instead of imbedding them in a public, crazy sounding Tweet? Do the intended recipients of secret insane Tweets have a Trump-Enigma machine that translates “We Should Buy Greenland” into their marching orders?
So many questions, and the singular answer to each is that Trump is a genius.
15I hereby order all investors to stop selling!
16Hey, I really, really like the idea of housing all those kidnapped children in Trump Tower. The overflow can reside in the Trump Hotel in D.C. Send all bills to tRump.
17Who told Trump about the IEPP Act of 1977? He sure didn’t find it on his own.
18I wish I could be more certain that the Supreme Court would tell Donald to stick his “emergency powers” where the sun don’t shine, but it’s a 5-4 Republican Court, with the last two hand picked for their obedience to Trump, so I have serious doubts. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.
19If we do have a recession and interest rates plunge just think how much interest Trump will save on all his loans. With him it’s always follow the money. He knows there are enough people to elect him if Dems don’t come out en masse!
20Rick Says:
“So many questions, and the singular answer to each is that Trump is a genius.”
Dude, you have no idea how much comfort that gives me! 🙂
21Saw on the twitter: When a billionaire dies, who inherits his senators?
22Solid piece, EJ, thank you.
23The only nit I’d pick is the problem with the electorate. Some are stupid, true, but most cling to trump because of terror of the loss of white dominance: racism.
I am so mad at Democratic Senators that allowed those Damn Republican justices to be confirmed by a 2/3 majority. They should have blocked every one!
24Dan – I think that you will find that it only takes 51 votes to confirm a judge or justice.
25BillR. Love it, anyone know the answer?
26All these seemingly bizarre moves are, I suspect, part of a premeditated plot to establish a basis for a lack of moral competency which’ll protect prosecution of Trump post-Presidency.
27I’m so over George Conway’s take on the frump WH. I’ve been posing the question on Twitter wondering what his solution is for his wife’s support of the malignant narcissist. He keeps posting concerns….nice. BUT what is he doing to make sure Kelly is part of a solution for the beast she got into the WH??
28For anybody who hasn’t already seen it, go to YouTube and check out Suckers Randy Rainbow Song Parody.
29I highly recommend it.