Trump marks ‘Liberation Day’ with bizarre rant, conspiracies

Trump marks ‘Liberation Day’ with bizarre rant, conspiracies—and lame props

President Donald Trump wanted the entire world to know about his self-branded “Liberation Day” on Wednesday, during which he announced—in a 48-minute rambling speech, no less—a slew of new tariffs on imported goods.During his rant, Trump used props, pushed debunked conspiracy theories, and even engaged in a bit of antisemitic dog whistling.xxYouTube VideoPerhaps most notably, Trump chose to ignore a reporter’s question about families worried about the impact his tariffs will have on their lives. Trump has previously falsely claimed that tariffs are paid by foreign nations, but historically they’ve been passed on as additional costs to U.S. consumers.Consumer sentiment dramatically fell 12% in March as Americans have growing concerns that the economy will worsen thanks to Trump’s policies like these new tariffs.Touting his tariff decision, which will purportedly impose reciprocal tariffs on several nations (Trump endlessly repeated the term “reciprocal”), Trump then turned to props to sell his message.President Donald Trump is seen holding a giant chart listing every country on which he has placed a tariff.Holding a printed-out report showing the alleged necessity of increased tariffs, Trump was handed a large chart, which listed many countries—but not Russia—and the reciprocal tariffs they will be charged. To almost complete silence from the audience, Trump then read most of the chart, offering up commentary on each country (including complaining about the South African government, which has tried to address the effects of racist apartheid policies, and the consternation of Elon Musk).And in true salesman fashion, Trump paused the proceeding to throw a red MAGA hat into the audience.xxYouTube VideoTrump stressed the purported necessity of tariffs against Canada, citing Canadian tariffs on milk imports. But those tariffs are mostly a figment of Trump’s imagination, since the transportation of milk does not meet the threshold, which was imposed during Trump’s first term.“In practice, these tariffs are not actually paid by anyone,” Al Mussell, an expert on Canadian trade issues, explained to CNN in March.Trying to preempt criticism of his tariff plan, Trump said that “globalists” would be among the many groups objecting to his actions. This term has long been used by the right, including Trump, as an antisemitic dog whistle to imply conspiracies led by Jewish people.Then, deviating from his tariff messaging, Trump rehashed long-debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen by President Joe Biden. He also bizarrely took credit for supposedly re-popularizing the term “groceries.”xxYouTube Video“Groceries, I used it on the campaign. It’s such an old-fashioned term, but a beautiful term. Groceries. It’s a bag with different things in it,” he said.Trump pushed a trade war against China during his first term, and it was a massive failure that led to billions spent to bail out farmers. Now with his new tariffs, Trump is set to increase costs for millions of Americans.So, “Liberation Day” for who exactly?Campaign Action

President Donald Trump wanted the entire world to know about his self-branded “Liberation Day” on Wednesday, during which he announced—in a 48-minute rambling speech, no less— a slew of new tariffs on imported goods. During his rant, Trump used props, pushed debunked conspiracy theories, and even engaged in a bit of antisemitic dog whistling. x x YouTube Video Perhaps most notably, Trump chose to ignore a reporter’s question about families worried about the impact his tariffs will have on their lives.

Trump has previously falsely claimed that tariffs are paid by foreign nations, but historically they’ve been passed on as additional costs to U.S. consumers.

Consumer sentiment dramatically fell 12% in March as Americans have growing concerns that the economy will worsen thanks to Trump’s policies like these new tariffs. Touting his tariff decision, which will purportedly impose reciprocal tariffs on several nations (Trump endlessly repeated the term “reciprocal”), Trump then turned to props to sell his message. Holding a printed-out report showing the alleged necessity of increased tariffs, Trump was handed a large chart, which listed many countries— but not Russia —and the reciprocal tariffs they will be charged.

To almost complete silence from the audience, Trump then read most of the chart, offering up commentary on each country (including complaining about the South African government, which has tried to address the effects of racist apartheid policies, and the consternation of Elon Musk). And in true salesman fashion, Trump paused the proceeding to throw a red MAGA hat into the audience. x x YouTube Video Trump stressed the purported necessity of tariffs against Canada, citing Canadian tariffs on milk imports.

But those tariffs are mostly a figment of Trump’s imagination, since the transportation of milk does not meet the threshold, which was imposed during Trump’s first term. “In practice, these tariffs are not actually paid by anyone,” Al Mussell, an expert on Canadian trade issues, explained to CNN in March. Trying to preempt criticism of his tariff plan, Trump said that “globalists” would be among the many groups objecting to his actions.

This term has long been used by the right, including Trump, as an antisemitic dog whistle to imply conspiracies led by Jewish people. Then, deviating from his tariff messaging, Trump rehashed long-debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen by President Joe Biden. He also bizarrely took credit for supposedly re-popularizing the term “groceries.

” x x YouTube Video “Groceries, I used it on the campaign. It’s such an old-fashioned term, but a beautiful term. Groceries.

It’s a bag with different things in it,” he said. Trump pushed a trade war against China during his first term, and it was a massive failure that led to billions spent to bail out farmers. Now with his new tariffs, Trump is set to increase costs for millions of Americans.

So, “Liberation Day” for who exactly?.