Royal MAGA

Trump: not a “successful businessman,” just a grifter and bully

Chairman Trump's Great Grift Forward. Move over, Mao.

Paul Waldman

CNN Business

Millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump multiple times because they thought that because of his experience in business, he must understand the American economy — and know how to make it work.

In reality, however, whatever success Trump had in his career was built on insight not into the workings of capitalism but into the darker corners of human nature. He succeeded through scams, lies, and bullying, using the power he had over others to enrich himself at their expense.

So no one should be surprised that he brings the same spirit to policymaking. In his second term, Trump is at last unleashed to fully realize his vision, and on economics, that means a new kind of mobster state capitalism.

Case in point: When Trump looked at the chip maker Intel, he saw a vulnerable company to which he could put the screws. So after getting the ball rolling by publicly attacking its CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, and demanding he resign, Trump made his demand and got what he wanted: The federal government will purchase a 10 percent stake in the company for $20 a share, about $5 less than the current value.

The president wants everyone to know this “deal” was a product of intimidation.

“He walked in wanting to keep his job and he ended up giving us $10 billion for the United States. So we picked up $10 billion,” Trump said last Friday.

And what exactly did America get? Other than leverage over a troubled corporation by becoming a major shareholder, it’s hard to say; a bump in Intel’s share price won’t exactly make the government enough to pay down the debt. Is the man who gave the world Trump University going to be advising Intel on how to turn its fortunes around, leading to a boost for the whole economy? It’s hard to imagine.

This is only the latest in a series of moves Trump has made to give himself control over specific companies, most of which involve him spotting a firm that’s in a difficult position — or putting it there — then demanding some kind of tribute.

Grocery Chains Are Passing Trump' National Sales Tax on to US Consumers With Higher Prices

Tariffs are hitting grocery shelves while Trump is in denial

Stephen Prager for Common Dreams

As leading grocery chains increase prices on essentials, they are blaming Donald Trump's tariffs for raising the cost of living for households across the country.

According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of food has increased by 3% in the past year, with meats, poultry, fish, and eggs getting 5.6% more expensive from June 2024 to June 2025.

In a poll published this month by the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center, 90% of Americans reported that they considered the cost of groceries a source of stress, with 53% describing it as a "major" source of stress.

In earnings calls and public statements, executives of many of America's largest and most profitable grocery retailers are citing Trump's tariffs as justification for passing on the costs to consumers, according to a new report released on Tuesday by Accountable.US.

From that radical left-wing magazine Forbes

In a first-quarter earnings call in May, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said that while the company was better positioned than others to absorb the cost of tariffs, they would still "result in higher prices" for consumers. 

Since then, some grocery items at America's largest retailer have shown 40% hikes that have outraged consumers, fueling calls for a boycott.

On another call, McMillon said, "We've continued to see our costs increase each week, which we expect will continue into the third and fourth quarters."

"Trump's tariffs are making groceries more expensive," said Accountable.US. "Everyday Americans pay the cost while corporations and the wealthy profit."

Costco's chief financial officer, Gary Millerchip, told shareholders in May that the company "saw inflation as a result of tariffs because we import certain fresh items from Central and South America."

Trump administration has proven no friend to organized labor, from attacking federal unions to paralyzing the National Labor Relations Board

Trump accelerates union-busting

Jake Rosenfeld, Washington University in St. Louis

During the 2024 election campaign, the Republican Party’s historically fraught relationship with organized labor appeared to be changing. Several influential Republicans reached out to unions, seeking to cement the loyalties of the growing ranks of working-class Americans who have been backing Donald Trump’s presidential runs and voting for other members of his party.

During Trump’s first bid for the White house, the percentage of votes in households where at least one person belongs to a union fell to its lowest level in decades. In 2021, Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator at the time, wrote a USA Today op-ed supporting a unionization drive at an Amazon facility. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, walked a United Auto Workers picket line in 2023 in solidarity with striking workers.

As the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, Trump spotlighted International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien with a prominent speaking slot at the Republican National Convention – rewarding the union for staying neutral in that campaign after endorsing Joe Biden four years earlier.

Yet O'Brien shocked many in the convention crowd by lambasting longtime GOP coalition partners such as the Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable for hurting American workers.

