Phantom Threats

“We’ve already lost the trade war. We don’t have a trade war. We’ve already lost.” – Donald John Trump

This may be the shortest international trade war in history. On March 1, Trump declared a unilateral trade war imposing tariffs on aluminum and steel. On March 8, Trump excluded Canada, EU, and other allies. On April 3, Trump accused China of stealing intellectual property and imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of imports. On April 6, Trump threatened tariffs on $100 billion more in Chinese goods, and said we’ve already lost.

While this was going on, with the DOW dropping like a rock, last week Trump sent 4,000 troops to secure the border. “We have very bad laws for our border, and we are going to be doing some things – I’ve been speaking with General Mattis – we’re going to be doing things militarily,” Trump said. Mexico sent Trump an immediate response: “The Senate of the Republic demands, from president Donald Trump, respect for the people of Mexico. The Senate condemns unfounded and offensive statements about Mexico and its citizens and demands proper care of the relationship between neighboring countries, partners, and allies.”

Socio-economic threats

There are two types of threats: real and phantom. Real threats require change, discipline, and sacrifice. Visionary leaders care for the people and get things done.

The Climate Crisis, North Korea, substance addiction, massive incarceration, economic inequality with increasing poverty, and many other threats must be addressed.

Trump wants to get a second term. He likes to travel like a king, play golf, have fun, and be liked by the media and his base. Trump wants to be around his family and use public money to pay for his lifestyle. He will not disclose his taxes to keep his wealth and finances away from the public.

Trump ignores real threats by pretending they are false, destroying the scientific evidence, and choosing the worst people for his cabinet. Scott Pruitt has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Eliminating environmental protections is criminal behavior.

Trump creates phantom threats to distract public attention, using the media and tweets to keep everyone guessing. He lies, exaggerating the threat (all Mexicans are rapists), the media fact-checks the story and expert panels show the claim is false, then Trump doubles down to continue the obscene charade. Last week, he said about the caravan coming to the border, “And remember my opening remarks at Trump Tower. Everybody said, ‘Oh, he was so tough,’ and I used the word ‘rape.’ And yesterday, it came out where, this caravan coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before.”

Trump relies on fake news and is proud to get away with the scam. Last month, he made up a story in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claiming the US runs a trade deficit with Canada. The wars with China and Mexico, are phantom. Let’s dig in.

War with China?

Tariffs are import taxes paid by the company importing goods from China. A 25 percent tariff on $100 billion in goods is $25 billion collected by US Border Customs for the US Treasury. Is this how Trump plans to pay for the Wall?

War with Mexico?

Candidate Donald Trump promised a wall to get elected. To claim that a $25 billion wall is required for national security, Trump is using the military to stop a phantom threat. Trump is interfering with Mexico’s July 1, 2018 presidential elections, inadvertently promoting a fierce populist nationalist candidate.

Our democracy is at high risk

Trump is a dictator surrounded by military generals: Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster, Michael Flynn, and John Kelly, giving the military control of the war machine. Trump does not respect the US Constitution and is afraid to challenge Vladimir Putin.

We must protect our democracy from within. Political threats are stopped when everyone gets involved. We must expose the lies and fight the real threats. Truth is on our side.

Dr. Luis Contreras