This is what weak, flailing leadership looks like. His inability to make meaningful change in areas like this explains the desperate, authoritarian bluster of his largely illegal Executive Orders. This is the sort of leader who opposing politicians should definitely NOT cater to. - ThreadSky

sethcotlar.bsky.social • 2 days ago

This is what weak, flailing leadership looks like. His inability to make meaningful change in areas like this explains the desperate, authoritarian bluster of his largely illegal Executive Orders. This is the sort of leader who opposing politicians should definitely NOT cater to.

Reposted from Brian Platt

"The decision is a significant reversal by Trump, who on Tuesday had announced the largest tariff increase in a century only to back down 48 hours later as stocks were hammered and Republicans expressed concern about the economic consequences." Story: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Comments

xl-diva-ranting.bsky.social•2 days ago

Or... This is the sort of "leader" who's doing the "short the market, tank the market, buy up whatever's available at low prices, and do it again" method. And anyone with lots of bucks and ability to move is watching and doing the same. Manufactured Disaster Capitalism manipulating markets. 🤷‍♀️

sherribells.bsky.social•2 days ago

Bingo

pragmaticpolitic.bsky.social•1 day ago

In less than 24 hours later, he's dropping this garbage. Policy is becoming like two Gen Xers in 1970s trying to throw each other off a seesaw.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/business/tariffs-trump-canada/index.html

tobiasbarth.bsky.social•1 day ago

Deport him.

marlischa.bsky.social•2 days ago

He wasn’t a leader during his 1st term and why would any sane person think he could be a leader now?

quitecontrary09.bsky.social•2 days ago

Manipulating stocks

davidmislin.bsky.social•2 days ago

And, not to state the obvious, the strongest moments of opposition to Trump have come when Ds have looked tough and highlighted his constant weakness, flailing, and support of generally unpopular policies. Why the party constantly defaults to timid compromise is beyond me.

timothystamm101.bsky.social•2 days ago

I suspect billionair donors who want this or are afraid of him want tepidness.

robsterthermidor.bsky.social•2 days ago

It what shorting the stock market looks like. He knows exactly what he’s doing, it’s just not what he’s telling you. He’s a seasoned criminal, we should treat him as such.

mbandman.bsky.social•2 days ago

The biggest mistake Canada and Mexico is making is having unilateral discussions. It’s difficult, but they, and European countries, need to be acting as a bloc. Otherwise, the US has too much leverage.

drsoup34.bsky.social•2 days ago

Unfortunately, as law and custom abiding countries, they probably feel compelled to follow the USMCA update to NAFTA they signed with...President Trump in 2020

thebigdeal1.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is correct, they should all implement their tariffs as planned regardless until the threats are removed. Anyway the real damage over time will be citizens just not buying US products over this behavior. And this is a 'tariff' that can't be removed easily!

scout0914.bsky.social•2 days ago

How many of these ‘rinse, repeat’ do we need to go through?! This administration is a walking disaster on our economy.

jonathanbonanno.bsky.social•2 days ago

I wouldn't stake a poker player to a $5 buy-in who was this bad at bluffing and always folded under pressure. But, sure let's hand him the keys to the American economy.

sbkm.bsky.social•2 days ago

Super interesting situation here in Canada that supports your contention. Poilievre and the Cons have been a lock to win for years, and yet Trump is so toxic & weak, he’s single handedly going to win the election for the Liberals.

https://bsky.app/profile/mjmbca.bsky.social/post/3ljqk3ecuf22t

nathanieljtking.bsky.social•2 days ago

Great news!!!

johngage1.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump is trapped in endless cycles in which he acts out simulations of strength to elicit liberal tears he finds emotionally satisfying to distract the country and himself from his own incompetence that leads him to lose control of fights he started, before inevitably capitulating.

cyclops11.bsky.social•2 days ago

Do the opposing politicians know this...?

commonsensegoodgov.bsky.social•1 day ago

Trump is weak.

