“I Know What The Hell I’m Doing” The evidence suggests otherwise Dan Rather and Team Steady Apr 15 Credit: Getty Images Sometimes you read something so unlikely, you just know you’d better bookmark it for further contemplation. At a fundraising dinner six days ago, Donald Trump uttered the sentence, “I know what the hell I’m doing” — and sounded like he was trying to convince himself, as well as the gathered loyalists. Of all his startling comments, this one should arch eyebrows to new heights. In the ensuing days, it has been distressingly clear to everyone but his most diehard sycophants that he not only doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he also doesn’t know how to undo the mess he’s created. There was Trump today, celebrating recent stock market gains. What he didn’t mention was that markets are down 7% since his inauguration. He actually said out loud that “people didn’t understand the intent of the tariffs.” Does he? Oh, people understand. Economists are suddenly tossing around words like recession and default with regularity. If the man who bankrupted a casino, which is essentially a money-printing enterprise, truly knows what he’s doing, then why upend a robust economy complete with low unemployment, inflation in check, and a vigorous stock market? Trump claims a little pain now will be worth it in the end. But what is the end game? Teaching our global trading partners a lesson at the expense of American economic stability? Trump’s neurotic tariff policy — though one can hardly call his on-again-off-again-paused-for-some-increased-for-others tariffs a policy — and the trade war with China are rocking the economy and derailing many of the things he promised the American people. Trump vowed he would bring down grocery prices on “Day 1.” That didn’t happen. In fact, inflation is on the rise, which will make everything cost a little more. And his newly imposed tariffs will make a lot of things cost a lot more. Much of what we expect to find on American grocery shelves is not grown or made here and therefore would be subject to Trump’s new tariffs. A whopping 85% of seafood is imported. So is 80% of coffee. Crops like cocoa beans (to make chocolate), bananas, mangoes, cashews, and avocados do not grow in the U.S. in huge quantities, if at all. Some of the best beer and wine, cheese, and olive oil available at your supermarket is not produced here. All will cost more soon. Other commodities not found in the United States are rare earth metals and magnets. They exist in abundance in China. In all of Trump’s backing and forthing with tariffs, he has maintained the hardest line with China. As of this writing, Trump has imposed a 145% tariff on all Chinese imports. The metals and magnets we have imported from China are a crucial component of everything from cars and planes to smartphones and computer chips to engines and missiles. A global economy means everything is interconnected. So that 145% tariff on Chinese steel will affect U.S. workers making carpet for car interiors in South Carolina. High-priced steel will make cars more expensive, so demand will decrease. And then so will the demand for the carpet. Not to mention that even cars made in America contain components from other countries, which will cost more overnight. The United Auto Workers union is standing by Trump in the hopes that all of this hardship will lead to more manufacturing jobs in the United States. It may, but even so would likely be years down the line. And if it does happen, a U.S. auto worker earns 10 times what a Mexican auto worker does. Who will pay for the additional labor costs? The consumer. Another Trump campaign promise was to “drill, baby drill.” Not so fast. Remember that expensive steel from China? Oil companies need it to build pipelines to move all the new crude. The combination of an increase in the cost of raw materials and a slowing in demand for gasoline is making oil companies rethink plans to expand drilling. “It’s very hard for people to have the confidence to invest when markets are in a state of flux and panic, and that’s where we are now. There’s a lot of uncertainty, and that uncertainty prevents development of a lot of projects,” oil executive J. Nelson Wood told NBC News. Whole industries could be adversely affected by the massive tariff on Chinese imports. The American beauty industry, which according to the Personal Care Products Council adds $2.6 billion to the U.S. economy, imports 25,000 mass-market beauty products from China annually. Are you willing to pay almost $25 for a $10 bottle of shampoo? Probably not. The Wall Street Journal’s quarterly survey of economists conducted last week reveals an increasingly bleak outlook. The 64 economists surveyed said Trump’s tariffs and the ensuing trade war with China have caused them to increase the probability of a recession. They also believe inflation and unemployment will increase, while growth will stagnate. It appears that the American people are not willing to suffer for Trump’s economic whims. The University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment shows a sharp plunge of 11% over the last month. Sentiment is lower than at any time in the 73-year history of the survey, except for one month during the COVID pandemic. “This decline was, like the last month’s, pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region and political affiliation,” Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, said in a statement. A decline in consumer confidence is often the tip of a slide to an economic downturn. As consumers’ economic fears grow, their hold on their wallets tends to tighten. Consumer spending is not something to trifle with. It accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy. The president claims to know what he is doing. Even in the unlikely case that he does know, it’s clear that he doesn’t care about the collateral damage — for which We the People will have to pay. To support my team’s efforts to protect our democracy through the power of independent journalism, please consider joining as a paid subscriber. It keeps Steady sustainable and accessible for all. Thank you. No matter how you subscribe, I thank you for reading. Stay Steady, Dan

 

INCOMPETENT  & STUPID ADVISORS! 

