The real lesson of Donald Trump's no-end-in-sight trade war with China isn't just that he's a simpleton negotiator in complicated times, it's that everything is pretty painless to a sociopathic billionaire who's never felt the sting of his own ignorance.
Trump's working philosophy (a generous interpretation) is that trade wars are "easy to win," as he stated several months ago and effectively did again last week in a series of tweets promising tariffs would bring "FAR MORE" wealth to the U.S. than even a "phenomenal" trade deal would. Trump therefore torpedoed trade talks with China last week by plowing ahead with $200 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese goods. On Monday, China responded by slapping another $60 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods. Yippee. Easy Peasy.
Oh wait. Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow dared to utter a truth Sunday that both sides would "suffer" based on Trump’s trade war. Sure enough, with China's announcement, stocks tumbled hundreds of points. Farmers continue to get crushed. And American consumers continue to pick up Trump's tab, just like his daddy used to do when all his investments were hemorrhaging cash. If only Papa Trump were around to bail out the U.S. from his son's latest strategerie.
But daddy’s boy Trump is oblivious, tweeting away Monday. "Very bad for China, very good for USA!" Trump declared, as the consequences of his trade war settled in for the rest of America.