Is President Trump an Idiot? Or does he think we are?

[Precious_b]

Well, old donny wild actions are having a direct affect on po' dunk San Antonio. Toyota plant there has some big changes coming to plant operations.

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by Texas Contrarian

Really now, Salty! It doesn't look as though Canada and Mexico will need to swerve, at least not very far, as Donald has already (at least partially) swerved.

He has swerved by saying USMCA compliant vehicles and parts from Mexico and Canada will be exempt from the 25% tariffs. I asked ChatGPT what percentage of vehicles by value imported from Canada and Mexico were not compliant with USMCA and she said about 8%.

I asked the same question for parts. She said she didn't know, but based on the numbers she gave me, about 30% of auto parts imports from Mexico are not compliant with USMCA. ChatGPT's pretty good at coming up with numbers, but for some reason the dumb bitch can't put 2 and 2 together.

So not a disaster, yet, for the North American automakers and parts companies. I don't think Trump's made up his mind on whether he'll slap a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada for their failure to control immigration and fentanyl though. We've got to stop the tons of fentanyl and massive hordes of illegals pouring across our northern border! Right Donald.

If I were a foreign exporter, I'd take some of these executive orders to the courts. Exactly how is importing minivans a national security threat? That's the legal basis that Trump's using to impose the tariffs.

[Tiny]

The ex-CEO of Ford was on CNBC this morning. He believes the tariffs will have no effect on Tesla. Ford will suffer, but only a little as it manufactures 80% of what it sells here in the USA. Surprisingly, he said Honda and Toyota won't be affected as severely as GM. Both the Japanese companies have large manufacturing presences in the USA, while GM imports 40% of what it sells. Bringing up the rear are the Europeans, the smaller Japanese manufacturers, and the Koreans, who are about to get screwed over big time.

The ex-CEO believes the parts manufacturers will take it on the chin worse than the auto manufacturers. He says they're not in good financial shape, and will be forced to build factories in the USA they can't afford. He said that if you're going to do what Trump's doing, you should do it over several years, so companies can adjust.

There's going to be a ridiculous amount of money spent on new factories, and old ones will rust.

As the Economist put it, Trump's putting in place the same policies that caused the Indian economy to suck for decades. A few crony capitalists will make out like bandits, and the rest of us will lose.

[69in2it69]

Originally Posted by Tiny

The ex-CEO of Ford was on CNBC this morning. He believes the tariffs will have no effect on Tesla. Ford will suffer, but only a little as it manufactures 80% of what it sells here in the USA. Surprisingly, he said Honda and Toyota won't be affected as severely as GM. Both the Japanese companies have large manufacturing presences in the USA, while GM imports 40% of what it sells. Bringing up the rear are the Europeans, the smaller Japanese manufacturers, and the Koreans, who are about to get screwed over big time.

The ex-CEO believes the parts manufacturers will take it on the chin worse than the auto manufacturers. He says they're not in good financial shape, and will be forced to build factories in the USA they can't afford. He said that if you're going to do what Trump's doing, you should do it over several years, so companies can adjust.

There's going to be a ridiculous amount of money spent on new factories, and old ones will rust.

As the Economist put it, Trump's putting in place the same policies that caused the Indian economy to suck for decades. A few crony capitalists will make out like bandits, and the rest of us will lose.

The dumpster's bones will be dust before any of those factories can even think about opening...which means they won't. If the ass hat can't run a casino how do you expect him to understand global economics?

[Schwarzer Ritter]

Trump is right. You admit that but don't like the short term pain to correct years of abuse.

[The_Waco_Kid]

Originally Posted by Precious_b

Well, old donny wild actions are having a direct affect on po' dunk San Antonio. Toyota plant there has some big changes coming to plant operations.

like what? hiring more Americans to increase US production?




bahahahahhaaa

[winn dixie]

Trumpf is an idiot. He we they and them know it.
And he knows magas are for supporting him.
They kinda form a symbiotic relationship . Actually kinda cute.
The murican public know it.

[trey32]

I want a transactional approach - it is a transaction that I give my taxes and expect a good government.

On car tariffs, you can imagine that with the cost of euro cars going up it will allow the US manufacture to either sell cheaper or higher and make a bigger profit. So naturally domestic car prices will go up too. I feel pity for the scramble of management at places like VW, it is like a earthquake.

[Rkmason]

You guys and girls saying Trump is an idiot will find out what he is doing is the best thing for the US in the world. Not only are Reciprocal Tariffs mostly a negotiating technique which they are. They are reciprocal meaning we are paying them to other countries to market our goods which places us at a disadvantage in their market place. They are also a driver to put manufacturing back in the US something we have needed for a while. I personally have watched and felt the pain of industry moving to another country because the cost to do business here was incredibly lop-sided. And in truth impossible to make a profit. You all will see we are going to be "That bright shining city on the hill." again.
That was from Ronald Regan whom you idiots have probably never heard.

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by trey32

On car tariffs, you can imagine that with the cost of euro cars going up it will allow the US manufacture to either sell cheaper or higher and make a bigger profit. So naturally domestic car prices will go up too.

Well, not necessarily. Trump gave his marching orders to the auto execs -- no price increases:


When President Trump convened CEOs of some of the country’s top automakers for a call earlier this month, he issued a warning: They better not raise car prices because of tariffs.