Once in office, Trump continued to signal some degree of solidarity with the blue-collar voters who backed him. He chose former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Teamsters ally, to be his second-term labor secretary.

I’m a sociologist who has been researching the U.S. labor movement for over two decades. Given conservatives’ long-standing antipathy toward unions, I was curious whether the GOP’s greater engagement with labor portended any kind of change in its policies.

Around and around

Trump interview on CNBC shows he's 'Living in a Fantasy World'

Weird claims about statistics, inflation, the price of gas and groceries, jobs, farmworkers, trade deals continue to raise questions about his sanity 

Brad Reed for Common Dreams

Donald Trump gave a lengthy interview to CNBC  and critics quickly pounced on the president for telling a large number of false claims on topics ranging from monthly jobs numbers to the price of gas to international trade agreements.

Toward the start of the interview, CNBC host Joe Kernen pushed back on Trump's claims that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had "rigged" job creation numbers against him and debunked a Trump statement that the BLS had covered up negative jobs data revisions under the Biden administration until after the November 2024 presidential election.

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Trump, however, insisted that his statements about hiding downward revisions until after the election were correct even though the biggest downward revisions actually occurred in August 2024, well before the election took place. 

Trump’s rollbacks and funding cuts are affecting your food, water, and air — even if you don’t realize it.

How Donald Trump is affecting Americans' everyday lives

Grist staff

The cost to Rhode Island so far

• Over 47,000 Rhode Islanders will lose health insurance
  
• 10,000 Rhode Islanders are at risk of losing food assistance
  
• Nearly 6,000 Rhode Islanders could lose their job
  
• Combined with Trump’s reckless tariff agenda, the median household in Rhode Island will lose $1,300
  
• Rhode Islanders’ electricity bills will rise by 10.5%
• Trump’s reckless tariffs have already cost Rhode Island businesses $231.9 million

Lucas Burtin / Grist

Over the last six months, Americans have been inundated with a near-constant stream of announcements from the federal government — programs shuttered, funding cut, jobs eliminated, and regulations gutted. 

Donald Trump and his administration are executing a systematic dismantling of the environmental, economic, and scientific systems that underpin our society. The onslaught can feel overwhelming, opaque, or sometimes even distant, but these policies will have real effects on Americans’ daily lives.

In this new guide, Grist examines the impact these changes could have, and are already having, on the things you do every day. Flipping on your lights. Turning on your faucet. Paying household bills. Visiting a park. Checking the weather forecast. Feeding your family.

The decisions have left communities less safe from pollution, more vulnerable to climate disasters, and facing increasingly expensive energy bills, among other changes. Read on to see how.

— Katherine Bagley 

Less than half of Americans know Trump's tariffs are paid by US companies (who then pass it on to consumers)

You will find more infographics at Statista

How Climate Change Is Brewing a Coffee Crisis

The Rising Cost of Your Morning Brew

 Kate Petty

Severe weather, shifting trade policies, and a lack of support for small farmers are driving coffee prices sky high. Without urgent investment, your daily brew could become a luxury.

In January 2025, the price of coffee reached an “all-time high” for consumers in the United States; it is now poised to rise throughout the world. In May 2025, an article in Deutsche Welle stated that “the era of cheap coffee may be over.” This anticipated outcome is due to a combination of factors, including extreme weather, shrinking harvests, shifting trade policies, and rising production costs, which are straining the global supply chain. Meanwhile, the demand for coffee continues to rise.

Climate disruptions, such as prolonged droughts followed by excessive rain, are being seen in Vietnam and Brazil, the two largest coffee-producing countries. They are responsible for nearly 50 percent of the world’s coffee supply, and their losses have led to a decline in yields and an increase in prices. In November 2024, Coffee Intelligence reported that coffee prices had surged to a 47-year high.

At the same time, farmers have had to pay more for fertilizers, transportation, and labor. All these factors have contributed to the rising retail prices. “Many producers are grappling with increased production costs due to inflation and climate-related disruptions,” explained a March 2025 article in Coffee Intelligence.

The situation is likely to worsen owing to climate change. “Coffee plants will grow less productive as the earth’s temperature continues to rise, and practices like deforestation will continue to threaten the sustainability of the industry,” stated a January 2025 article in the New York Times.