coffeetumbler.bsky.social•1 day ago

Why do so many view him as a strong leader?

greenhombre.bsky.social•2 days ago

Instability. Yay!

grainneproinseas.bsky.social•1 day ago

Markets hate unpredictably in the fundamentals

anniegt.bsky.social•2 days ago

Same as it ever was. He hasn't gotten any smarter since 2016

chimaera.bsky.social•2 days ago

"Flip flop" leaps to mind

chrisser64.bsky.social•1 day ago

4 years of whiplash and wealthy profiting - USA!USA!!USA‼️

kwalls.bsky.social•2 days ago

this deserves a follow and
hope you stay safe for speaking such truth

caoimhinsmo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Each time he vascillates, he, or cronies he tips off in advance, have the opportunity to make loads of money by gambling that particular currencies and shares will move up or down.

inwpublicdefender.bsky.social•2 days ago

Markets are tanking because the markets see how weak and impetuous Trump is.

Hold onto your hats!

mojocitarita.bsky.social•2 days ago

Plus he’s a traitor.

catowasright.bsky.social•1 day ago

The US is now a rogue state

igtbok.bsky.social•1 day ago

You can’t make as many enemies as #Trump is and expect political survival. My guess is his popularity will plummet and the majority will demand he be removed. I also expect a desperate attempt at survival. The collapse of financial markets will guarantee failure if nothing else does.

badfuta.bsky.social•2 days ago

think the Chinese call this a meme tiger

texaskrusty.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yet Democrats just sit there in terror, hoping that doing nothing will let them eventually get back to discussing ‘kitchen table’ issues.

They all see themselves as Churchill but are just a bunch of Chamberlains.

They should replace the Donkey with a guy waving a piece of paper

sethcotlar.bsky.social•2 days ago

He's going to turn most of the world against us and he will soon learn the obvious lesson that this is a bad idea. "America First" has always meant "America Alone." Here's hoping the consequences for such ignorant and impotent, nationalistic swaggering won't be too terrible for us.

kcjeff.bsky.social•2 days ago

He's never learned a lesson in his life.

cyclops11.bsky.social•2 days ago

They will be terrible, and he won't learn

bonbonjon.bsky.social•1 day ago

I think that’s already happened. They may not be against us, but they’re not supporting us which is almost the same.

sethcotlar.bsky.social•2 days ago

It seems to me that he's doing this tariff shit because some wackos in his orbit have convinced him that the McKinley-era mode of financing the gov't with tariffs rather than income taxes was a golden age to which we can and should return. It's all so boneheaded, but I really think that's the plan.

boblamirande.bsky.social•2 days ago

Does this latest reversal mean the National emergency he used to increase tariffs without Congress no longer exists? This kind of stop/start/stop management is how you bankrupt casinos.

pjlm.bsky.social•2 days ago

Or to sum up, a bunch of rich guys would prefer not to pay taxes

supermoonie.bsky.social•2 days ago

Also so he can put tariff money into his sovereign wealth slush fund and make congress completely pointless

dingodingo14.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump and his minions seem to be obsessed with McKinley. I guess no one has read the end of that story. 🤷🏾‍♀️

dwgregory.bsky.social•2 days ago

Never mind that it's impossible to sustain an effective national govt. funded only through excise taxes and tariffs. The U.S. cannot be a player on the world stage -- let alone a world power. Simply cannot do it.

iamzeeeggman.bsky.social•2 days ago

for some reason* the mckinley era has always been a beacon for these guys. i bet walter huss wrote all about it.

