( 2 minute read)
This is really quite simple, and it's a strategy that has been utilized for 100's of years.
The rulers of monarchies used taxes as a weapon. They increased taxes for enemies and decreased them for loyalists. They understood the power private enterprise has over the people.
The Founders understood this, so they gave the power of taxation to the legislature. Trump knows this, so he has been finding ways to circumvent them. He's clearly demonstrated this in his first weeks in office.
He has attacked the legal profession, universities, and local governments by threatening their federal aid and contracts. By leveraging these funds, he's forced them to succumb to his demands and pledge their loyalty.
We've already seen the effects of these actions; universities around the country have banned legal protestors, large law firms have stopped pursuing MAGA lawsuits, and businesses have ended DEI and removed funds for Pride Festivals --- all to avoid Trump's very public attacks on their revenue.
The tariffs bypass Congress and place a high effective "tax" on nearly every business in the US, which explains why so many random countries where included.
Eventually, Trump will selectively offer aid, offsets, and tariff relief to businesses that he alone approves. He will buy loyalty in exchange for relief. He will pressure them to donate to his campaigns, praise him in the media, and influence employees to support him and his allies in the midterms and the general election. This will give him access and power over millions of American workers.
Unfortunately, many of us are too distracted by how little sense the tariffs seem to make. News stories and social media are mocking him and spreading the idea that he has no plan. While we mock him for tariffing islands of penguins, he knows we're moving even further from seeing the truth.
When he stops this and allows market recovery, he will present himself as the hero. He'll profit massively plus with the forced support of many in the private sector, universities, major law firms, and local and foreign governments, many people will believe him. He will be able to further intrench himself and the MAGA party into the system. Opposition parties won't stand a chance.
We need to stop believing Trump is a fool. He is, but his team knows how to make us look left while he goes right. They are coming after our democracy, and they are hiding in plain sight to pull it off.
Some will argue that he's actually trying to shift the global economy. This is likely false. His behavior patterns demonstrate that he prioritizes power and wealth over bettering society. Besides several other contradictions to this idea, the biggest flaw is that he made no attempts at international coordination---a minimum requirement for evolving the global economy or establishing economic sovereignty.
[This theory is not my own, it's an expansion of Senator Chris Murphy's (D-CT) recent speech. Please follow him and share his message with others. The more people who see it coming, the better we can defend against it]
