The Donald Trump Score Card

"HOW'S YOUR 401(k) DOING?!"

"HOW'S YOUR 401(k) DOING?!"

That was the mantra of Trump's supporters spouted in a childish tone of voice during the first year of his first term when the stock market was doing well before he started to inflict injury later in his term with tariff wars which seem mild compared to what he is doing now in his second term with expansive trade wars.

 

Trump has selected 'two years' as the time he thinks it will take for his trade wars to transform the U.S. into what he thinks will be a booming economy.

Trump also said today that he thinks China played his tariff game wrong when it imposed a 34% rataliatory tariff on the U.S. Apparently, Trump thinks China should have first bargained with him to reduce the tariffs he imposed on them without the bargaining strength of imposing counter tariffs on him.

Canada used the same approach on Trump. After Turmp imposed additional tariffs on Canada, Canada threatened surcharges on electricity it sells to the U.S. It caused Trump to back off on what would have been additional tariffs.

It's a tit-for-tat game Trump is playing that stokes his ego at the expense of injuring the economy, U.S. businesses, and consumers.

 

Retirees 'stunned' as market turmoil over tariffs shrinks their 401(k)s
Some are changing their spending habits while others are worried about their future quality of life."
By Daniella Silva
April 4, 2025

Retirees 'stunned' as market turmoil over tariffs shrinks their 401(k)s

 

It seems like some of Trump's supporters are already harking back to the good old days of Biden.

 

Trump can be expected to say later that it might even require more time and a third term of him as president for him to make the economy better.

During his first term after injuring the American farmers, he said it would probably take a second term of him to finish his trade wars and make the farmers great again.

 

In about two years.

Trump will give details later 'in about two weeks.'

 

Retirees 'stunned' as market turmoil over tariffs shrinks their 401(k)s

excerpt:

“I don’t want to have to worry that everyone is constantly changing my financial reality,” said Alison Carey, 64, of Oregon, a freelancer in the theater industry. “Let the economy do its machinations, but don’t put me in the gears.”

Paula said she and other older Americans are living with “anxiety about something where you don’t really know what’s going to happen. You can’t do anything though.”

 

They had a chance to do something. Don't vote for Trump.

But they believed him once again in 2024, already fully knowing what he was.

They voted for him again and took him in (like the snake poem Trump kept reading at his 2024 rallies).

 

GOP thinks the court orders they used against Biden should be outlawed — because they now target Trump
Michael Hiltzik
Thu, April 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM UTC

Hiltzik: GOP thinks the court orders they used against Biden should be outlawed — because they now target Trump

 

Amidst his tariffs wars, Trump says only the weak will fail and that the big companies are here to stay.


Trump tariffs live updates: 'Only the weak will fail,' Trump says as markets fall

excerpt:

In a new social media post Friday evening, President Donald Trump continued to paint a rosy picture when it comes to the plan for tariffs he unveiled earlier this week.

“Big business is not worried about the Tariffs, because they know they are here to stay, but they are focused on the BIG, BEAUTIFUL DEAL, which will SUPERCHARGE our Economy,” Trump wrote.

 

Protesters tee off against Trump and Musk in 'Hands Off!' rallies across the US

excerpt:

Asked about the protests, the White House said in a statement that “President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”

 

Treasury secretary blames China’s DeepSeek for stock-market plunge: ‘A Mag 7 problem, not a MAGA problem’
By Reuters
April 4, 2025

Treasury secretary blames China's DeepSeek for stock-market plunge

excerpt:

“If I were to analyze in my old hat, and this is the only time I’m going to talk about it, … what’s happening with the market I’d say it’s more a Mag 7 problem, not a MAGA problem,” Bessent, who used to run a hedge fund, said, referring to the shares of the “Magnificent 7” – the seven high-performing tech stocks that had helped drive the market higher before its recent selloff. MAGA refers to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” political slogan.

 

Treasury secretary blames China's DeepSeek for stock-market plunge

excerpt:

“No one should listen to anyone in the markets talk about the US dollar other than President Trump or myself,” Bessent said. “We are the only ones that speak for this administration, the United States government on dollar policy.”

“We have a strong-dollar policy and we are putting in all of the necessary ingredients to make sure the dollar is strong over the long run,” he said.

The dollar has shed nearly 6% of its value against major trading partners’ currencies since Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump to cut off $65 million of grant money for teacher training as part of his anti-DEI policy.


Supreme Court allows Trump to terminate teacher training grants as part of anti-DEI policy

 

Apple loses $300B in market value as Trump tariffs threaten China-heavy supply chain

excerpt:

"Apple’s massive losses come despite CEO Tim Cook’s long-term effort to cultivate close ties with Trump, including attending his inauguration in January.

In February, Apple pledged $500 billion toward the US economy and said it would add 20,000 jobs as part of an effort to woo Trump."

 

Apple loses $300B in market value as Trump tariffs threaten China-heavy supply chain

excerpt:

“Regardless of your party, regardless of who you voted for, what’s going on today, what’s happening today is abhorrent,” said Britt Castillo, 35, of Charlotte. “It’s disgusting, and as broken as our current system might be, the way that the current administration is going about trying to fix things — it is not the way to do it. They’re not listening to the people.”

 

That woulda been so rad!

 

Trump mistakenly referred to him as 'Tim Apple' at a public event.

 

Elon Musk breaks silence on Trump tariffs after losing billions, torches key White House adviser Navarro
TOI World Desk
Updated: Apr 6, 2025, 02:34

Elon Musk breaks silence on Trump tariffs after losing billions, torches key White House adviser Navarro - The Times of India

 

When you buy Trump, you buy the whole package.

Time will tell at what point Musk finally separates himself significantly from Trump.

It's a matter of how many billions of his own money Musk is willing to lose to have the thrlil of jumping up and down on a stage with a chain saw bragging about how he ruined the jobs of federal workers.

At some point, that initial thrill may be gone.