Trump either lies about tariffs or doesn’t understand them

I don’t care which it is. Either way is bad. Tariffs are being paid by American businesses and consumers. This has been pointed out many times before so I think he’s just lying.

China is paying the U.S. zero dollars in tariffs. Zero. https://t.co/3dhfdkcAy8
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) February 17, 2019

If Trump still think that China pays the tariffs, this must be a helluva briefing session https://t.co/IkdArEdXtr
— Matthew Waxman (@mattwaxman1) February 17, 2019

How Tariffs Work, and Why China Won’t See a Bill https://t.co/44W7eIB0u2
— Executive-Time Bong Hits (@jerweber) February 16, 2019

No, actually the billions are not being paid by China. They’re being paid by American consumers. Tariffs are paid by consumers, not by countries. They’ve a tax on imports. https://t.co/KrXYbH7o5C
— Bob Rae (@BobRae48) February 17, 2019

China raised equal trade tariffs on the United States. It’s a zero sum game, well minus an increase in the cost of manufactured goods that require steel and aluminum for American consumers and the pain being caused to farmers.
— James Kosur (@JamesKosur) February 17, 2019

You really don’t understand how all of this works. There isn’t a big bucket of money China hands over called tariffs. TARIFFS ARE TAXES PASSED ON TO THE CONSUMER MEANING WE PAY MORE FOR THAT PRODUCT. For tonight’s Executive Time activity, play with a Boston Tea Party legos. pic.twitter.com/chaGXeWHRD
— Melissa (@melissadawes) February 17, 2019

So it looks like Trump may have gotten his aluminum prices mixed up. According to metals ace @JoeDeaux Trump appears to have quoted global (LME) prices. The picture for US domestic buyers is, er, a little different… https://t.co/QS1czt379b
— Shawn Donnan (@sdonnan) March 8, 2019

Trump’s trade war is bad for farmers

“Trade wars are good, and easy to win.” https://t.co/uxHwAho9M9
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) February 17, 2019

U.S. farmers in the Midwest are filing for bankruptcy at levels the U.S. hasn’t seen for approximately a decade, due in large part to Trump’s tariffs and his trade war with China.#TrumpTariffs https://t.co/dcEFjnlrAy
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) February 11, 2019

Trump claims tariffs brought China to its knees. His trade war is hurting Midwest farmers instead.https://t.co/lDYGNGd9Xb pic.twitter.com/HwQeAcSbEL
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) February 17, 2019

The Department of Agriculture has paid out $7,700,000,000 to farmers so far in aid designed to offset the negative impact from Trump's trade war, Reuters reports. https://t.co/i7oD5M1iHJ
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 22, 2019

2020 debates between Trump and the Democratic candidate

I am worried about the debates.

Who will Trump accept as a moderator? Everyone besides Fox News is fake news. He’d probably accept a moderator from RT.
How should Trump’s lies be handled? The volume of Trump ‘s lies has increased as time in his term passes. By 2020, he will have three years of his presidency to lie about. When (not if) he lies, who should correct him?
1. If the moderator corrects him, Trump will say they are biased
2. If the Democratic candidate corrects him, that cuts into their time to express their own views.
This is my suggestion – strike first:
1. In their opening remarks, the Democratic candidate should say something like this: “Tonight, I want to focus on our ideas to improve our country. However, I first want to note that I expect Mr. Trump to lie throughout the debate, just like he has on the campaign trail. We will keep track of his lies and the facts in real time on our web site which is ________. That way, we can concentrate on our ideas during this debate.”
2. The Democratic campaign could have a ready-made database of his common lies ready to go. He lies repeatedly about the same things so it should be easy to be prepared.
3. Trump must be told that name calling such as “Pocahontas”is unacceptable.
4. If Trump persists with lies and insults, the Democrat should cancel future debates.

Trump encourages coal use to support one of his donors

This is so corrupt. Trump wants the TVA to use coal to benefit one of his donors.

President Donald Trump on Monday publicly pushed the Tennessee Valley Authority to save an aging coal plant in Kentucky that buys its fuel from one of the president’s top supporters https://t.co/TXnvOIkobW
— POLITICO (@politico) February 12, 2019

.@Maddow: President Trump's open, shameless corruption risks numbing the American public to the scandal and outrage of actions like using the power of the presidency to help donors. https://t.co/3zFUipgfrV
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 17, 2019

Here's @realDonaldTrump seeking to prop up a coal supplier by keeping open a federal power plant.
So who benefits?
The owner of the coal company is a Trump donor…and a Trump customer. He was a "high rate" guest at the Trump Hotel. https://t.co/TFsT3Yibuq
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) February 13, 2019

Trump threatens retribution over Saturday Night Live skit

Trump continues his dictator-like comments on the media. He can’t even take satire, let alone serious critiques. Sad!