(*robber barons unimpeded, jim crow laws in place, women knew their place)

bonbonjon.bsky.social•1 day ago

It’s all a distraction. The bottom line for Trump is he’s gotta come up with $1 trillion in tax breaks and it’s all gonna come from the bottom because God forbid that they should take a dime away from oil and pharmaceutical subsidies.

markgutekunst.bsky.social•2 days ago

That or he just really enjoys jerking people around. Might even be both?

pjlm.bsky.social•2 days ago

A consistent thing about Trump no matter what the situation is is that he is an asshole and acts like a dick. So yeah.

quick13.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yep, he's referenced it before.

philippe1213.bsky.social•2 days ago

Case of insider trading? moving the market to generate a large profit on the stock shares? No more agencies left that carry out any control, they have all been dismantled ? Or am I becoming a conspiracy nut?

itneverwas.bsky.social•2 days ago

I think he’s doing it for a simpler reason - it allows him a way to make money either by being bribing to offer exemptions, or by timing the stock market dips and gains with these announcements and reversals.

sethcotlar.bsky.social•2 days ago

The Liberty Amendment was a boneheaded movement that has done a lot of terrible work and is getting noticed more and more these days. https://bsky.app/profile/sethcotlar.bsky.social/post/3lharnurvjc2z

bamny.bsky.social•2 days ago

SHARE/REPOST❗️
🇺🇸 🗣️ MARCH THIS SATURDAY for Women’s Rights, 3/8 International Women’s Day - cities across the country. Get information online at https://www.womensmarch.com.
In NYC, the march begins in Washington Square Park at 11am ET.
UNITE & RESIST‼️🗣️

sethcotlar.bsky.social•2 days ago

Some have suggested that what Trump is doing here is just manipulating the market so that he and his cronies can profit off of the predictable dips and rebounds. That seems plausible, but I don't think we should overlook the fact that he is surrounded by true believing (and dumb as hell) ideologues.

missplaced.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump is stupid

waveorwater.bsky.social•2 days ago

Both. The combo is ever present. Demented gangster self-serving and moronic dumb actions by incompetence and ideological clusters*ery.

johan-eksteen.bsky.social•1 day ago

Read a theory that the market volatility leads to lower bond yields & that is good for refinancing significant debt maturing in next few months. On billions, a basis point move is not small change.

yakiimo.bsky.social•2 days ago

If that is their motive then it's incredibly short-sighted, because what he's doing is destroying the valuation premium that US stocks have historically enjoyed.

Not that doing incredibly short-sighted and destructive things would be at all out of character for them.

toffphilippo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Hanlon's Razor? Could be.

uptownal.bsky.social•2 days ago

Take a look at who’s selling short. I’ve gotten several unsolicited emails recently asking if I would be interested in loaning my stock out. Someone’s selling short.

mightyapollo.bsky.social•2 days ago

If we look at market activity, *someone* is making a killing anticipating both tariff announcements and retractions.

It may not be Trump. It could just be who he blusters to at Mar Lardo.

Trump’s payoff might only be the ass licking and direct corruption with businesses asking for waivers.

martyolliff.bsky.social•2 days ago

In addition to both of these things, it seems to me that his econ and political policies are driven by the same kind of 5-year old excitement he had when he pantomimed driving that truck. There's not thought to it, he just does shit that excites him.

grainneproinseas.bsky.social•1 day ago

It’s also the result of being rich enough that no matter what you do you’re personally insulated from the shock. Policy is “gamefied” because he has no contact with anyone who isn’t at least a multi millionaire, and much of his contact with humans is with billionaires (nearly his entire cabinet)

justacannuck.bsky.social•2 days ago

It’s not the ONLY reason but it’s definitely a big one. Just like Musk pocketing so much from the “waste” he’s “found”.

bruceinva.bsky.social•2 days ago

Those 2 things are definitely not mutually exclusive.

richfoxexists.bsky.social•2 days ago

And he understands nothing that they put in front of him.

eathdemom.bsky.social•2 days ago

tarrifs are one of the few "convictions" trump actuly has, he has been talking about them for decades. he is only backing off b/c of the market lol.

jneumannp.bsky.social•1 day ago

I disagree, he and his henchmen, members of this "organized crime", understand only one thing and that is US$ Dollars.

