“Like other transactional authoritarian leaders, Trump doesn’t believe the United States’[s] relationships with other countries should be based on shared values or the maintenance of international institutions — he thinks those relationships should be conditional and impermanent like business agreements. This is why he says allies should treat the United States like an ‘insurance company.’ Trump’s recent scattershot tariffs are a perfect example of his transactionalism. Beyond the fact that these massive tariffs — the most significant attack on global trade in a century — ignore basic economic principles like comparative advantage, they also target the United States’[s] closest allies and partners.” (04/08/25)
Source: Chris Matthew Sciabarra
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“The Robe was the first Biblical-themed film I’d ever seen. It transported me to a truly colorful world beyond my imagination. This 1953 adaptation of the Lloyd C. Douglas novel, directed by Henry Koster, starred Richard Burton as Tribune Marcellus Gallio; Jean Simmons as Marcellus’s childhood love, Diana; Victor Mature as the slave Demetrius; Michael Rennie as the disciple Peter; and Jay Robinson as the crazed Emperor Caligula. Aside from its spectacular sets and reverent storyline, the movie boasts a truly passionate and moving Alfred Newman score. Everything about this absorbing film enthralled me. … When it was finally released on DVD in October 2001, it was presented in its full widescreen CinemaScope aspect ratio. … Almost from the moment I hit ‘play’ on the DVD unit, I noticed differences. From the opening credits, something was very wrong.” (04/08/25)
“With the Supreme Court slapdown of the DC Circuit judges who’d blocked deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, Team Trump has won a significant legal victory in its effort to get killers and thugs out of America. This is a good first step, essential to restoring America’s national security — but also a nuanced call, not a trumpet alarum to bring in the jackboots. The Supremes seemingly took into account the fact that Judge James Boasberg lacked sufficient legal grounds for his initial blocking of the deport order. … It also emphasizes that illegal [sic] immigrants up for deportation under the AEA — i.e., members of Tren de Aragua and other large-scale criminal organizations — must get a (more than just) share of due process.” (04/08/25)
“The given rationale behind Trump’s tariff policy is that if a country levies a 10 percent tariff on American goods, the United States should reciprocate. However, this approach reflects a fundamental misapprehension of the mechanics of international trade. American manufacturers are heavily reliant on imported components for assembling final products. By inflating the cost of these inputs through tariffs, the competitiveness of U.S.-made goods in global markets will be significantly undermined. Moreover, a substantial segment of the American workforce is employed in export-driven industries—from agriculture to automotive manufacturing—that thrive on open markets. A retaliatory trade policy would inevitably provoke foreign governments to impose counter-tariffs on American exports, directly jeopardizing these industries and their workers.” (04/08/25)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Lyle J Goldstein
“President Donald Trump’s unorthodox diplomacy has alarm bells ringing around the world, not least in Washington, D.C. While much of the inside-the-beltway elite is horrified at the prospect of America supposedly reorienting toward Russia, administration insiders have hinted at an ambitious plan to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing. They’ve raised the possibility of a so-called ‘Reverse Nixon’ maneuver aimed at fostering a global balance of power more favorable to America. But can it work?” (04/08/25)
“The Democratic Party is currently going through the usual rounds of soul-searching that follows a party’s defeat in an election, but this time it is more urgent than ever. … There is an opportunity for policy entrepreneurs to provide their solutions to the Democrats’ current woes. With their new book Abundance, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, attempt to provide their own contribution to this debate. However, regardless of whether their plan would benefit America if implemented, the political programme will probably alienate more voters than it will win, and presents no workable solution to breaking America’s political divisions and establishing a new political order to turn the page from Trumpism.” (04/08/25)
“On April 2, as he imposed exorbitant tariffs that triggered a stock market collapse, Donald Trump said this: ‘For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike. American steelworkers, autoworkers, farmers, and skilled craftsmen—they really suffered gravely. They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream.’ Trump’s tariffs, which are more about indiscriminate bullying than trade policy, set off reams of simplistic commentary praising the glory days of free trade. Yet we would do well to remember our history, or we could end up cherishing the kind of corporate globalization whose backlash paved the way for Trump in the first place.” (04/08/25)
“Changing the units of measure does not change the reality of the phenomenon being measured. If your employer starts paying you in Japanese yen tomorrow instead of U.S. dollars, the number on the paycheck will be about 146 times what it would have been otherwise. But you aren’t better off—you’re just measuring your income by a different metric. … You’d think that this would not need explaining to a man such as Scott Bessent, the hedge-fund guy who currently serves as Donald Trump’s treasury secretary — because, of course, Mr. ‘Real America’ hires his help from Soros Fund Management. But during a speech to the Economic Club of New York … Bessent declared: ‘Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream. … The American Dream is rooted in the concept that any citizen can achieve prosperity, upward mobility, and economic security.'” (04/08/25)
“President Trump’s actions are setting off a global trade war that means US consumers will suffer from increased prices for many products both foreign and domestic. Manufacturing and other American businesses that rely on imported raw materials and other inputs from abroad will have to pay more for these inputs, assuming they are able to get them at all. US exporters will suffer from decreased demand for US products in overseas markets.” (04/08/25)
“‘The very definition of tyranny.’ That’s how James Madison described the consolidation of legislative, executive, and judicial power in the same hands. This wasn’t just a warning. It’s one of the core principles underlying the Constitution: separation of powers. Each branch has its role, clearly defined in the Constitution. And when one branch tries to take on the role of another – such as ‘legislating from the bench’ – it’s not only bad policy; it’s unconstitutional. Just as dangerous – and just as unconstitutional – is when Congress hands its legislative power off to the executive branch. It’s not just ‘bad policy.’ It’s not ‘efficiency.’ It’s destroying the Constitution. Both scenarios don’t just set us on the path to tyranny – they are tyranny in action.” (04/07/25)