Trump asks a good question: How do television networks get away with criticizing the president without “retribution”?

The answer is the 1st Amendment. It’s part of the Constitution. https://t.co/PjONzNIsTz
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 17, 2019

It's become commonplace enough in the past two years that it no longer gets much notice. But it's worth remembering that no other president in decades publicly threatened "retribution" against a television network because it satirized him.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 17, 2019

Shameful comment by any American president https://t.co/9tpuoPTUkx
— John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico) February 17, 2019

Someone should read and explain the First Amendment to Trump. https://t.co/E65gzBFfJ2
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) February 17, 2019

Enemy of the People was a term “adopted in Nazi Germany — ‘If someone wears the Jewish star, he is an enemy of the people’ — and, perhaps most famously, in the Soviet Union under Stalin, when being labeled enemy of the people amounted to a death sentence.” https://t.co/KG5TcAD7nb https://t.co/jGUw1y8PJ0
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) February 17, 2019

The president calls for "retribution" against a comedy show that makes fun of him. pic.twitter.com/rK48lhQTxd
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 17, 2019

I know it feels like just more of the same, but you must never forget how awful it is. It is a despicable sentiment from the elected head of a democratic government. He brings shame on us all. pic.twitter.com/KKUR4GNuPS
— Tamara Cofman Wittes (@tcwittes) February 17, 2019

You know why the SNL cold open lampooning Trump's emergency declaration was only so-so? Because it was too close to what actually happened.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 17, 2019

A national leader threatening “retribution” against those who practice political satire. What would you say if you saw this in any other country? https://t.co/XjpzDN16Yy
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) February 17, 2019

Don Cheadle wore a Soviet Union hockey jersey with “Trump” and “45” on the back at the end of SNL after hosting. Shade level: Masterful pic.twitter.com/hrDjPRulXy
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) February 17, 2019

Trump is not prepared to stop election meddling in 2020

I assume he thinks it will help him again.

One current DHS official: “2020 is going to be the perfect storm…So it’s very curious why the task forces were demoted in the bureaucracy and the leadership has not committed resources to prepare for the 2020 election.”https://t.co/4kOmztBRO7
— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) February 14, 2019

There’s no way to avoid seeing this DHS move as a treacherous betrayal of American democracy by President Trump. He’s inviting hostile foreign powers to invade our elections, the heart of our sovereignty. His oath of office meant nothing to him. https://t.co/sQxANdksMg
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) February 17, 2019

Amazon was greedy

Amazon paid no federal tax for 2017 and 2018 but they still wanted money from New York in return for new jobs. I am all for new jobs but oppose massive corporate greed.

In Opinion

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio writes, "Amazon’s path in New York would have been far smoother had it recognized our residents’ fears of economic insecurity and displacement — and spoken to them directly." https://t.co/4dqDBkSUAe
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 16, 2019

So Amazon isn't coming to New York. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Let me tell you a secret: NOBODY KNOWS 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) February 16, 2019

Read this whole thread. The bottom line is nobody knows how this would have worked out. Krugman writes “The question then is whether you should invest large sums in tax breaks so that you get to roll the dice on positive versus negative externalities. Doesn’t sound like great policy to me “

This chart makes a pretty compelling argument that the federal corporate tax code is broken. Amazon paid no federal taxes on profits of $11 billion last year. https://t.co/uBetm7QQGh pic.twitter.com/iJwoLrA9vs
— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) February 16, 2019

This is key to Amazon's decision as we understand it:

Executives were confident the deal would one day be approved.

But they were looking at decades in a political climate in which everything they did would be scrutinized.

So they said no thanks.https://t.co/UtvdOkZFUC
— J. David Goodman (@jdavidgoodman) February 15, 2019

Here's the deal. NYC is not in desperate need of jobs. Unemployment is low. If you are reasonably healthy, you can get a job.

NYC needs affordable housing and a functioning transit system. This is what Amazon's defenders do not get.
— Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan) February 15, 2019

I've read a lot of these Amazon post-mortems.