Fluctuating Coffee Prices

Coffee is one of the world’s most widely traded commodities, second only to oil. Grown primarily in tropical regions, it is consumed across every continent. 

Historically, coffee prices have fluctuated, spiking during crop failures caused by extreme weather conditions or political instability in major coffee-producing countries, such as Brazil and Vietnam, and plummeting during periods of oversupply.

British tariffs on tea were one of the main causes of the American Revolution

Remember the Boston Tea Party? It was a protest against tariffs

This....

Political cartoon protesting against the Tea Act of 1773.

Led to this...

Which led to this...

And now we have George III reincarnated:

Trump escalates US war on Canada

 

Economists Pan 'Insane' Trump national sales tax

Slams Canada over non-existent fentanyl trafficking

Jake Johnson

That's an old Soviet car - Russian, not American -
in the GOP post on Trump's national sales tax 

Donald Trump  used “emergency” authority to impose high tariff rates on imports from dozens of American trading partners, including Canada—a move that economists criticized as a senseless approach to global trade that will further increase costs for consumers who are already struggling to get by.

Trump outlined the new tariff rates in executive orders signed just ahead of his arbitrary August 1 deadline for U.S. trading partners to negotiate a deal with the White House, whose erratic, aggressive, and legally dubious approach has alarmed world leaders.

Under the president's new orders, Canadian goods that are not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will face 35% import duties, while steel and aluminum imports will face a 50% tariff rate.

Trump claimed Canada "has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs." But Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hit back in a statement early Friday, noting that Canada "accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes."

"While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser-focused on what we can control: building Canada strong," Carney added. "Canadians will be our own best customer, creating more well-paying careers at home, as we strengthen and diversify our trading partnerships throughout the world."

Economist Brad Setser said that while the impact of the higher tariff on Canadian imports could be muted because of the exemption of USMCA-covered products such as oil, the 35% rate is still "insane" and "dumb."

"Same with the high tariff on Switzerland. Crazy," Setser wrote, pointing to the 39% rate for Switzerland imports. "This isn't just protectionism, it is bad protectionism—and will have all sorts of unintended consequences."

Trump congratulates himself

The new tariff rates for Canadian goods will take effect Friday while the higher rates for other nations such as Brazil (50%), India (25%), and Vietnam (20%) won't kick in until next week "to give Customs and Border Protection officials time to prepare," The Washington Post reported. Customs and Border Protection collects tariffs, which are effectively taxes paid by importers—who often pass those costs onto consumers in the form of higher prices.

"Trump's definition of 'winning' is hitting the American people with ever-higher taxes," Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, wrote late Thursday.

Recent U.S. economic data indicates that Trump's tariffs are already putting upward pressure on prices—and companies are using the president's trade chaos as an excuse to drive up prices further and pad their bottom lines.

The Tax Foundation noted earlier this week that "a variety of food imports" will be impacted by Trump's tariffs, likely leading to "higher food prices for consumers." More than 80% of Americans are already concerned about the price of groceries and many are struggling to stay afloat, according to survey data released Thursday by The Century Foundation.

Baker warned Thursday that even nations that have agreed to trade frameworks with the U.S. are not out of the woods.

"Deals are meaningless to Trump. He'll break them in a second any time he feels like it," Baker wrote. "I trust everyone negotiating with Trump understands that fact."

Tariff tax you will pay on Friday

Clothes, cars, food tariffs supposedly going into effect on Friday when King Donald's national sales tax takes effect

Price spikes in coffee, chocolate driven by climate change (and tariffs)

Weather Extremes Caused by Climate Change Are Driving Up Food Prices, a New Report Says

By Georgina Gustin

Environmental Research Letters

Extreme weather has stoked food prices around the world in recent years and could lead to more political instability and inflation, with the world’s poor bearing most of the economic pain and health impacts, according to new research.

A report published in the journal Environmental Research Letters tracks 16 weather events, many directly attributed to climate change, including extreme heat and flooding, and connects those to specific price surges.

“We can see that there’s a broad global context for this happening in recent years that extends all the way from East Asia through Europe and also to North America,” said Maximillian Kotz, a post-doctoral fellow at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the lead author of the study. “We think our paper is really a call to action for us to consider these wider effects of food price increases in response to climate change for our societies.”

