The Treasury Secretary certainly cannot offer a coherent explanation here.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was also on her show this morning, incidentally, and said that America slamming into recession is now “a likely outcome” of Trump’s actions, a prospect he looks oddly cheerful about.

Meanwhile, one of Bessent’s predecessors, Larry Summers, has warned that the advent of a recession could mean the loss of 2 million American jobs.

Here’s Mike Bedigan on that one.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 15:30

Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary is being blasted online for posing with a rifle pointing dangerously close to an officer’s face in a new social media video in which she once again attempts to look tough in uniform.

Kelly Rissman has the fallout.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 15:15

An AI-generated video mocking downcast American workers in a post-tariffs world has been circulating on Chinese and U.S. social media.

The video shows overweight employees in a textiles factory, appearing exhausted and depressed as they stitch clothing on sewing machines.

Depicting the type of clothing manufacturing jobs that have been outsourced overseas in the past decades, the 32-second clip paints a dystopian picture of what the U.S. working world might look like as a result of Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 15:01

The president’s message appears to be “don’t worry, be happy” as the global economic chaos he has wrought invites retaliatory measures from China and the European Union.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 14:45

European Union member states have voted in favor of imposing tariffs of their own on American imported goods in response to Trump’s aggressions, a statement from the European Commission has just announced.

The new tariffs will come in from April 15.

“The E.U. considers U.S. tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy,” the statement says.

“The E.U. has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the U.S., which would be balanced and mutually beneficial.”

Meanwhile, Trump has not yet commented on today’s developments from Beijing and Brussels, preferring instead to whip House Republicans into shape.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 14:35

Paxton, a MAGA favorite, has announced that he will challenge fellow Republican and five-time incumbent Senator John Cornyn for his Lone Star State seat in 2026.

“I am announcing that I am running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn,” Paxton said in an interview on Fox News show The Ingraham Angle on Tuesday night.

“We have another great U.S. senator, Ted Cruz [in Texas], and it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way.”

Cornyn’s campaign immediately hit back.

“Ken Paxton is a fraud,” his team said, touting that the senator has often voted in favor of Trump’s agenda.

Trump has previously expressed support for both men.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 14:25

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 14:05

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 13:45

An article co-authored by Pau S Pujolas, an associate professor at McMaster University in Canada, was one of the five bibliographical references used by the White House to support the sweeping levies Trump has imposed on the rest of the world.

The 2024 study, entitled “Trade Deficits in Trade Wars”, explores who would win in a trade war between the U.S. and China, concluding that the side with a trade deficit is likely to come out on top.

But Pujolas now says that there is a “huge gap between my study and what the White House is doing. It’s an outrage”.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 13:25

The president is in ful salesman mode in his first Truth Social posts of the day, advising multinational corporations to follow Apple’s example and pressing the House to push through his “big, beautiful bill” for good measure.

Joe Sommerlad9 April 2025 13:05