I'll give my ever-evolving political analysis, unsolicited and free of charge.
A lot of the world relies on the US. Not Trump, the US. Decades or even a century worth of American acts of kindness...or exploitation. I think Trump is leveraging the American "brand" to get what he wants. Or what his cronies want. He is a business man, after all.
I read that the Canadian tariffs were put on hold after Trudeau came to the table to talk. I thought he was ousted last month? Whatever. And I think Mexico's President came forward, too, today. They took some hardline stances before but when the deadline passed, I get the perception they realized Trump meant business. Or was truly deranged and that he might not have been 100% bluffing. He'd definitely cut his nose to spite his country, with a smile on his face.
I think the rest of the world realizes they still need the US but they thought putting up a front of unity that they'd return economic fire and impose tariffs of their own would be enough for him to back down, but he didn't. Not that he's a courageous person; he's just a big, dumbo that'll tank the flak he gets from Americans and world leaders until they just give in.
It's not genius, I think it's more "audacity." He has the audacity to get on the world's stage and say and do what he does and the "brand" of America runs so deep through almost every world power, they know that deep down at its core, they have to give in. Or at least step up to the table and have a discussion with this man and iron this thing out.
People might call it "goodwill" on behalf of the US, that all these decades the US has offered security, protection, etc. in the form of economic or military power. Some might call it imperialism or exploitation. None of it was earned by Trump. It's been through the actions of 40+ presidents before him. That might be going down the shitter slowly under Trump's two terms, but it's strong enough that some world leaders will have to bend the knee to him, in some form, even if the US walks away for the worse. Having to be summoned to the table to talk is humiliating enough that Trump can still look like the "winner" to some people.
In other news, I read a headline for a local news article (who reads the actual articles these days?) that the "illegals" that ICE caught in the Chicago area have been released.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/na...-immigration-crackdown-released-us-rcna186360
Under "monitoring" of course, and I have a sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that these might be citizens or permanent residents that were "accidentally" caught and then released back with a "my bad." Or offered a deal to rat out the real, undocumented people.