In California and Arizona, extreme heat and dry soil conditions in the summer of 2022 drove an 80 percent increase in vegetable prices that November. In Spain and Italy, a drought spanning 2022 and 2023 led to a 50 percent spike in olive oil prices by 2024.  

Chocolate lovers have had to shell out more cash after cocoa prices jumped nearly 300 percent following a 2024 heatwave in Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce 60 percent of the world’s cocoa. Coffee drinkers were similarly hit after a 2023 drought in Brazil led to a 55 percent jump in arabica bean prices, and a 2024 heat wave in Asia doubled prices of robusta coffee.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Donald Trump sent Brazil a letter saying the US will impose a 50% tariff on all Brazilian goods starting August 1 because Trump wants Brazil to drop prosecution of his ally and ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is on trial for attempting a coup after he lost his 2022 bid for re-election. Brazil supplies the majority of US coffee.  - Will Collette

Trump’s Tariff Chaos Crushes RI Small Businesses While Big Corps Get Free Pass

Bad for Rhode Island businesses and consumers

By Uprise RI Staff

A new Bloomberg report reveals the devastating impact of Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policies on American small businesses, while a comprehensive survey of Rhode Island manufacturers shows local companies are bearing the brunt of what amounts to a massive tax on U.S. consumers.

The reality that Trump’s administration refuses to acknowledge is simple: tariffs are a tax paid by American consumers and businesses, not foreign countries. When the administration boasts about “billions” in tariff revenue flowing into U.S. coffers, they’re celebrating money extracted from the pockets of American companies and working families who ultimately pay higher prices for goods.

A devastating survey conducted by Polaris MEP, Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, and the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association between May 20 and June 27, 2025, reveals the carnage. Of nearly 100 Rhode Island manufacturers surveyed, a staggering 78.3% reported they either have or plan to adjust prices due to federal tariff changes – meaning Rhode Island families will pay more for everything from food to medical devices.

The $50 Million Venetian Wedding of Robber Baron Jeff Bezos

Today's robber barons revel in a new Gilded Age

Elliott Negin for Common Dreams

With all the fawning coverage of Jeff Bezos’ storybook $50 million Venetian wedding, the news media lost sight of fact that Bezos—the third-richest person in the world—is hardly worthy of veneration. He’s been exploiting Amazon workers for years.

Historians have drawn parallels between the Gilded Age of the late 19th century and what we are experiencing today. Like the first Gilded Age, Gilded Age 2.0 is marked by increasing economic inequality, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, and a rise in populism and social unrest.

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Jeff Bezos fits the profile of a latter-day robber baron to a T. Like the ruthless tycoons of yore, his business practices are unethical, he has amassed a vast fortune on the backs of his workers, and he has brutally stifled competition and controlled markets.

Amazon terrorizes its workers

With their manifestly unsafe working conditions, Amazon warehouses are a 21st-century version of a Gilded Age sweatshop. Despite the company’s claims that it protects its workforce, an 18-month investigation released last December by a Senate committee led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) found that the nation’s second-largest private-sector employer risks its workers’ health and safety by prioritizing speed and profit, and it is doing quite well on that score. Last year, the company outpaced Walmart, the largest private-sector employer, by netting $59.2 billion—a 95 percent increase from 2023.

If the measure of success is losing billions of dollars, than chalk one up for King Donald

Trump deals another blow to American automakers 

by Emily Singer, Daily Kos Staff

Donald Trump announced late on Tuesday that he and Japan reached a trade agreement, which will slap a 15% tariff on Japanese imports in exchange for Japan investing $550 billion in the U.S.

The so-called deal is another shit sandwich for Americans, especially U.S. car manufacturers. 

That's because Japanese cars imported into the U.S. will face a 15% tariff rate—lower than the 25% tariff American car companies currently face for imported auto parts. 

American automakers have already said Trump's tariffs have dealt a massive blow to their companies.

General Motors reported Tuesday that it lost $1 billion from April to June, attributing the losses to Trump's tariffs. And Stellantis, which manufactures American brands like Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge, said it lost a whopping $2.7 billion in the first half of 2025 because of Trump's tariffs.

That 15% rate is less than the shocking 25% tariff Trump had threatened against Japan if a deal wasn’t struck.