Trump told the executives that the White House would look unfavorably on such a move, leaving some of them rattled and worried they would face punishment if they increased prices, people with knowledge of the call said.

Instead, Trump said, they should be grateful for his elimination of what he called former President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle mandate, which involved subsidies and emissions requirements to encourage electric-car production. He made a lengthy pitch for how they would actually benefit from tariffs, two people on the call said, adding that he was bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. and was better for their industry than previous presidents.

The tariffs would be “great,” Trump said, according to one of the people....“You’re going to see prices going down, but going to go down specifically because they’re going to buy what we’re doing, incentivizing companies to—and even countries—companies to come into America."

....It is unclear what the Trump administration could do if automakers raise their prices. Trump has targeted disfavored law firms with executive orders, and automakers rely on federal regulators for critical approvals.

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/t...=hp_lead_pos10

Is Trump on d***s? "You're going to see prices going down?"

Ford's pretax profit margin in 2024 was 3.9%. If its cost of goods sold were 6% higher, it would have lost money. And right now it's got 123 billion in net debt to service, with 7.4 billion profit before tax. GM's margins aren't quite as low, but it's deep in debt too, and imports a higher percentage of what it sells. So is Trump asking these companies to bankrupt themselves?

The Koreans and smaller Japanese companies which import most of the cars they sell here will have to pull out of the U.S. if they're not allowed to raise prices. They sell a large percentage of the low priced new cars in America. This means anyone who wants to buy a new car priced at, say, under $30,000 will have a lot less to choose from.

Even if you believe in tariffs, you have to admit the way Trump's implementing this is foolhardy. The Trump of ten years ago would have had a plan to impose the tariffs over a much longer time period, years, in order to allow the industry to adjust. Maybe he's not an idiot, on the tariffs.

Maybe he's just getting old, just like Biden. The difference is that Biden let others call the shots in his administration, who unfortunately were progressives. Trump on the other hand is a cantankerous old man who always thinks he's right even when it's obvious he's not.

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by Rkmason

You all will see we are going to be "That bright shining city on the hill." again.
That was from Ronald Regan whom you idiots have probably never heard.

Reagan was a free trader.

https://www.cato.org/commentary/reag...de-immigration

[Schwarzer Ritter]

I suspect that anyone opposed to reciprocal tariffs has an empty piggy bank.

[Precious_b]

Originally Posted by The_Waco_Kid

like what? hiring more Americans to increase US production?




bahahahahhaaa

Been waiting for all those Gold Cards to stimulate the economy with all those fat cat sponsors getting the foreign workers here that will do the jobs americans don't want.

Write your local orange one and git dat ball a rollin, wk

[Tiny]

Well, Trump's speech today answers the question! He's an idiot AND he thinks we're idiots.

The reciprocal tariffs on the chart he showed in the Rose Garden are way over the top. Peter Navarro's estimate of $700 billion/year in new taxes from the tariffs sounded high. Well, maybe he's right.

Trump said the Great Depression never would have happened if we'd kept the tariffs. Baloney. Tariffs made it worse. He talked about other countries brutalizing our farmers. He's the one brutalizing them. Last time around he had to pick the taxpayers' pockets so the farmers wouldn't go bankrupt after China imposed retaliatory tariffs. Look for that to happen again, only now it will be a lot more countries than just China. So you say, how about those 250% to 300% Canadian tariffs on dairy? Bull shit. Show me a gallon of American milk or a pound of American cheese that actually bore a 250% Canadian tariff and I'll buy you an hour with a Costa Rican hooker. Hell, I'll buy you toda la noche.

[txdot-guy]

Originally Posted by Tiny

Well, not necessarily. Trump gave his marching orders to the auto execs -- no price increases:


[I]When President Trump convened CEOs of some of the country’s top automakers for a call earlier this month, he issued a warning: They better not raise car prices because of tariffs.

Trump told the executives that the White House would look unfavorably on such a move, leaving some of them rattled and worried they would face punishment if they increased prices, people with knowledge of the call said.

That’s called price controls. Which don’t work not even in a state planned economy.

Originally Posted by Tiny

Well, Trump's speech today answers the question! He's an idiot AND he thinks we're idiots.

The reciprocal tariffs on the chart he showed in the Rose Garden are way over the top. Peter Navarro's estimate of $700 billion/year in new taxes from the tariffs sounded high. Well, maybe he's right.

Trump said the Great Depression never would have happened if we'd kept the tariffs. Baloney. Tariffs made it worse. He talked about other countries brutalizing our farmers. He's the one brutalizing them. Last time around he had to pick the taxpayers' pockets so the farmers wouldn't go bankrupt after China imposed retaliatory tariffs. Look for that to happen again, only now it will be a lot more countries than just China. So you say, how about those 250% to 300% Canadian tariffs on dairy? Bull shit. Show me a gallon of American milk or a pound of American cheese that actually bore a 250% Canadian tariff and I'll buy you an hour with a Costa Rican hooker. Hell, I'll buy you toda la noche.

Yeah, he’s an idiot and he thinks large swaths of the American people are idiots as well. Unfortunately for us it appears that we’ve entered the age of idiocracy.