A tariff here, a tariff there, but what the heck is a tariff anyway? One thing it’s not is a fee paid by foreign countries that are selling products to American companies. No, tariffs are import taxes paid by American companies to our government. And those companies eventually pass on those taxes to consumers like you and me in the form of higher prices.
The recurrent guy tells us that the government’s coffers are filling up with foreign payments because of the very smart tariffs he has imposed, but that’s a lie. That money is coming from American pockets. Yours and mine.
The recurrent guy’s lies about tariffs are just the loudest these days, but there are so many others that it’s hard to keep track of it all. Let’s start with his bragging about his “deals” with those foreign countries with whom we import and export products? His supposed deals would require some of these nations to pay us (or just him?) around $500 billion in return for reduced tariffs. He sure bragged about the one he claims to have made with Japan. But Japan has corrected him on that, saying the deal has not been finalized or signed.
But would that stop the recurrent guy from claiming otherwise? Of course not! What do facts and truth matter to him or his supporters? If he says it, then it must be so. The same kind of arrangement was announced regarding a “deal” with the European Union, again a huge amount of money coming in as a payoff for lower tariffs, but nothing has been signed that would make that true either.
Did you happen to catch the news last week of the recurrent guy firing the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)? And why? He was unhappy with the weak jobs report that was issued by the bureau. He then proceeded to tell us that the data was “rigged” and “manipulated for political purposes.” Did you then see all the evidence he produced to support this claim? You didn’t? Oh, right, that’s because there was none.
Just more lies. The BLS is a highly respected agency of the Department of Labor but “operates independently, producing detailed, nonpartisan data on employment, prices, wages and other topics.” The public and private sectors of our economy depend on the validity of the BLS data to make important decisions regarding interest rates, hiring, investments, etc. But if you don’t like what it reports – just fire the person in charge. Poof, gone!
Now this next set of lies just screams: “Stop talking about the Epstein files!
On Monday, the recurrent guy announced that he is taking federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC and sending the National Guard to police the district. Yes, that’s right. In his press conference he said that “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people.”
Lies, more lies. According to a January 2025 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Washington, DC, which was posted on the Department of Justice website… “Total violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia is down 35% from 2023 and is the lowest it has been in over 30 years, according to data collected by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and announced by United States Attorney Matthew M. Graves.” Of course, there is still crime in DC, but nothing like the recurrent guy insists is happening. And according to the DC police department, violent crime is down another 26% since January.
Who should you believe? The recurrent guy, who produces absolutely no evidence for the destructive statements he makes, or the actual data collected by the working police officers themselves? Tough question.
And, as we listen to the recurrent guy’s lies of the non-existent carnage taking place in our capital, perhaps it’s a good time to remember the real carnage that took place there on Jan. 6, 2021, under his direction. The evidence of what happened that day at the Capitol building is available for all to see in videos taken by the perpetrators themselves and in the thorough investigations by our once trustworthy Justice Department. I watched it unfolding live on TV where I saw the attackers climbing the outside walls, breaking into doors and windows, putting up a gallows for Vice President Mike Pence, and attacking police officers with fists and clubs.
If the recurrent guy cared so much about crime in the streets of our nation’s capital, would he have pardoned and commuted the sentences of nearly 1,600 of those criminals? Even the most violent of them, the ones who assaulted police, were cleared of their crimes and sent back onto our streets, perhaps to break the law again.
The answer is, of course, he doesn’t care. He lies to suit his latest con which this time is taking federal control over Washington, DC with the intention of expanding his power over other “liberal” cities such as New York, Chicago and LA. He made that very clear in Monday’s press conference.
This behavior is right out of the authoritarian playbook. Lie and keep lying. So, are we willing to lose our democracy to a fascist strongman and his henchmen? I don’t think we are. The time is now for all of us to do whatever we can to push back, to stop the destruction of our Constitution, our laws, our rights. I urge you to join together with like-minded people, to protest non-violently, make donations, write postcards, make calls to your elected leaders. Do whatever you can. Start now.
Karen Gardner of Haydenville can be reached at opinion@gazettenet.com.