Paging Ron Vara: If you were, say, a White House trade adviser who had been part of crafting the tariff plan that a) relied on a ChatGPT-based formula that makes no sense and levied tariffs on islands full of penguins, b) tanked the global economy, and c) was, so far, shockingly unpopular, wouldn't you want to put it all on someone else and have experts reaffirm your credibility?
Conveniently, the aforementioned Peter Navarro has his China hawk alter ego, Ron Vara. (Vara's writing, from 2011: "Only the Chinese can turn a leather sofa into an acid bath, a baby crib into a lethal weapon, and a cellphone battery into heart-piercing shrapnel." Well, OK!) Vara hasn't made an appearance just yet, but he's part of Navarro's rise to prominence.
Truly. I did not make this up. I'm not sure I even could.
