I freely admit that I am not sure what Trump is aiming for exactly in his tariffs and trade war rhetoric. I certainly dislike tariffs in general as anything but negotiating points, and think actual trade wars are terrible economically and should be reserved for hostile states. 

But I have to admit that Trump is definitely getting some actual results with his playing with fire. Since he has been shouting about tariffs $2 trillion of investments have been pledged by major players who want access to our markets without having to run the tariff gauntlet, and Trump has been extracting concessions from Canada and Mexico at a remarkable rate. 

POV: Trade war pic.twitter.com/PwvWlI109k

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) March 6, 2025

You can pull arguments out of as many economic textbooks as you like, but the actual results...so far...have been mostly positive. 

My biggest fear, to be honest, is not so much economic as the collateral damage he may be doing to Pierre Poilievre. The Liberals have seen their standing in the polls creep up as they have defied Trump, suggesting that Poilievre will not gain as many seats in Parliament as he might otherwise have. 

That matters, because the stronger the common-sense Right grows in the Western World, the faster the world can heal. I want our European and Anglosphere allies to get back on the liberty train. A Fortress Western World is clearly better for everyone than a Fortress America. 

With that said, I am resolved to give up any tendency to wet the bed over Trump's seemingly odd utterances and his love for certain policies that don't make sense to me. Somehow he uses what appears to be irrational means to get to ultimately good ends. 

If Trump really does ignite a devastating trade war that causes skyrocketing inflation and mutual impoverishment, I will scream as loudly as anyone in criticism of a foolish policy. 

But so far all Trump seems to have done is get our "allies" off their asses to do things they should have been doing anyway. As much as I don't like Europe talking about becoming a "warfare" economy, I do applaud their sudden commitment actually to defend themselves. That is what they should have been doing in any case--being additive to the NATO alliance instead of being welfare queens. 

I am getting a lot of grief in the comments on my earlier post today about Europe talking about going to war with Russia, to which I say: if Europe wants to war with Russia, they should at the very least not ask us to bear the entire burden. I think initiating World War III is insane and want no part of it, and don't believe that London is at imminent risk of being occupied by anybody but Islamists. 

Our NATO partners who are currently whining about Trump not doing his part have refused to live up to their commitments. Trump is forcing them to.

That seems to be what is happening with all the trade war talk, too. 

So I will await the results instead of wringing my hands over what might be. Trump has a track record of making deals that work. As we can see, his threats are getting results, and as they do he is pulling back on the tariffs. 

In other words, he is negotiating. The art of the deal.