Not a one addresses displacement. After the news of Amazon's move to LIC people in adjacent neighborhoods – Astoria, etc- were handed two year lease renewals where the 2nd year (amazon year) leases jumped 800+ https://t.co/NO1teIbj2R
— Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis (@KendraWrites) February 16, 2019

"It has taken far-left protesters to inject a measure of sanity into the free market." Amazon got exactly what it deserved, argues @dkthomp, and so did New York City: https://t.co/eY78Mgh6VA
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) February 17, 2019

New York mayor says Amazon headquarters debacle was 'an abuse of corporate power' https://t.co/BdNixJnpa5 pic.twitter.com/6Kck48vKTp
— CNN (@CNN) February 17, 2019

Amazon faced blistering criticism for pitting cities against one another in a bidding war for incentives, and for accepting a $3 billion subsidy package from the winner, New York, writes @amy_liuw. But the role of public officials deserves more scrutiny. https://t.co/gS45dNC2aT
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) February 16, 2019

Opinion | Amazon abandoning New York should be just the start of the scrutiny they face https://t.co/e1Iy6H82wi via @NBCNewsTHINK
— Zephyr Teachout (@ZephyrTeachout) February 15, 2019

The NFL paid for listening to Trump

The NFL had to settle with Kaepernick and Reid because they listened to Trump’s lies about the protests. They got what they deserved. The Browns signed Kareen Hunt so violence is acceptable but protests against racial injustice are not.

.@Kaepernick7 handed the NFL a massive L. My latest column on for @TheAtlantic on why this is so significant https://t.co/84lAJk2MBx
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 17, 2019

Listening to Donald Trump likely cost the NFL tens of millions of dollars. https://t.co/0Dxc0awt1Z
— Slate (@Slate) February 16, 2019

Trump asked Japan to nominate him for a Nobel prize

This is pathetic. What a narcissist.

What’s a governmentally solicited Nobel nomination worth? Less than zero, for sure. But how MUCH less? https://t.co/G3fCYZMaaG
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) February 17, 2019

Japan's government has refused to comment on Trump's claim that Shinzo Abe nominated him for a Nobel Prize. A major Japanese newspaper, citing unnamed government sources, says Abe did it because the U.S. government "informally" asked him to. https://t.co/IGgcUSrbBG
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 17, 2019

What a pathetic charade. https://t.co/228ctWJDhw
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) February 17, 2019

Trump keeps lying about Obama and North Korea

Trump has told the lie many times – he claims Obama was about to go to war with North Korea. This has been debunked but Trump keeps repeating it. Sad!

What happened here: Obama did tell Trump something to the effect of North Korea being the biggest or most difficult world problem. Trump initially recounted that…then started claiming, extremely dubiously, that Obama also said he was close to a war. https://t.co/rGHkeaFyHT
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 15, 2019

I asked Obama’s office about this claim. They wouldn’t comment themselves but referred me to former Obama security aide @nedprice, who told me it was ridiculous, at odds with everything Obama has always believed and done about North Korea. https://t.co/EuaCcT7uIY
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 15, 2019

Today was the 25th time Trump made a version of this claim about Obama supposedly being close to war with North Korea. He sometimes frames it as merely his opinion about what Obama would do, not something Obama told him, but usually reverts to the more dramatic version.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 15, 2019

I hope President Obama holds a press conference. I think former Presidents should be mostly silent and give speeches to donors and go make some money. But this is an exception. We need to know (1) if this is true, and (2) if it's not, we need the WH to explain itself. https://t.co/X32dfriAEY
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) February 15, 2019

Read this timely thread by @realBobWoodward, whose book FEAR has the details on what Trump and Obama really discussed during the transition regarding North Korea, and what military options the Obama administration did or did not consider: https://t.co/rzfnHEte7k
— Carlos Lozada (@CarlosLozadaWP) February 15, 2019

Former CIA Director John Brennan on Trump's claim about what Obama told him, per @JesseRodriguez:

"President Obama was never on the verge of starting any war with North Korea, large or small. "
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) February 15, 2019

Jeremy Bash, former chief of staff at the CIA and Department of Defense, says that President Trump's statement that fmr. President Obama was "close to war" with North Korea is false.https://t.co/TMkSNuKBqB
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 15, 2019

President Obama’s national security spokesman responding to President Trump’s comments that the US was on the brink of war with North Korea until he became president. 👇🏽 https://t.co/iVxrIMmK3g
— Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) February 15, 2019

Watch Chuck Todd call out Trump's new big lie that Obama wanted to go to war with North Korea. https://t.co/9oZVd1ucOp pic.twitter.com/Z2Ln7XJEQN
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 15, 2019