Yesterday:
Perhaps “big leap forward” is not the best phrase in the context of this particular country pic.twitter.com/xi7EyRNywI
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 3, 2018
It may be a long march, but we have an amazing five-year plan to bring about a cultural revolution in relations between our two countries.
— Bob Van Voris (@BobVanVoris) December 3, 2018
What are the chances Xi used that phrase with him just to see if he'd repeat it out of ignorance?
The trolling at G20 was pretty epic.
— Laura Walker ?????? ???????????????? (@LauraWalkerKC) December 3, 2018
Today…
The Dow plunges 799 points and Nasdaq loses nearly 4% as Wall Street's enthusiasm for the US-China truce on trade vanishes https://t.co/a5D4ozCqIC pic.twitter.com/LsFbrP6bso
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 4, 2018
More context:
China seems to have a markedly different view of the trade war cease-fire reached with Trump over the weekend. State media outlets made no mention of a 90-day time frame or reduction in tariffs on U.S. cars — or any specifics about buying more US products https://t.co/48ce7cvKZC
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) December 3, 2018
… In the absence of a joint statement or joint news conference after their meeting, each side has been putting its own spin on the Buenos Aires summit and its outcome.
Trump portrayed the agreement as a second chance for President Xi Jinping, saying he would give the Chinese leader 90 days to deal with the structural issues in the trading relationship — such as forced technology transfers and industrial espionage. If no deal is reached in that time frame, the American president said, he would go ahead with his previous plan to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products from 10 percent to 25 percent, which had been due to kick in Jan. 1…
But there was no mention of any of this here Monday.
The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, ran a photo at the top of Monday’s front page of Trump and Xi shaking hands and smiling. But the story, while stressing agreement and cooperation, said nothing about buying “very substantial” amounts of U.S. agricultural, industrial and energy products, as the White House said, and nothing about the 90-day deadline. Nor was there anything about tariffs on car imports into China…
Neither was there any sign of the White House contention that Xi had promised to reconsider Qualcomm’s bid to buy NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch rival. The $44 billion deal collapsed after Qualcomm, the U.S. smartphone-chip maker, failed to get Chinese regulatory approval.
What Chinese state media outlets did say, however, was that the two sides would work to “gradually” decrease the trade imbalance — a statement that appears to be at odds with the rapid progress that Trump wants.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did little to clear up the discrepancies Monday, saying that the two sides’ readouts from the meetings spoke for themselves…
The Trump Doctrine: Shout loudly, and waggle your tiny [mushroom].
Larry Kudlow admitted on press call just now, "We don't yet have a specific agreement on that" — never take a Trump tweet at face value https://t.co/CGL8lUkcaz
— Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) December 3, 2018
The PT Barnyard of presidents says its OK to raid the wealth of our nation as long as you pay him his brokerage fee. He's a Tariff Man. pic.twitter.com/qq8K6tKKQ8
— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) December 4, 2018
Trump: I am Tariff Man
Mueller: Nice you meet you. I'm Gotcha, Man.
— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) December 4, 2018
Donald Trump, treasonous Individual 1 by day, economy-killing Tariff Man by night.
— Forsetti X (@ForsettisCreed) December 5, 2018
Jeffro
Half the reason I’m on Twitter is for the wit, snark, shade, what have you. Another quarter is Twitter Dick Nixon (which is also wit, snark, shade, what have you). The last quarter is boring stuff like news and work-related things.
“I’m…GOTCHA MAN!”
Jeffro
On a more serious note: China and its leaders are indeed laughing at DJT but more importantly, they’re still moving full steam ahead on all fronts while we try to get our Klown Kar rolling here at Circus Trumpus. Between Trumpov being elected in the first place and then this country wasting – actually, worse than wasting – two full years being undermined from within, it really is more than the Chinese could have ever hoped for at this point in time. They are asserting themselves in almost all industries and R&D, they’re active in all areas of the globe, and on the move militarily as well. Meanwhile, we are being rage-tweeted at multiple times a day by our own “leader”, giving yet more tax cuts to our wealthiest folks and large corporations, and clinging HARD to fossil fuels. Sad!
