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‘This Orange fool’: Trump’s obsession with tariffs is being destroyed by the internet

Against all better judgement, Donald Trump thinks tariffs are a good idea.

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Economists and corporate executives agree that Trump’s tariffs will spell disaster for the American consumer. Despite the warnings, Trump has doubled down, and is threatening steep tariffs for Canada and Mexico, seemingly flying in the face of NAFTA. Trump has also threatened countries across the pond, and is aiming similar tariffs at the EU and China.

While Trump may have tricked some followers into believing that tariffs will put more money in the pockets of American citizens, two thirds of Americans think that the opposite is true. And after’s Trump’s recent announcement that he will be applying a tariff to semiconductors, the internet is dragging the president as an “orange fool” as a result.

If politics is a game of strategy like chess, Trump is simply eating the pieces. The economic ministry of Taiwan – the leading producer of semiconductors in the world – called the trade relationship between the United States and the island a “win-win.” In a statement made after Trump’s tariff threat, Taiwan’s economic ministry explained that”Taiwan and the U.S. semiconductor and other technology industries are highly complementary to each other” and their trade relationship “creates a win-win business model for Taiwan and U.S. industries.” Under Trump’s new tariffs, that positive working relationship could change for the worse.

Trump has long claimed that the tariffs on semiconductors, along with other foreign made products, will lead to increased production of goods in America. Former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo disagrees, and called Trump’s plan “reckless,” arguing that tariffs alone will not be enough to ensure that semiconductors are manufactured domestically.

It sure seems that way. Nearly all of Trump’s policies signal an economic downturn. Trump’s tariff plan will bring average Americans economic woes in the form of higher prices, and his tax plan will only compound upon their financial difficulties. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Trump’s tax plan is expected to increase income taxes for all Americans save the richest 5%. The bottom 20% of earners will see the largest percentage of their incomes taxed.

Trump’s mass deportation plan will make things worser still. According to an estimate by the Pew Research Center, the amount of undocumented migrants in the United States hovers around 11 million. Trump’s plan to deport every single one of them will staggeringly expensive, a complete logistical nightmare. The American Immigration council estimates that it could cost $88 billion to deport one million people in one year. Multiply that number by 11 and you have the total, astronomical price of the deportation effort – nearly one trillion dollars.

The inflation-inducing price tag of the deportations won’t be the only source of economic catastrophe. According to the Pew Research Center’s findings, undocumented migrants make up an estimated 5% of the American work force. A large division of these migrants work make up the backbone of America’s agricultural and construction industries. USDA officials estimate that migrants make up 42% of the nation’s farmworkers, and should this workers be deported, widespread job loss and food supply disruptions will soon follow.

Many of the Trump branded merchandise that the president hocks are likely made in China, including the $100k “Swiss” watches that he sells.

Considering that The Republican Party has become the party of billionaires, average Americans can’t be blamed for thinking this way.

The internet isn’t quite sure Trump knows what semiconductors are. Considering that he claims to have “never understood wind” and stares directly at solar eclipses, it isn’t hard to see why.


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Sarah Fimm
Sarah Fimm (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like... REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They're like that... but with anime. It's starting to get sad.