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Introducing the Tariff Clapper™
When the Commander in Chief needs to tee off
For world leaders, there’s nothing like an unwanted phone call or assassination attempt to throw you off your golf game. It’ s not like teeing off in front of the clubhouse isn’t as daunting as a White House press conference. When the state of the planet and its economy hangs on your every word, you need to be able to respond promptly and decisively to reiterate the message that the buck stops with you.
Sure, the world’s supply chains and manufacturing processes took decades to build but you have a mandate to bring those jobs back home. Having the largest consumer economy as leverage is the holy grail of bargaining power in geopolitics. After you’ve rattled the Deep State by firing everyone but the custodian in the CIA and FBI, its time to show those pipsqueaks in Canada and Mexico that national sovereignty is a figment of their imagination. Despite your signature on the NAFTA agreement, you have the God given right to change your mind with every fluctuation in the polls.
Sure, China is a big fish in world trade. I guess offshoring all those middle-class jobs and exposing our intellectual capital to theft was a little short sighted. But hey, everyone made their quarterly numbers until it all blew up. Most importantly, all the CEOs and financiers rode off into the…