Trump’s Tariff Blitz: How the Trade War Hit 145% Before Crashing Back to Earth

Inside the High-Stakes Economic Warfare

Of course Europe is now worse than China—Trump just said so. And for him, that’s how you negotiate. Why build when you can bully? That isn’t just Trump’s personal philosophy anymore—it’s become the operating system of his entire administration.

When two sides sit down, you don’t work through the differences. You don’t focus relentlessly on pulling forward together. That’s too much effort. Too slow. Too civilized. Instead, you punch them in the face—or threaten to—and then demand compliance while dreaming of a happily-ever-after.

It’ll totally work, won’t it? The same strategy behind that long, glittering trail of broken marriages is now America’s official foreign policy doctrine.

First, it was Canada and Mexico. Trump declared them existential threats to American industry, threw on a sequence of on-again, off-again tariffs, and shook the U.S. economy just enough to generate headlines. No one really knows where that stands now—but somehow, Canada and Mexico slipped out of Trump’s headline-manufacturing machine.

Then came China. The tariffs Trump imposed were so shockingly high—peaking at 245% on certain goods—that a massive wave of capital fled U.S. markets. China retaliated with tariffs of up to 125% on U.S. products. After a prolonged stint inside Trump’s headline factory, China too is now on its way out. Following recent negotiations, tariffs have been temporarily reduced to 30% for a 90-day period.

And now? Suddenly, the European Union is the…

Of course it is.

Brace yourself for another round of headlines. More breaking news. More shock and awe. And somewhere in the middle of the night, Team Trump will burn through what’s left of their strategy playbook, trying to figure out how to set the next fire—this time, aimed squarely at Europe.

But don’t fall for it. Not this time. This isn’t just the usual chaos—it only looks that way on the surface. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll see exactly what Trump and his team are angling for: a universal 10% tariff.

It’s a hard sell to the American people. Who in their right mind is going to say, “Sure, I’m thrilled to pay 10% more for everything,” when they realize that money is being siphoned straight from their pockets to fund tax breaks for billionaires?

No one—except the billionaires themselves.

So, how exactly does the GOP plan to make Americans swallow this extra 10% hit to their wallets?

Simple. You manufacture chaos. You whip up so much fear, confusion, and headline panic that when the final number lands—just 10%—Americans and the rest of the world breathe a collective sigh of relief. “Thank God it’s only 10%. It could’ve been worse.”

Welcome to the art of distraction and deception. Point to the sky and scream that a plane is falling. And by the time everyone realizes there was never a plane at all—their money is already gone.

Is there anything the opposition can do to stop this?

Nope.

I’d be more than happy if they could at least understand what Trump is really doing here. But they don’t. Not even close.

They keep droning on about corruption—and yes, this opens the door for plenty of that—but they’re still missing the real play. It’s all about the money. They keep warning that this will tank the economy. It won’t. It’ll bite—but it won’t kill. And yet, not once have I heard a Democrat say out loud what’s staring them in the face—that Trump is after a 10% universal tariff, that he’s trying to quietly extract $200 to $300 billion to fund tax breaks for billionaires.

I’ll give them credit for stopping the administration from gutting Medicaid. That was good work. They took the fight to every corner of the country and hammered the message so hard that even parts of the MAGA base turned against it. And that was enough to push the administration off its “kill Medicaid” path.

But when it comes to tariffs? They have no idea. After ten years of watching Trump in action, it’s mind-boggling they still don’t have the resources—or the sharpness—to understand what he’s doing.

There’s still time. Plenty of time. But they need to wake up fast and tell Americans the truth:

• Trump isn’t fighting for them.

• He’s raising tariffs to pay the billionaires.

• He’s bringing back trickle-down economics— in one big, beautiful package.

And this time, if no one calls it out, it just might stick.

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