IRRATIONAL RANTS!

GREENLAND???? 

TRUMP UNITING THE WORLD AGAINST US!

DOGE & MUSKRAT PROMOTING SLASHING PROGRAMS

SCAM! YUP!  

SLASHING & BURNING! CRASHING ECONOMY! 

FEEL PAIN? PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE FOR LACK OF HEALTH CARE! 

TRUMP: BUSINESS FAILURE! 

FAILED BUSINESSMAN!  YUP! 

Selling OLD VIDEOS to BEZOS who's genuflecting! 

And the MALARIA DOCUMMENTARY? 

Selling their SOULS & INTEGRITY (if they ever had any).

There have been several TRUMP BUILDINGS where residents fought to get rid of TRUMP'S MISMANAGEMENT & ABUSE. 

TRUMP TOWER CHICAGO:

‘Carelessly killed countless creatures’: Trump Tower declared ‘public nuisance’ after ‘scofflaws’ violated Clean Water Act for years

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/carelessly-killed-countless-creatures-trump-tower-declared-public-nuisance-after-scofflaws-violated-clean-water-act-for-years/

A Great Businessman? 26 Of Donald Trump’s Biggest Business Failures (So Far)

https://chachingqueen.com/donald-trump-failed-businesses/

Watch now

Meidas Pod on Trump Crashing Markets + GOP Chaos (Ad-Free)

Watch the latest episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast ad-free right here on the Meidas+ Substack!

Brett Meiselas, Ben Meiselas, Jordy Meiselas, and MeidasTouch Network Mar 11

The latest episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast is now available ad-free exclusively for Meidas+ Substack subscribers. To support ad-free episodes like this, please consider joining as a paid subscriber today!

Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

In this episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast, we break down the economic downturn as Trump’s trade wars, erratic behavior, and mass layoffs in the federal government lead to a stock market crash. The Republicans brace for another contentious vote on a Continuing Resolution, unable to actually produce a budget. Canada elects a new Liberal Leader who will soon take charge as Prime Minister—and he came out swinging against Trump and in defense of Canadian sovereignty. The Trump administration locks up a pro-Palestinian protester and threatens the man—a permanent U.S. resident—with deportation. Ben and Brett break down all this and more!

Remember to add the MeidasTouch Podcast on audio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

ANIMAL SPIRITS????

BERNIE SANDERS RALLIES says it all! 

MAGA GOP, Trump/JD VANCE/Muskrat ignore AMERICANS! 

UNINSURED Americans, HOMELESSNESS... 

MAGA GOP just nod that well trained DOGS!

MAGA GOP are incapable of governing - their claim to fame is PROTECTING APPLIANCES!

Let's not ignore WISCONSIN'S SUPREME COURT ELECTION! 

SUPPORT OUR REVOLUTION & SUPPORT JUDGE SUSAN CRAWFORD who was interviewed by MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK. 

Working TOGETHER, we can RESTORE DEMOCRACY, JUSTICE & EQUALITY!

TOM EMMER (R-MN) MAGA MAGGOT 

Trump is STUPID (even a professor said so), can't read, ignorant of HISTORY & ECONOMICS. 

Trump couldn't read the CONSTITUTION! 

Trump Struggled to Read the Constitution, Said It Was ‘Like a Foreign Language’: Book

https://lawandcrime.com/awkward/trump-struggled-to-read-the-constitution-said-it-was-like-a-foreign-language-book/

SMOOT-HAWLEY Tariff Act has been blamed for causing the DEPRESSION or making it worse: 

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act: A Classic Economics Horror Story

https://www.npr.org/2018/04/05/599707003/smoot-hawley-tariff-act-a-classic-economics-horror-story

Elon Musk Lost $16 Billion Yesterday | Morning News Rundown

 

MEL GIBSON GUN RIGHTS? 

PARDON ATTORNEY FIRED FOR REFUSING TO RESTORE HIS GUN RIGHTS! 

UPDATE:

Elon Musk's net worth dropped $29 billion in one day as Tesla stock tanks

• Elon Musk's net worth fell by $29 billion on Monday as Tesla's stock price also declined.
• Tesla's stock was down 15% as of close on Monday, while Musk's net worth was down 6.7%.
• Musk said Monday it had been hard to run his businesses while working on government efficiency.