torrleonard.bsky.social•2 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/chrislhayes.bsky.social/post/3ljqdmkvovc25

scottgoeke.bsky.social•2 days ago

and he is widely reported to be easily swayed to adopting the positions of the last person he talked to on a subject

chessercat.bsky.social•2 days ago

We saw that happen when Kevin McCarthy jumped across the table to stop him from continuing to agree to the common sense gun control that Feinstein was pushing.

jbatnc.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump is corrupt and incompetent at governance. So are most of his cabinet members. Heritage Foundation is simply corrupt & greedy. We have to stay focused and loud.

samgodwell.bsky.social•2 days ago

exactly! the same ideologues who are *assisting* his implementation of project 2025. no... this isn't *just* about profit - it's about the power... and exponential profit that will follow once realized.

qdriver.bsky.social•1 day ago

Yeah, so fantastic that he repealed them himself!

max-butler.bsky.social•1 day ago

Who is drawn to the childishness of his remarks?

gregbester.bsky.social•2 days ago

We will still help you in a time of crisis, but you will only get one "sorry".

cathbayarea.bsky.social•1 day ago

JFC

witwarrior.bsky.social•2 days ago

Lutnick.

catmemesplease.bsky.social•1 day ago

…and he vaguely remembered not knowing that he was supposed to know who Smoot or Hawley were. So when he heard them praised by one of his lunatics, he of course would agree or admit he didn’t know what the hell was going on.

sfomel.bsky.social•2 days ago

In 2009-2010, Glenn Beck popularized the hatred of Woodrow Wilson among the Tea Party. Beck drew inspiration from Ronald Pestritto, a professor at Hillsdale College, and Cleon Skousen, an influential Mormon conspiracist. Skousen believed Wilson's Fed and income tax were parts of an evil conspiracy.

donthomas.bsky.social•2 days ago

I just think he is manipulating the markets to make money. Buy the dip

tiltsatwindmills.bsky.social•2 days ago

Tariff revenue iirc goes straight to the general fund too, which I believe means it can be spent however he wants.

y2kshay.bsky.social•2 days ago

He saw “Gilded Age” somewhere and thought, that’s for me

newtoncooper.bsky.social•2 days ago

I think the ultimate goal is to destroy the last vestiges of the New Deal and Great Society by privatizing/eliminating Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. They won't achieve that goal but they will degrade the safety net.

kaykinmd.bsky.social•2 days ago

He has explicitly said that the McKinley era was a golden age when tariffs instead of income taxes financed government and he wants to return to it. It was part of his presidential campaign speeches.

twitteraddict.bsky.social•2 days ago

He was talking about tariffs all the way back in the 80s. This goes way, way back for him.

mmorgenschoen.bsky.social•2 days ago

i'm not quite sure but i think that's an idea he's been holding dear for decades

defpac.bsky.social•1 day ago

Obviously "America alone" is still a strong power house, but then, it ain't the 1960 or 70s any more.

sweetwhisper69.bsky.social•2 days ago

We deserve the worst possible outcomes.

jimmy-borealis.bsky.social•1 day ago

He values the appearance of his own personal strength over the actual strength of America in the world.

maximummeh.bsky.social•2 days ago

He's past 'going too'. For Canada, 'going to' was the second time he said 51st state.

clawman.bsky.social•2 days ago

The thing is, everything is connected, no countries can operate in isolation, no country has all the minerals, technology & skills to make everything...look at history, even the Bronze Age collapse was prophetic. MAGA & Trump know-nothings barely read, so rather wasted on them

snuggalo.bsky.social•2 days ago

AmericUHHH??

redoubters.bsky.social•2 days ago

He won't learn the lesson. He's incapable of learning lessons.

