On Friday, I wrote about President Trump's motivation for this daft tariff scheme. It has almost nothing to do with trade, which he doesn't understand. He's running a protection racket, shaking down other countries (as well as universities, law firms and corporations) to force them to do his bidding. If you want more proof of that, listen to him on Sunday night talking about holding up Europe for "a lot of money on a yearly basis but also for past."
Trump calls for Europe to pay reparations to the US: "We put a big tariff on Europe. They are coming to the table. They want to talk, but there's no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis number one for present but also for past." pic.twitter.com/q1f3N5ebMz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 7, 2025
