The popular vote loser and would-be autocrat Donald Trump is off to the border Friday to visit the new commemorative plaque he commissioned for himself, praising himself for building a wall. The plaque hangs on a fence, which is not a wall, and the section it's hanging on is not new and according to Border Patrol is not even part of Trump's wall. But it's a shiny thing with Trump's name on it, so that's what counts.
Trump previewed his visit in a bunch of tweets yelling at the Washington Post for writing, "Trump backs off threat to close border, says he’ll give Mexico 'one-year warning' on drugs, migrants." That cannot stand. "The Crazed and Dishonest Washington Post again purposely got it wrong," he raged. Mexico is doing his bidding, he says, "for the first time in decades, is meaningfully apprehending illegals at THEIR Southern Border." But if that stops, he threatened (because it's not a Trump tweet without a threat), "the U.S. will be forced to Tariff at 25% all cars made in Mexico and shipped over the Border to us. If that doesn't work, which it will, I will close the Border."
Except, as Trump corrector Daniel Dale points out, no. Mexico is essentially exempt from auto tariffs because of the trade agreement Trump has signed with them. "So Trump either plans to violate his agreement or is just saying stuff," says Dale. It could be either, but is hopefully the latter. Remember, U.S. auto industry experts have warned that closing the border would shut down auto production in the U.S. "within a week." That would throw as many as a million workers out of their jobs, and would be devastating to the economy (not to mention what would happen to our avocado supply).
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are sending themselves thoughts and prayers that Trump will find a new shiny object and forget about shutting down the border. (They should be careful of what they wish for.) All around Trump, his friends and allies are warning of the economic disaster he's courting, and the political one, too.
He's just giving more ammunition to his most effective nemesis, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Shutting down the border and cutting off the money are probably in competition for two of his worst ideas," she notes, but, "Let's not forget our friend the wall."
