Trump Asked for This Flood. Will He Survive It?
As Musk and Trump part ways, Trump may not just be in political jeopardy, but real danger
This is an article that I wrote a few months ago. But as the relationship between Trump and Elon has (predictably) begun to disintegrate, I feel that the take is a relevant one to reshare today.
Early this morning, it was announced that an agreement was made between the United States and Mexico to delay the onset of the 25% tariffs that were set to take effect the following day. Leaders of the two nations have decided to put off the start date by a month. A few hours later, and not unpredictably, a comparable agreement was reached with Canada after a phone call between Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
I’m unconvinced that it was ever Trump’s intention for these tariffs to take effect at all. As with the flurry of headlines that have inundated Americans for the past couple of weeks, much of the aim behind the threat was to stoke fear and exhaustion — to continue his media blitz. When the deluge of intimidating new mandates is so relentless, it’s easy for big news to slip through the cracks. In the past, many of the most insidious developments that took place under Trump were clouded over by his typical brand of brazen reality TV-style nonsense and Twitter rants.
His administration wants people to give in to the flood and accept defeat. Throughout the past few days, Americans have fearfully braced for tariffs that were likely only ever raised as a threat. As with the prospect of government shutdowns in our country, I think these tariffs will be a can that we continually kick down the road. I wouldn’t be surprised if these talks have petered out completely by this time next year.
Even if Trump has given up on this democratic experiment, I believe he’s vain enough to fight for his image. I don’t think he’s the meticulous despot that Putin is, and I don’t think he’s capable of quashing dissent. I don’t think he’ll poison his opponents and their families. Trump is more of a reality TV dictator — if there is such a thing.
To Trump, approval ratings and crowd sizes matter even more than his ability to carry out his agenda. Trump likes the image of being a strongman leader, but doesn’t have the restraint, wisdom, or forethought to truly be one.
In many regards, he actually finds himself in a position of great danger. Considering the growing frequency of assassination attempts in The United States, and this increasingly tense political period that we’ve entered into, Trump may not survive these four years in office.
But arguably even greater than the threats from citizens are the threats from within his own cabinet and entourage. Sharing the reins of control with far richer men, Trump has planted himself into a viper den. Their interests conflict with one another. They’ve each made whole careers fighting to promote themselves and their brands. They’re each clamoring for the top spot of a financial pyramid. And I don’t believe that any of these barons, billionaires, and psychophaths cares for a moment whether Trump dies if it’s in the interest of their assets.
Unlike Putin, Trump is far more likely to be poisoned in his sleep than he is to do the poisoning.
Please, let's get it over with