Jerzy Russian
“Tariff Man”? Jesus, Mary, & Joseph. I don’t know where to begin with that tweet, so I won’t bother.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
It’s Tariffman! The hero we never wanted nor deserved.
Another Scott
Joshua Green’s take is too weak.
Trump lies about [klaxxon]everything[/klaxxon]. Of course he’s lying about what Xi said.
Duh.
Cheers,
Scott.
John Revolta
What he meant to say was Goniff Man.
Ruckus
@Another Scott:
This really isn’t rocket science is it?
He lies in english or metric, he lies in bright sunlight, he lies in the dark of night, he lies standing up, he lies sitting on the crapper.
In the dictionary under, “If his lips are moving, he’s lying!” Is his ugly mug. Also under, “If his lips aren’t moving, he’s lying.”
OK I’ll stop now.
Wag
One leap forwards
Two leaps back
Your politics gave me the sack
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn06juaCNSA
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Ruckus:
The media is still having a hard time calling him a liar because they don’t want the word “lie” to lose its power or something. It’s maddening.
debbie
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Imagine what his superhero costume would look like!
FlyingToaster
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: They’re not calling him a liar because their owners will fire them if they do.
FlipYrWhig
He genuinely doesn’t know what a tariff is. He thinks it’s like a toll. No one has explained this to him because they think he must know and he’s just doing an act. It’s not an act. He’s fucking stupid.
Steeplejack
@debbie:
Colbert covered that just now in his show opening.
Mandalay
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
It is. A pundit the other day on MSNBC was talking about Trump’s tweeting, and she started to say “…making fals…“, but then corrected herself to say “…making factually inaccurate statements“.
Apparently even using the word “false” was unacceptable. It’s pathetic.
Corner Stone
@FlipYrWhig:
“I’m going to cost you and everyone you know more money to buy things *and* I’m going to kill our export markets.”
Farmer in Iowa: “Golly. I sometimes think I need to just trust Trump a little more on this.”
Gin & Tonic
@Corner Stone: Farmer in Iowa, late spring, 2019: “Boy, those soybeans sure smell bad.”
Joe Falco
Gotcha Man, Gotcha Man
Gotcha Man arrests Tariff Man
They go to court, Gotcha wins
Gotcha Man
?BillinGlendaleCA
@FlipYrWhig: A tariff is a tax, I wonder how big this is compared to other tax increases?
Mart
@?BillinGlendaleCA: It is the most bigly tax increase in the whole history of the entire world. It will be the most important tax increase ever.
Corner Stone
@Gin & Tonic: “Eh, they’re natto bad. God bless and keep Trump!”
Frankensteinbeck
@Another Scott:
I suspect it’s very hard for Wall Street to wrap their heads around this. Republicans lie to the hick rubes in the countryside, not the smart people who are rich because they’re so smart and earned it with their superior smartness. Republicans are their friends!
It’s similar to the news’s problem. The idea that the Republican Party is a party of racism, lies, and stupidity is unbearable. They have to find some other explanation, and it’s getting really difficult.
Corner Stone
“Alright, give me Ham on five and hold the Mayo.”
God damn that movie is not so subtle genius.
AThornton
China is building a $2.1 billion AI research and development park for the companies they plan to fund to the tune of $300 to $500 billion. The US will invest a whacking $178 million on AI research over the next year.
I wonder who is going to own the next generation technology?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@debbie:
He would have a diaper on the outside of his costume instead of the tights.
Jimmm
@Joe Falco:
Who came up with Tariff Man?
A terrible man.
Tariff Man.
Steve in the ATL
@Corner Stone: I think of that line every time my wife and I walk into the Mayo Clinic
Yarrow
@AThornton: We’ll always have coal.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@FlyingToaster:
@Mandalay:
It can’t be left unsaid though that J Schools teach the “View from Nowhere” and bothersiderism. They really do believe in that shit. Very few journalists do real investigative work anymore.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Steve in the ATL:
How has your wife been feeling lately?