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-net-worth-drops-billion-tesla-stock-2025-3?op=1

Watch now

Elon Musk Lost $16 Billion Yesterday | Morning News Rundown

Elon Musk lost $16 billion yesterday, Donald Trump will soon declare a national emergency on electricity, recession fears grow to their highest point in 2025, and more.

Aaron Parnas Mar 11

Good morning! It is March 11th and here is your morning news breakdown. This week I will do a paid subscriber live likely tomorrow night around 8 PM EST. With that, if you want to join either or to just support my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today

With that, here is all the news you missed:

• Donald Trump, in an attempt to show a sign of support for Elon Musk, announced that he would be purchasing a Tesla today, one day after Tesla saw a dramatic decline in stock value. EVEN THOUGH HE DOESN'T DRIVE!

• Donald Trump will soon be declaring a national emergency on electricity. The details remain unclear.

• Elon Musk lost over $16 billion yesterday as Tesla shares plunged more than 15%, bringing their total decline since December 23 to over 53% and wiping out $700 billion in market value, according to Axios.

• CNBC's Jim Cramer believes investors shouldn't be scared by the market sell-off.

• BCA Research warns that DOGE and tariffs are pushing the U.S. economy into recession, according to CNBC.

• The ‘Fear & Greed’ Index is approaching ‘Extreme Fear’ levels last seen in March 2020, when stocks crashed at the start of the pandemic.

• The United States has been added to a human rights watchlist due to declining civil liberties, according to TIME.

The Parnas Perspective is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

• According to Bloomberg, Vladimir Putin has set deliberately extreme demands for ending the war in Ukraine, including Ukraine’s neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of Russian-annexed territories—terms unlikely to be accepted by Kyiv or Europe, according to Western security officials cited by Bloomberg. This raises the possibility that Trump, if negotiating a deal, would have to either accept all of Putin’s terms or walk away, both of which could strain U.S.-Europe relations and leave Ukraine to fight without U.S. support.

• The Philippine government announced that former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on an ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

• ​The federal government's program providing free at-home COVID-19 tests has been suspended and is no longer accepting orders as of March 9, 2025

See you this evening.

— Aaron

You’re currently a free subscriber to the Parnas Perspective. For the full experience, more content, and to support Aaron, upgrade your subscription.

POLITICO Nightly: Trump’s risky recession dance

 

