White House officials held a press conference Tuesday morning to talk about the economy as Americans are very nervous about tariffs that are starting to cause prices to rise. When Trump's stupid face opened, it was obvious that they were in a state of panic. In fact, one question about Amazon really shocked them.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted on going as planned, although Americans are starting to see a 145% surcharge increase from goods from Chinese retailers such as Temu, Shein and Aliexpress. But Leavitt flipped the lid when a reporter asked Punchbowl on Tuesday that Amazon would list tariffs when consumers check out.
“This is an hostile and political act by Amazon,” Levitt said. “When the Biden administration has raised inflation to its highest levels in 40 years, why didn't Amazon do that?”
Amazon may not have increased the “inflation” surcharge during the Biden era, because it's not a real thing that any ordinary person thinks is going to do. However, adding a tariff line is very easy because we know exactly how much this will cost consumers. As far as Trump's 145% tariff on Chinese goods is concerned, it will be 145%.
Leavitt continues to publish a print of a 2021 Reuters article titled “Cooperating with Chinese Propaganda Forces.” The article points out that Amazon sold speeches and works by Chinese President Xi Jinping in its online stores in China about two years ago. The key to the story is that after Chinese officials complained about negative comments and added a page called “Chinese Books” Amazon people with disabilities commented in the country, which promoted material that favored the government.
Leavitt doesn't really provide any background to illustrate that she talked about the story a few years ago, but apparently intends to let the headlines hint at the cooperation with the Chinese government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mha2m8hm-qm
But it seems that reports about Amazon's listing tariffs are not even true. In commenting on Tuesday after the White House press conference, Amazon told Gizmodo that it wouldn't actually add tariffs to sell items.
“The team running our ultra-low-cost Amazon run stores considered the idea of listing import fees on certain products. This has never been approved and will not happen,” Amazon spokesman Tim Doyle said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, the consumer confidence index fell for the fifth consecutive month this month. And, if you quickly look at the calendar, five months ago was November, that month, Trump was elected.
Bessent was asked about supply chains expected to break in the coming weeks as ships from China largely stopped traveling to U.S. ports. But the Finance Minister insists that everything will be fine because he believes businesses have planned ahead for any disruption.
“I don't think we'll have a supply chain shock,” Bessent said. “And I think, retailers who managed inventory before that. I sometimes talk to dozens of companies a day, but definitely once a week, and they know that President Trump is committed to fair trade and has planned it.”
In recent days, Bessent has repeatedly made the same argument. He asserted that there would be no supply chain shock in fact, because every business knew it was coming and should be planned properly. This argument ignores the fact that if you can do this with some miracle, it will be difficult to find a new supplier of new Chinese goods in less than a month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nxjauuc9uk
Adidas warned Tuesday that it will soon raise prices for Americans. Some companies have already laid off jobs in economic conditions, and shipping company UPS announced Tuesday that it would lay off 20,000 jobs from its 490,000 employees. Amazon, the company's largest client, “is related to our expectations for lower volumes,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Trump claims he is signing new trade deals with each country given that even the closest U.S. allies are subject to 10% tariffs. But there is little evidence that any trade agreement is close to completion. Bessent kept teasing the idea that Japan and India had almost completed the deal, but the timing of when it could be completed was not clear. Trump also said he is in talks with China, but that doesn't seem to be true either.
“Let me make it clear again that China and the United States have not had any consultation or negotiations on tariffs,” CNBC said.
Trump’s favorite TV channel, Fox News, went out of his way to the idea of selling these tariffs, but even there, we’re starting to see some objections. The White House under George W. Bush (WW)
“I think it’s one thing to say I can accept pain as a consumer,” Perino said. “But SMEs, now looking at the possibility of losing everything to work for the next four to six weeks is very real.”
Understandably, there is a focus on tariffs this week as Americans begin to understand how they will soon pay more for almost everything. But Trump is also working to make the United States another way. The president's regime is intimidating immigrant communities and imprisoning political dissidents, such as Rumeysa Ozturk, who are nothing more than writing an act against the war in Gaza and kicking pediatric cancer patients out of the country without drugs.
Trump's FBI also arrested a Wisconsin judge last week for allegedly not taking enough action to help immigrants detained in court. The president signed an executive order on Monday saying experts warned that it would further militarize U.S. police.
A recent PRRI poll showed that 52% of Americans agreed that Trump is a “dangerous dictator whose power should be restricted before undermining American democracy.” The president's approval rate was in the toilet, and Trump's right-hand oligarch Elon Musk received a similar mark, with only 35% of Americans approving him to grant the government a destruction with the governor.
Yes, Trump is hurting all the benefits of the United States. But at least everything will become more expensive. The United States really shot the foot by electing Trump again. Trump promised to stay in the office illegally after 2028, so he did not tell when the madness would end.
