Remember the Tom Petty song, “I Won’t Back Down”?  There was a time that this was emblematic of the American ethos.  We stood for what was right in the world, for freedom and democracy, and economic liberalism.  We were a beacon for reliability and we could be trusted.  We stood on the side of right against those who would bully, impair, and foist violence on others.  We didn’t always exemplify our ideals (yes, we too have our frailties), but Americans could still puff out our chests in pride for the belief systems that we universally embraced.

Three months ago that ended.  I can’t even describe which ethos this administration put in its place.  Because, for all of the bluster and faux-projection of strength and resolve, the Trump Administration has been most emblematic for its flip-flops and backtracking.  As poorly thought-out the policies of the administration are (as evidenced by the myriad of court injunctions and out-right annulments of executive orders), their reversals are equally jumbled messes.  I’ve heard of throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks, but these folks seem to think that the entire pot needs to be thrown against the wall, thinking we can eat it off of the floor.  

Let’s start with trade agreements.  A normal government who wished to renegotiate trade agreements would make a bold statement to the world that they have a well-thought out objective on trade and contact their trading partners to seek new agreements.  If they were being particularly pugnacious, they might put a time table on those negotiations.  Not the Trump Administration.  They start by unilaterally backing out of existing trade agreements with our closest allies and partners (Canada and Mexico), breaking a trade agreement that the first Trump administration negotiated just 7 years ago, and threatening and belittling our neighbors while they do it.  Then they place a 30 day ‘pause’ on their penalties (and mind you, the tariff penalties are borne by the importers into the US, not the exporting nation), only to reimpose them when ‘Liberation Day’ is declared on April 2nd.  The consequences?  Canada pulls American goods off of the shelves, Canadians stop travelling to the US on vacation in droves, and the government adds a series of tariffs and other countermeasures that hurt American business.  Mexico has had a substantially smaller response to the tariffs, but they are already a source of investment from other countries and the tariffs are going to hurt far more Americans than Mexicans. (And just in case you were wondering, fentanyl will still flow into the country.)

Then there’s China.  A tit-for-tat response to American tariffs drove the Chinese import tariffs to 145% – only a meaningful number if there existed substitutes for the Chinese goods that the US imports – which for so many there are not.  US small businesses can tell the story of why Chinese businesses fulfill their orders instead of the US – with smaller production runs, better customization, more flexibility in general, China will still be the source of choice in America – and American business will simply raise their prices.  The shock to the stock market, electronics in particular, drove President Trump to flip-flop on China tariffs on those goods.  But China, as a planned economy, has more quivers in its bow to fight back against American trade bullying – the most serious one being a halt to exports of rare earth minerals and magnets (used in every US vehicle and aircraft’s production).  China is finding replacements for US soybean imports (coupled with substantial tariffs on US agricultural products). While the President has insisted that the Chinese Premier must call him first to negotiate a de-escalation, the Chinese have been emphatic in saying that no deal is being negotiated.  Essentially the ball is in Trump’s court.

If these trade measures weren’t enough to shake the economy, President Trump chose to announce his anger at the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell within the past 10 days.  “Powell’s termination can’t come fast enough” and calling him a ‘major loser’ (this is the guy, by the way, that Trump appointed to the job).  The subsequent downdraft on the US dollar and stock market prompted Trump to come out and declare that he has no intention of firing Powell.  Not that firing Powell (which is not legally permissible) would change interest rates – the Federal Open Market Committee sets those and about half of those folks are going to stay there for another 5+ years.  Not that the President seems to understand this.

The administration’s flip-flops are only matched by their surrenders.  Foreign policy is the primary home for their white flags.  Beginning in the first administration, Trump showed an inclination of surrendering with his infamous pullout of Afghanistan, yielding to the Islamic terrorist regime of the Taliban.  He managed to give away an entire country without the participation of the elected government there.  So it should have come as no surprise that when another opportunity for “peacemaking” availed itself in this administration, the Trump/Rubio solution was a surrender of Ukraine with no concessions in return.  Not only would Russia retain all lands captured, but no genuine security guarantees would be offered, none of the thousands of Ukrainian children who were kidnapped be returned, and no consequences would come to the Russians for their war crimes.  The “peace plan” (including the US absconding with a nuclear power plant and much of Ukraine’s precious mineral revenues) became more of a joke when Russia sent numerous ballistic missiles at Kyiv, resulting in nearly 100 civilian casualties.  Maybe the administration is merely trying to be the poster child for appeasement, replacing Neville Chamberlain in the history books.

So what is really lost with all of this back-peddling?  American businesses are stuck, not wanting to buy goods or agree to prices without knowing what the cost of their inputs will be.  Some small businesses are closing because of the tariffs.  Other businesses are not hiring due to the unpredictability of the situation.  Farmers who export goods to China will see their sales collapse, right as farm bankruptcies increase.  The US reputation as a reliable partner is permanently damaged – why sign a new trade agreement with a country that tears up the old agreements on a whim?  Why invite the US to engage in peace diplomacy when they are inclined to act against your country’s interests and give away the store?

This administration is most adept at two things – reversing its course on its decisions and giving away property that isn’t theirs to give away.

And the national disgrace continues…