Hopefully the rest of us will. It would be nice if this could be the beginning of the end of MAGA.

therrell.bsky.social•1 day ago

Vote of No Confidence: State Governments Must Reject Federal Governance Breakdown https://chng.it/bTTBPkjhj8

henryschoenberger.bsky.social•2 days ago

That Trump is a Russian Asset, is SELF-EVIDENT. Authoritarian bluster.. seriously? Do you get that the Russian Asset/DOMESTIC ENEMY, under Vlad's orders, is the leader of the GOP Congressional Domestic Enemies FASCIST COUP? In lieu of parsing legality, IT'S TIME FOR ACTION AGAINST DOMESTIC ENEMIES.

kauaihorses.bsky.social•2 days ago

US Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat from Oregon, models the appropriate way to question Republicans.

@jeff-merkley.bsky.social

https://youtube.com/shorts/gLmL5BVe1nA?si=Au7wJexzu6WPlSi7

metachuckschick.bsky.social•2 days ago

Much like any “edge” the market always humbles. No one could profit from his flip flops bc the market isn’t reacting predictably.

stomachtax.bsky.social•2 days ago

No, this is what it looks like when you’re gaming the stock market to help your oligarch buddies

hodag1977.bsky.social•2 days ago

I still think he’s goosing the markets for himself & his MarALago golf buddies.

philk10.bsky.social•2 days ago

and not sit 'respectfully' as he spews lie after lie

justacannuck.bsky.social•2 days ago

Someone needs to explain this to @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social and @schumer.senate.gov very slowly and clearly so they understand. Maybe hold their hands while delicately teaching them how to lead.

rooster62.bsky.social•2 days ago

That’s after speaking to Presidenta Scheinburg. Mexico can we trade presidents.

rooster62.bsky.social•2 days ago

Sorry, correction: Sheinbaum

aelkus.bsky.social•2 days ago

a really strong President would not have let Elon take away his power

bessieglass11.bsky.social•2 days ago

he needed Musk's help to get elected in the first place....he only ran to stay out of prison

aelkus.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump's weakness has always been the danger, because it generates crises in any of itself and weak men are more desperate

bruceinva.bsky.social•2 days ago

But he’s pretty damned determined when it comes to pursuing his enemies. That explains some of the cringing sycophancy.

riecks.bsky.social•2 days ago

Is FOTUS34 employing Mr. “Big Balls” because he doesn’t have any of his own?

ciphershot.bsky.social•2 days ago

Is he gaming the system? Sink market buy cheap stocks let it build back up, sell when it’s high, then sink stocks again rinse and repeat?

sherribells.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes

algi.bsky.social•2 days ago

He doesn't even know what he wants.

algi.bsky.social•2 days ago

He never wanted the job, he just wanted to win.

halpo.bsky.social•2 days ago

He just wanted to stay out of jail. That's all. And now he's there he just wants to play act as a strong man, not caring about the carnage he causes because for him there are no consequences. In time his name will be seen as a stain on America.

dorian-filho.bsky.social•2 days ago

To win, and not going to jail!

qhstone.bsky.social•2 days ago

Don’t forget revenge on his enemies.

dorian-filho.bsky.social•2 days ago

Which turns out to be à big chunk of the MAGA populace, right?

lady-annabelle.bsky.social•17 hours ago

"Well if they didn't want me to hurt them too, then they should have done a better job on 1/6" - Trump, probably

qhstone.bsky.social•13 hours ago

No, those are just collateral damage. And Trump doesn’t care.

leewahh.bsky.social•2 days ago

The erraticness may be the point. It's hard to believe that Trump and Musk aren't deliberately whipsawing the markets to profit by playing the options markets.

douglasrar.bsky.social•2 days ago

opposition in his own party is afraid of their voters. Dems are not afraid, by and large, but the leadership walking around with backward facing blinders on searching for the sliver of 'swing' voters is a disgrace.

infinitelyloopy.bsky.social•2 days ago

It’s also what a guy who can’t think more than 24 hours out looks like. Regrettably we’re in the car with him as he careens around the road at 120 mph

indianapearl.bsky.social•2 days ago

Knows nothing about econ.

ford422.bsky.social•2 days ago

May I enter into evidence on the topic of weak, flailing leadership this exhibit. https://bsky.app/profile/lolgop.bsky.social/post/3ljqfrhduis2p

boldnewme.bsky.social•1 day ago

Good morning Seth Cotlar.