By Sudeep Reddy President Donald Trump delivers remarks after signing an executive order on reciprocal tariffs in the Oval Office on Feb. 13. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images ‘PERIOD OF TRANSITION’ — President Donald Trump and some of his top officials are engaging in an eyebrow-raising strategy in the first weeks of their administration: warning of economic tremors and entertaining the prospect of a recession. Generating ominous headlines about an economic downturn may not seem like a natural path to winning public support for Trump’s “golden age of America.” And it’s left people from Washington to Wall Street wondering what’s really at play. The unusual drumbeat picked up in recent days amid rising market volatility. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday warned of a “detox” period for the economy as the Trump administration hacks away at federal spending. Trump himself followed over the weekend by declining to brush off rising fears of an economic downturn , saying “there is a period of transition” necessary to bring wealth back to America. “You can’t really watch the stock market,” Trump later said, a sign of how much Trump 47 is operating in a vastly different mindset than Trump 45 — a man who closely watched stock indices and loved to claim credit for gains on his watch. This time, he isn’t thinking about reelection for himself — or for anyone in his party. The two-week slide in stocks — including another nosedive today — largely reflects mounting uncertainty driven by Trump’s reordering of the world’s economic order. The president is proudly tearing up America’s decades-old playbook on global trade, immigration and the role of government. “These latest economic pressures are largely of the president’s own making and will test his appetite for weathering short-term economic uncertainty and political backlash in the hope of long-term economic gain,” POLITICO’s Megan Messerly, Sam Sutton and Victoria Guida write today . How does Trump’s take-your-medicine strategy play out? Watch for several lines of argument in the coming months as long as the economic gauges look worrisome: The hangover. Slashing government spending will undoubtedly cause some ripples across the economy. Cuts to federal workers and government contractors will mean cuts to consumer spending, and lower revenues for businesses big and small in those communities. More than 80% of the civilian government workforce sits outside the Washington area, so the effects will not be limited to the nation’s capital. Trump’s team argues these workers will be better deployed in the private sector. The big risks: The period of disruption stretches out more than a few months. Private-sector investment cannot quickly replace government spending. A slowing economy could reverberate through the private sector as well, turning a pullback in government spending into an economy-wide recession. You wanted lower inflation and interest rates, right? One sure way to beat back inflation is a mild economic slowdown. Lower inflation would give the Federal Reserve freedom to lower interest rates. Vastly reduced government spending also would push borrowing costs lower. In theory, all of that could trigger a new upswing in the economy that Trump can claim credit for. In the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” followed a painful recession designed to break the back of inflation. The big risks: Lower inflation is especially tough to achieve while tariffs raise the cost of imported goods. And engineering a slowdown is generally tough to pull off without risking a recession. A Trump recession would likely mean a protracted downturn in stocks. And when private-sector firms see lower stock prices, they often cut their workers as well. Patriotism. Trump’s tariff and immigration policies are designed to force companies to build in America, with American workers. Every new announcement will generate flag-waving and hyperbole about how domestic manufacturing is back. The risk: Americans might love a made-in-America strategy until they realize what it costs. Trump and his aides are trying to deploy a blame-Biden strategy, crediting the former president for anything they inherited. That won’t work if the economic data — from consumer sentiment to hiring rates — show an unmistakable drop just as Trump’s rapid-fire policies began over the past seven weeks. For now, Trump’s team is banking on “animal spirits” — the sense of optimism seen in CEO surveys and among small-businesses eager for deregulation. They’re hoping the wave of domestic investment announcements can counter the mounting signs of uncertainty, such as the Delta Air Lines warning this afternoon about softening demand. The reality is that much of Trump’s change will take far longer than an election cycle to execute. Tariffs won’t make American factories suddenly sprout from the ground; they take years of planning, requiring a stable policy environment. Anyone running as a Republican in 2026 has good reason to sweat today’s recession chatter and the “period of transition” ahead. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at sreddy@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Reddy . What'd I Miss? ****TARGETING TRANS-GENDER IS AN OVERBLOWN ISSUE....IT'S A MEDICAL ISSUE, NOT A POLITICAL FOOTBALL! IT'S WHAT FASCISTS DO!**** — Supreme Court will take up state bans on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children: The Supreme Court agreed today in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children . The conservative-led court is taking up the case amid actions by President Donald Trump targeting transgender people, including a ban on military service and an end to federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The justices also have heard arguments in a Tennessee case over whether state bans on treating transgender minors violate the Constitution. But they have yet to issue a decision. Colorado is among roughly half the states that prohibit the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling. — House Republican support grows for keeping clean energy tax breaks: A growing number of House Republicans are urging the party to preserve the clean energy tax credits in Democrats’ climate law — and warning they may oppose the party’s budget bill if those incentives get axed . In a letter shared exclusively with POLITICO, 21 House Republicans — whose districts have drawn billions in new investments because of the Inflation Reduction Act incentives — said developing clean energy was critical for the U.S. to meet President Donald Trump’s goal of becoming “energy dominant.” And they threatened to resist their colleagues’ efforts to gut the law to help pay for a small fraction of the GOP’s multi-trillion-dollar tax-cut package. CHINA IS PROMOTING CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY & THEIR ECONOMY IS PROSPERING! CHINA IS LEADING THE WORLD, BUILDING ROADS & MAKING FRIENDS!  TRUMP IS PROMOTING DIRTY ENERGY, RESCINDING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS, ALLIENATING ALLIES WHO ARE UNITING AGAINST THE US, BOYCOTTING AMERICAN PRODUCTS & TOURISM, THREATENING RETALIATORY TARIFFS..... THOSE WHO OPPOSE OFFSHORE WIND PROMOTE LIES ABOUT WHALE DEATHS, AMONG OTHER ISSUES....WHEN YOU HAVE TO LIE, YOU KNOW YOU'VE LOST! + 50 YEARS AGO, THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY WAS AWARE OF CLIMATE CHANGE (THERE ARE COURT DOCUMENTS) & FUNDED CLIMATE DENIERS!  + 50 YEARS AGO, THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY WAS AWARE OF THE ADVERSE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF AIRBORNE PARTICULATES & OPPOSED REGULATIONS!  CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY MAKES SENSE.... SUPPORTING A BRAIN DEAD 'LEADER' WHO BELIEVES WIND TURBINES CAUSE CANCER IS FOLLY! ***DEMENTIA DON'S ATTACKS ON UNIVERSITIES DEFINE HIS IGNORANCE! PROTESTING GAZA GENOCIDE IS NOT ANTISEMITISM! JUST ONE MORE ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH FROM THE DIM WIT WHO WAS UNABLE TO READ BIG WORDS IN THE CONSTITUTION!**** — Harvard pauses hiring amid ‘financial uncertainties’ under Trump: Harvard University leaders announced a temporary hiring freeze today, citing “substantial financial uncertainties” as colleges and universities face widespread scrutiny of their federal funds by the Trump administration. The temporary freeze “is meant to preserve our financial flexibility until we better understand how changes in federal policy will take shape and can assess the scale of their impact,” wrote Harvard President Alan Garber, Provost John Manning, Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick and Vice President for Finance and CFO Ritu Kalra in a message to faculty and staff. The university’s pause on faculty and staff hiring comes after the Trump administration pulled $400 million worth of grants and contracts at Columbia University on Friday for “failing to address” antisemitism. ****TRUMP ATTACKING FREE SPEECH!***** — Trump lauds ICE detainment of Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests : President Donald Trump touted the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil , the Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend — signaling a larger campaign to punish anti-Israel protesters on college campuses. “This is the first arrest of many to come,” Trump said in a Truth Social post today, linking Khalil’s detainment to his previously signed executive orders to combat antisemitism on college campuses. ****TULSI GABBARD, RUSSIAN ASSET, INCOMPETENT & UNQUALIFIED!**** — Trump admin formally revokes a raft of Biden officials’ security clearances : U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard announced today she formally revoked clearances for a number of top Biden administration officials , following through on directives issued by President Donald Trump upon taking office. Gabbard, who serves as director of national intelligence and oversees the gamut of U.S. intelligence agencies, wrote in an X post that she revoked the clearances of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former national security adviser Jake Sullivan and former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Monaco oversaw the prosecution of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Also in keeping with a prior announcement by Trump, former President Joe Biden will no longer receive the President’s Daily Brief, a summary of key intelligence findings that is delivered to the president in the morning, Gabbard said. Former presidents have typically been allowed to receive the brief even after leaving office, though Biden suspended Trump’s access to the briefings in 2021. AROUND THE WORLD Friedrich Merz arrives prior a meeting of the CDU leadership after German parliamentary elections on Feb. 24 in Berlin, Germany. | Maja Hitij/Getty Images GREEN NO DEAL — Germany’s Greens are vowing to put an end to Friedrich Merz’s paradigm-changing plan to invest massively in defense and infrastructure. Greens leaders today said they would urge lawmakers in the party to reject a historic deal by Merz’s conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) to unleash hundreds of billions of euros of new spending to bolster the military and invest heavily in the economy. In order to pass the proposed bills as soon as next week, as Merz intends, he needs the support of the Greens. “If the CDU and SPD think that, because of the security threat posed by Putin in the Kremlin — and, honestly, also Donald Trump in the White House — we will simply have to go along with this, then we reject that outright,” one of the party’s leaders, Felix Banaszak, said today in Berlin, referring to Merz’s Christian Democratic Union and the center-left Social Democratic Party, who are set to hold coalition talks following the Feb. 23 election. If the Greens follow through on their rejection of the plan, the decision would put Merz in a bind. His plans to effectively exempt defense spending from the country’s constitutional debt brake and create a €500 billion infrastructure fund require a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag. If the sitting parliament doesn’t agree, the far-right, pro-Kremlin Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and The Left, which opposes military spending, will have the strength to block the deal once the newly elected Bundestag convenes by March 25 at the latest. SYRIA CLASHES — More than 1,000 people have died in two days of clashes and revenge killings in Syria as the country’s security forces allegedly killed hundreds of civilians belonging to the Alawite religious minority, a war monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said about 745 civilians were killed on Friday and Saturday in ongoing violence along the country’s coast, along with 125 members of government security forces and 148 fighters from armed groups linked to ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa called for national unity on Sunday, saying the country “has the characteristics for survival” and that what is happening in Syria now is “within the expected challenges.” The clashes erupted on Thursday and marked a major escalation in the challenge to the new government led by Sharaa’s movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, three months after the insurgents took over following the removal of Assad from power. Nightly Number 83 percent The percentage of USAID programs that the United States is officially canceling , according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who today thanked DOGE for their work on the effort. RADAR SWEEP FRAUD’S GOLDEN AGE — Phone scams are proliferating and changing so quickly that authorities can’t keep up. With the use of AI technology, they’re getting more advanced rapidly. And across the Global South in particular, many of these scam artists are professionalizing . They have office setups, multiple people working on the technology and are spreading across the world. In Maclean’s, Sarah Treleaven gets inside the story of how the Royal Canadian Mounted Police busted the biggest fraud ring successfully targeting Canadians — but also how despite their efforts, new versions of these scams are popping up in their place every day. Parting Image On this date in 1984: Former President Jimmy Carter and Democratic candidate for the presidential nomination Walter Mondale wave to supporters during a BBQ in Mondale's honor in Plains, Ga. | Ric Feld/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   Follow us

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