That’s why Japanese car stocks rose on Wednesday, with Toyota up about 13%.

“Toyota is up +8% on the news of a 15% tariff. Why? It's simple,” Spencer Hakimian, founder of the hedge fund Tolou Capital Management, wrote in a post on X. 

“Ford, GM, Tesla, and all the other American manufacturers are going to be paying 50% more for their steel, 50% more for their copper, 25% more for their Canadian production, 25% more for their Mexican production, and 55% on their Chinese production. Toyota only has to pay 15% more and they're done with all the shenanigans. Ford has to pay much more than that. A lot more in fact."

“We've given a Japanese car company an advantage over American car companies. All in hope of bringing auto jobs back to America,” he added.

The American Automotive Policy Council—which represents General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis—said on Wednesday that the Japanese trade agreement is a "bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers."

But Trump’s trade policy is not hurting just automakers.

Goldman Sachs on Tuesday said that U.S. economic growth will slow in 2025 because of Trump’s tariffs. The bank’s chief economist, Jan Hatzius, wrote in a memo to clients that the tariffs “will eat into real income, at a time when consumer spending trends already look shaky.” 

TACO Trump is back on his destructive tariff spree

An embarrassing exercise in economic and diplomatic futility

Stephen Robinson

Donald Trump just escalated his mindlessly self-destructive trade war against our (former) economic allies — again.

On July 7, Trump sent rambling letters informing 14 nations, including major trading partners Japan and South Korea, that the US government was slapping them with significantly higher tariffs as of August 1. 

These tariffs are separate from his previously announced sectoral tariffs on automobiles, steel, and aluminum. (This week, he also announced a 50 percent tariff on copper imports for August 1.) 

Trump sent more letters sporadically through the week, with an especially bonkers one to Brazil threatening a 50 percent tariff if the government proceeds with its prosecution of Trump’s partner in coups, Jair Bolsonaro.

Then, Trump announced a new 35 percent tariff on Canada, citing debunked claims about the country turning a blind eye to fentanyl flowing into the United States.

Trump’s new August 1 deadline is completely arbitrary, and his tariff numbers aren’t grounded in any rational economic policy. As everyone seems to understand but the president and his sycophants, these new tariffs will result in increased prices on goods Americans need and can’t magically produce ourselves. Other nations won’t shoulder the costs from tariffs. We will.

The letters all read mostly the same, like shockingly incoherent spam e-mails with the recipient’s name in an obviously different font. They are filled with alarming typos, random Capitalization, and sloppy errors. For instance, Trump’s letter to Željka Cvijanović, the chairwoman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, begins with “Dear Mr. President.”

Trump reveals his actual plan on tariffs

For what it's worth, here's what he said about his stated goal of getting "90 deals in 90 days" with US trading partners.

Donald Trump on July 7:

"Oh, we’ve spoken to everybody. We know every. It’s all done. I told you. I told you we’ll make some deals, but for the most part we’re gonna send a letter. 

We’re gonna say, ‘Welcome to the United States. If you’d like to participate in the greatest, most successful country ever.’ I mean, we’re doing better than ever. We have. I don’t think. 

And you’re gonna see these numbers soon. We’ve never had numbers like this. We’ve never had investment like this. 

Uh, we have more than 90. We’re gonna have much more than 90. But most of those are gonna be sent a letter. This is exactly what I said. 

Now, we’ve made a deal with United Kingdom. We’ve made a deal with China. We’ve made a deal. We’re close to making a deal with India. 

Others, we’ve met with, and we don’t think we’re gonna be able to make a deal. So, we just send them a letter. ‘Do you wanna, do you wanna play ball? This is what you have to pay.’ 

So, we’re, as far as I’m concerned, we’re done. 

We’re sending out letters to various countries, telling them how much tariffs they have to pay. 

Some will maybe adjust a little bit depending if they have a, you know, cause. We’re not gonna be unfair about it. 

And actually, it’s a small fraction compared to what we should be getting. We should be. We could be asking for much more. 

But for the sake of relationships that we’ve had with a lot of really good countries, we’re doing the way I do it. But we could be getting a lot more. We could ask for a lot more than what we’re asking for.”

Back to war with Canada and "thank you for your attention to this matter"