Trump: Give Me a Wall or I'll Engineer a Recession

[workinclasszero]

By Eric Levitz 10:47 A.M.

Donald Trump declared himself qualified for the world’s highest office in 2016, on the grounds that his exceptional deal-making acumen and economic expertise more than compensated for his lack of conventional credentials.

On Friday morning, the president tweeted that if Democrats refuse to fund his wall, he will engineer a massive recession (that would all-but ensure Democratic victory in 2020) – because he is under the impression that the United States would “profit” by closing its southern border to all commerce, since the U.S. runs trade deficit with Mexico:

His latest tweets confirm that he has, in fact, been threatening to end (virtually) all commerce between the U.S. and Mexico, our nation’s third-largest trading partner. Upward of $30 billion worth of goods are shipped across the U.S. southern border on a monthly basis; interrupting that flow of goods for any significant period of time would paralyze major corporate supply chains, drive countless small businesses into insolvency, and terrorize global markets with the specter of American autarky.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/trump-threatens-close-southern-border-wall-government-shutdown-recession.html

[delisen]

1. Trump lied about Mexico paying and now he's stealing the $ from us.

[workinclasszero]

31. Why doesn't his cult respond with anger about this massive lie?

They will be the ones paying out of their pockets if Shitler has his way!

[Maru Kitteh]

37. Dipshitistanians? They think "the liberal media is lyin' ta us" and Mexico WILL pay, cauz

Trump said it.

[BootinUp]

2. Stunning, isn't it.

[Grasswire2]

3. What if the true goal is destruction of our economy..

...and the wall is just his hammer?

[BBG]

18. What if the true goal is destruction of our nation..

the hammer and wall for the economy and the sickle divisiveness for the political system.

[Midnightwalk]

4. Absolute disaster

So many manufactured goods cross the border both ways to then make bigger goods. This really would stop a lot of businesses and bankrupt many.

People who mange supply chains are probably drinking heavily.

[flibbitygiblets]

5. 70% of vegetables and 50% of fruits in US come from Mexico. They're #3 of US exports

source: Dept of Agriculture. (PS their web page is no longer being updated because of the government shutdown.)

[torius]

15. That explains it

He'll make it so Big Macs are the only things left to eat.

[progree]

27. Add to that the amount of U.S. crops they tend and harvest in the U.S.

I'm sure glad I got rid of my vineyard in the San Joaquin Valley of California at the end of 2016, so I don't have to worry about the labor.

70% of vegetables and 50% of fruits in US come from Mexico

[workinclasszero]

32. I think Trump and Putin want to start a worldwide depression like the one in 1929

It brought Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo into power and started a world war of conquest.

I think Putin wants to rule the world by starting another world war of fascist aggression and he is using his traitor lapdog Trump to accomplish this evil deed.

[FailureToCommunicate]

6. And somewhere in Moscow...Putin is smiling.

All part of his unfolding plan for his asset... in The White House

[workinclasszero]

33. Yup

No damn doubt about it!

[AlexSFCA]

7. why does prez have so much power over trade?

it seems like he can just cancel multiple trade agreements, introduce any tarrifs he wishes, and quickly induce global economic depression. Which would facilitate his ultimate goal - deconstruction of administrative state, suspension of constitution via martial law, etc.

[leftyladyfrommo]

11. Why so much power over everything,?

We really need to fix that.

[DENVERPOPS]

19. Hello......................

Hey People............start using your heads.

It's not him, It's not him, It's not him..............

It's the Republican DNC, Republican House Members, Republican Senate...........

THEY ARE THE ONES, PEOPLE..........TRUMP IS JUST AN IDIOTIC PAWN AND ENABLER.

[Quemado]

29. You forgot

The Republican donors..

[SergeStorms]

8. In his own words...

"Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star....to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!"

OK, "stable genius". You've done nothing in the past 4 years that would lend credence to those claims.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

30. It wasn't his first "try."

[PufPuf23]

36. Mr.Ed was a stable genius, Trump is a horse's ass. nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. Can he even do that?

Can he really by executive order or whatever stop all trade with some other country?

[BadgerMom]

22. I have the same question.

[gratuitous]

10. Try this response, ChuckandNancy

"We don't negotiate with terrorists."

[MrScorpio]

12. Nice economy you have there...

It would be a shame if something bad happened to it.

[Fuzzpope]

13. ...

This is a hardly concealed attack upon the American people.

Trump has but one single agenda: the destruction of the United States.

He must be stopped, now. I don't know of care how.

[nancy1942]

28. Exactly.

You said it.

[workinclasszero]

34. "Trump has but one single agenda: the destruction of the United States."

Yes and so does the Republican party that sits in silent approval of all that Trump does.

So does the evangelical right that backs Trump 1000%.

If they didn't they would be speaking out and protesting but no, they want to destroy American democracy and replace it with a murderous righting theocratic dictatorship with Trump as their god for life!

[pat_k]

14. Hedge against recession on the horizon anyway.

When/if recession hits, DT will say "I's the Dems fault for not giving me the magical wall that would have solved everything."

[hibbing]

16. Did I miss some strongly worded tweets from Republicans?

That is usually what happens. My lame Senator Sasse is promoted as some "strong critic" by the corporate media when the most I've seen from him are some tweets about harsh as mild salsa.

On a side note, who has replaced Senator McCain's weekly appearances on the network Sunday shows?


Peace

[Initech]

17. Someone really needs to take Fox News away from him!

[ancianita]

20. We should send him pics giving him the finger, like Vicente Fox did. Pics of big groups.

[uponit7771]

21. Just what Putin ordered

[watoos]

23. Trump's a hammer mechanic,

working in a clock repair shop.

or better yet, like a toddler in a crowded room with a loaded gun.

Everything Trump touches is FUBAR.

[dchill]

24. As God is my witness, I thought extortion was illegal.

[blue-wave]

25. That jackass will

sink us into a depression. Every policy he puts into play is anti-American. His boyfriend Pooty- Poot wants it that way.

[at140]

26. His $25 Billion wall is going to cost us $1000 Billion in recession!

what a doofus!

[workinclasszero]

35. Trump could give a shit

That thief and his crime family will live like kings in his Great Depression 2.

[TexasBushwhacker]

38. Good way to lose Texas in 2020 motherfucker n/t

[Hermit-The-Prog]

39. how long before Collins is concerned?

Such a grand extortion scheme may cause Susan Collins to become concerned!