FlipYrWhig
@?BillinGlendaleCA: @Corner Stone: He clearly thinks that “an extra tax on Chinese goods” means “China” — another thing he doesn’t understand: whether that means the government of China or a company in China or people in China — is paying a tax. Remember in one of those recent interviews he was calling it an “interest rate.” He’s just a dumb motherfucker. A dumb motherfucker who thinks he’s a genius.
Ruckus
@Frankensteinbeck:
The difficulty is in saying the bullshit with a straight face. Of course by now they have all had more than enough practice. The secondary difficulty is that their bosses boss wants them to say things a certain way and not ever make the republican party look bad, stupid, dumb, moronic, or drumpf. So of course they lie, which strangely enough makes them look, bad, stupid, dumb, moronic and drumpf.
drumpf is my new word for corrupt, moronic politicians. You earn that moniker you have just hit Marianas Trench depth.
Mitch McConnell is drumpf.
Dense Pense is drumpf.
The list is long but not endless.
drumpf is master drumpf.
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
Fortunately that’s not actually true.
The earth may always have some coal, we won’t.
Of course you were being ironic. I knew that.
Ruckus
@FlipYrWhig:
If he didn’t who would?
Mike in NC
Fat Bastard was served a tasty eggroll. Winning!
Hitlesswonder
@Corner Stone: I’m a bit nonplussed as to why Trump’s incorrect assertion that China is paying tariffs isn’t a news story. Tariffs are are his trade policy…essentially his economic policy and he is either lying about them or doesn’t understand them. Either way, I think most of the public probably thinks China is paying tariffs. Some freaking media outlet needs to run a page one story explaining that Ford is losing a billion dollars because they are paying the stupid tariffs.
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
As soon as I heard that Trump said “big leap forward”, I cringed. But the though the Chinese probably used that phrase with him to see if he was dumb enough to repeat it. And of course he was. Seems like I’m not the only one that occurred to.
I honestly think that this time under the Cheeto Bandito has allowed iChina to move forward on so many areas that we will never be able to catch up again. This is the beginning of the long, sad to decline of the United States of America. That may not be such a bad thing in the grand scheme of things. But it does kind of suck to live through it and have a third of the nation completely blind to it.
Jay
@FlipYrWhig:
We have tale after tale that while people try to explain things to him, it’s no use,
Taking the Oil is probably the best example.
The most anybody’s managed to get him to retain, briefly, is what he shouldn’t say, but it only sticks for a moment.
He still doesn’t know why he shouldn’t say something, even though they have tried multiple ways to explain it, all he knows is saying it will make one of the key members of his “team” mad.
He really is a toddler.
Steve in the ATL
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: slightly better, thanks
Paul T
Trump and The Grifters short the market and then lie. Profit.
Yarrow
@Ruckus: There may not even be a “we,” depending on how climate change goes. But you’re right, I was making a dumb joke.
Yarrow
@Steve in the ATL: Did they ever figure out what was going on with her? Seems like it’s been a really long haul.
Amir Khalid
@FlipYrWhig:
He is the President whom the dumb motherfuckers of America elected, because they wanted a man like them in the White House.
Steve in the ATL
@Yarrow: finally! Dumping syndrome (which isn’t as gross as it sounds) and damaged Vargas nerve. Issue now is finding treatment that helps.
Jay
@Hitlesswonder:
Economists write about tariffs. 99% are as dumb as the witless wonder and just sell economic propaganda for the 1%.
If you google it, you will find hundreds of MSM articles on how the US is paying Dolt 45’s tariffs.
The deplorables and gullibillies, don’t care.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jay: Sure, Economists write about tariffs…they say they’re really bad policy that leads to sub-optimal outcomes.
(I’m a lapsed economist.)
Yarrow
@Steve in the ATL: Oh, wow. That’s one I haven’t heard of. I do know that gargling can help stimulate the vagus nerve. Has to be kind of aggressive gargling–like to the point where your eyes tear up. It can help people with digestion issues because the vagus nerve goes all the way down the body and involves the intestines.
