March 4, 2025 Trade War

Tariff.

A word that, until recently, I’d barely ever heard. Now, it’s on everyone’s lips. And on the lips of the Orange president more than anyone else.

I’ve resisted blogging about Donald Trump. I’ve been too upset at everything that has occurred in the last six months since it became clear that he would be re-elected to the office of President of The United States that I’ve barely blogged at all. 

Here I am, finally rattling away at my keyboard, trying to figure out how we got to this point.

I began this blog at a time when I thought the world was under an existential threat from some microscopic virus. A threat that everyone thought would be deadly for the entire world. 

Now we’re under a threat that is far worse than any viral infection. At least with COVID we could protect ourselves. We could wear a mask and keep our distance. We could escape the threat by being careful.

With the new threat coming at us from Donald J Trump, there is nowhere to hide. I know that may sound extreme, and for some people I know it will sound ridiculous. Yet, here we are with that man’s face all over the news. Everything he says is some vile banter or threat.

He threatens our very way of life. He certainly has been threatening Canada lately.

Today, he introduced a 25 percent tariff against all goods coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico. His excuses are lame, and his reasons make no sense. The Wall Street Journal calls this trade war the dumbest ever. 

I can’t help watching the news and scrolling through facebook. It’s like the biggest car wreck ever, and we can’t look away.

He began this tenure as president by bringing in the richest man in the world to gut the government and make it more efficient. Without any care for the people of the country or thought to what those people might actually be doing. He got rid of any equality or diversity achievements that have been made over the last fifty years.

And worst thing of all, for me at least –  he made an enemy out of Canada.

I watched Trudeau’s speech in reaction to Trump’s introduction of tariffs on Canadian goods. I felt a kinship and a pride at what he had to say. Even though his time as Prime Minister is nearing an end, he stood there and told the Amercian people and their buffoon of a president how it is. 

The dumbest trade war ever.

Trump, for some reason, thinks he can take over Canada and make us the 51st state. That will never happen; Canda has united unlike it has in years. People in this country will never be American, and they will never allow our country, the greatest country in the world, to be annexed by the bluster coming from the White House. 

I find his rhetoric and aggression disgusting. If he didn’t have so much support, I would dismiss him as the lunatic I think he is. But at every turn he spouts off more vileness and does more crazy shit. Look at what he did to the leader of Ukraine. Here we are in 2025, watching two grown men pick on the leader of a country who is fighting for its life. It almost felt like high school. Except the consequences are much greater than they were 40 years ago when I was in high school.

40 years? Am I really that old now? I must be; back in those days I was afraid of the President of The United States Ronald Reagan who, at one point, said, “There’s nothing wrong with a little nuclear war.” I was terrified he would find a reason to use the nukes. Thankfully, Mikael Gorbachev came into power in the Soviet Union, and he managed to save the world from the brink of annihilation. 

Who can save us now?

The world won’t fall under nuclear attack. It will fall under a tyrannical attack from the uber-rich who only care about the bottom line. 

I know some people defend him and say he has a plan. He’s doing things like this for a reaction. He’s trying to divide Russia and China. Meanwhile in Russia they’re laughing their asses off watching Trump divide the western world.

I know there isn’t much I can do. I scroll through facebook and get caught up in all the animosity and chaos of the days we are in. Part of me wants to get off facebook, turn off the news, and pretend none of this is happening.

Except it is happening; it is real. 

So that leaves one thing for me to do. 

Go skiing. There’s fresh snow on the slopes.