Trump’s weakness is always on full display.

How anyone views him otherwise is a mystery.

When he fails to make real change, he turns to illegal power grabs and authoritarian tantrums.

No leader with an ounce of integrity should cater to this flailing demagogue.

blackbirdblues.bsky.social•2 days ago

😂Well, is there no more room in a psychiatric ward nearby? But be careful: A lobotomy only helps if there is something that can be lobotomised…

mbigenwald.bsky.social•2 days ago

Flip and Flop

barranr.bsky.social•2 days ago

But he got rid of paper straws!!

drramblings.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump is a coward. He backs down, yet again.

kisatchiebigfoot.bsky.social•2 days ago

ascotrebel.bsky.social•1 day ago

Saw a fuller version and thought he was measured and stuck to the point (without shouting!). The respondents had no answer other than parroting the Trump mantra. Truly pathetic sycophantic people.

jaycolo.bsky.social•2 days ago

The mega wealthy including President Musk would be fin with stocks & other assets cratering in value so they can acquire even more at low prices which they know will increase.

jaycolo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump and President Musk have no idea what they are doing, think every decision is just a lark to stir things up and will never feel economic discomfort from their incompetence whereas millions of other people will. They inherited a great economy & stock market that’s being ruined.

captainblye.bsky.social•2 days ago

Honestly at this point if you were “fired” in the government just act like you weren’t and demand your paycheck. They can’t keep track of this shit just do what they do and lie till you get paid.

daveatx.bsky.social•2 days ago

Well, the opposition isn't afraid of his policy making skills, it's his microphone they are scared of.

dreamchaser4ever.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump is manipulating the market. He will continue to use this threat.

dreamchaser4ever.bsky.social•2 days ago

darrenkaplan.bsky.social•2 days ago

The Market has clearly had it with Trump's bullshit. An announcement that tariffs will be delayed should have resulted in a pop, but the uncertainty of Trump's ping ponging is now the real drag.

heywoodjablowme420.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's clear to me now that the big departure from Trump I is that he's surrounded himself with sycophants and remoras who don't want to risk being voted off the island by actually explaining why his stupid ideas won't work. In the last admin there were actual adults in the room checking him.

toedrifter.bsky.social•2 days ago

There are some real sharks amongst the remoras.

heywoodjablowme420.bsky.social•2 days ago

Such as?

toedrifter.bsky.social•2 days ago

Musk is a shark, which is to say low intelligence, ruthless, always moving, always looking for prey, tearing I to things, attracted to signs of weakness. The crypto manipulation was a Musk style of profiteering off weaker investors.

heywoodjablowme420.bsky.social•2 days ago

toedrifter.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm not praising him, just saying he's a predator. Someone made a 20 million dollar trade profiting off that one tweet.

heywoodjablowme420.bsky.social•2 days ago

(to some extent) Now everyone knows that if they cross him they're gonna be kicked out of the party, so every decision is just minimally guided buffoonery like this, because he's even worse at running things than his first term showed.

heywoodjablowme420.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's like when the spoiled brat rich kid whose parents wrote papers for them and berated teachers and made massive donations to schools...when that kid FINALLY gets to college and they have to actually do the work themselves they fail spectacularly.

unclequagsire.bsky.social•1 day ago

They didn't so much check him as they pulled bad ideas off his desk and he forgot about them. Now the name of the game is keeping what a few special interests want on that desk.

kirby50.bsky.social•1 day ago

Exactly why he was a horrible businessman. Maybe the worst in history, considering he got a $400 million dollar check from his daddy.

grankees.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trust a man who is mentally unstable _________ fill in the blank

zygote4040.bsky.social•1 day ago

Tariffs are a good idea. But to protect existing industries.

It's kind of late after the US destroyed its manufacturing base to impose tariffs. There's nothing left to protect.