I don’t know if that might help in your wife’s case. I have a video of a doctor talking about it somewhere. I could look it up if you want but I’d guess you can also find info via google.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Yarrow:
Since Trump thinks with his gut, that must be the grey matter that he uses for his “thoughts”.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
Did you just call the republican party the dumb motherfuckers of America?
Bravo!, Bravo I say…..
The truth always gets a bravo.
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
We could have eased our way into being a member of the countries of the world, instead of trying to be the Prime Directive of the world. But no, we had to watch the stupid motherfuckers of America vote for the stupidest old fart alive, and live through his further and rapid decline into narcissistic never never land.
Villago Delenda Est
Donald is too motherfucking stupid to know he’s being trolled.
Goes for his drooling cultists, too. They’re not smart enough to realize that they’re being laughed at by the rest of the world, too.
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
Actually the joke was spot on.
For exactly the reason you made it. We have to rethink all of our ways of doing things.
Aleta
@Steve in the ATL: Sorry she’s been through a difficult time for so long. Must be tiring at the least. I hope treatment gets those vagus nerve signals to behave soon.
Mandalay
@AThornton:
I have no idea where you plucked that number from, but didn’t it occur to you that it was absurdly low?…
It’s fine to argue that investing more heavily in AI research and AI applications would be money well spent, but to claim that the the US is only spending $178 million on AI research in the next year is laughable. Google alone would be paying more than that just in salaries for its AI researchers.
GxB
Am I the only one that hears a sludgy guitar bend prior to reading the “I am Tariff Man” tweet?
When peo-ple or count-ries come
in to raid the great wealth of our Na-tion,
I — want — them to pay
for the priv-il-ege of doing so.
[Hint for those finding this too obscure: think Black Sabbath people, it’s even got Ozzy’s uhm, tortured cadence and non-rhyme thing going on.]
NotMax
@debbie
Aside from the prominent “Made in China” label?
sukabi
@Mandalay: and if the news today was any indication for all that scratch we’ll get Steve Fucking Bannon hocking sexbots
prostratedragon
So I guess we know who our leading baritone is. Note how quiet his time in the box was compared to certain Others. After an apparently rocky beginning, he must have sung so vividly of the mountains rising from the plains and the parades of armies and royal caravans that Mueller could just see them himself.
“Song of the Indian Guest,” Rimsky-Korsakov, Bjorling
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Market drops 800 points on tariff comments.
I’m sure glad there’s no moron running for the Democratic nomination who believes in tariffs. Oh wait….
VOR
@Jay: back during the campaign he kept saying how easy it would be to pay off the National Debt. I was puzzled at this until I realized he was confusing the trade deficit with the budget deficit. I wonder if he still thinks his tariffs will close the budget gap. Which of course has grown under the Trump Mal-administration.
Chris Johnson
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Jesus Christ, give it a rest. Nobody cares about Bernie Sanders anymore.
The way you carry on it’s like you’re punching a time clock in Siberia, come to yammer about a nearly dead politician on Balloon Juice just to make sure liberal voices never stop conflating last season’s Socialist with white supremacists and Republican economics.
Weirdly, Trump being into tariffs is far from right-wing orthodoxy: I think that’s actually being fed to him by Russians, just to fuck with everybody. On the one hand, get Trump fired up about anti-free-market policy to wreck the US economy, and on the other, send ‘David Suspiciously Obsessed With Last Election’s Double Loser Koch’ to make liberals say even crazier things in front of a fed-up audience of newly empowered millennial voters.
Give it a REST. Nobody over 70 years old should be running this country. For that matter, markets should not be running this country, and your hyping of the reaction of the market is helping Trump wreck it, because markets are retarded stupid panicky things with no right to take on the importance they’re given.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Chris Johnson: В Сибири удивительно тепло. Плюс женщины здесь, с их евро-азиатскими чертами, невероятно великолепны.