High Protective Tariffs

Donald Trump Reaches An All Time Low In Public Opinion Polls With A Week Until The Midterm Elections Of 2026!

Ronald 34 Comments

President Donald Trump has managed to pursue policies in his first two years of his second term to accomplish the all time low in public opinion of any President during his time in office.

It is clear with greatly increased early voting that we will see a larger turnout in a midterm election than is traditional, as millions of Americans are angry:

over the inflation of gasoline and groceries and so much else,

the Iran War,

the tariffs,

the cruel deportation policies,

the massive corruption,

the clear mental deterioration of Trump,

AI and the data centers,

the racism and misogyny of Trump,

his horrendous Cabinet members,

and the sycophancy of Republicans in both houses of Congress, and so much more.

So vast numbers of Latino Americans,

Arab Americans,

young men and women voters,

highly educated voters,

urban voters,

and suburban voters

are clearly switching away from Trump and his party, even though large numbers of these groups voted Republican in 2024.

Every indication is that the Democratic Party will be the beneficiary of the anger and frustration toward Republicans and Donald Trump, particularly when Trump brags about his acquisition of his massive wealth in office, and his mocking of “Affordability”.

Also, it is typical and traditional that the party in the White House and in control of Congress traditionally loses seats or control in one or both houses of Congress in midterm elections, and it seems quite certain that we are on the way to a Democratic control of the House of Representatives, and very strong likelihood that will occur in the US Senate, as well.

Republicans In Crisis Mode Regarding Midwest Farm States

Ronald 4 Comments

With less than five weeks until the Midterm Elections of 2026, the Republican Party is in crisis mode, as Midwest Farm states, many of them rural, usually strongly Republican, see public opinion polls that show that Democrats and Independents have a strong chance of taking over some Congressional seats and some Senate seats, and keeping some contested seats that seemed a possible loss until now.

These include:

Iowa–Democrat Josh Turek
Nebraska–Independent Dan Osborn
Kansas–Democrat Adam Hamilton
Ohio–Democrat Sherrod Brown
Michigan–staying Democratic with Abdul El-Sayed
Minnesota–staying Democratic with Peggy Flanagan
Illinois–staying Democratic with Juliana Stratton

The high inflation affecting all economic activity, including most notably Grocery Prices, Gasoline, Housing Costs, Medical Costs, and so much else are having a deleterious effect on Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Additionally, the unpopular Iran War; High Protective Tariffs; the widespread outrage of ICE Raids and Mistreatment of immigrants, including many who have no criminal record, are also undermining support for Trump and his party.

The Midwest, with its large agricultural production, and the issue of Canadian relations with the states that do a lot of trade with our northern neighbor, are also causing many farmers and small businessmen to lose their livelihood. And food shortages are also a reality in the future, as some farmers are eliminating some of their produce, because they are losing markets.

Rural States, Usually Republican, Suddenly In Play In Senate Races

Ronald 16 Comments

The concept of rural states in the Midwest and Far West being Republican dominated, suddenly becoming areas that seem to be in a position of being contested by Democrats and Independents, is absolutely startling, and improve the chances of a Democratic majority in the US Senate in the 120th Congress(2027-2029).

This list includes:

Iowa–Josh Turek
Nebraska–Dan Osborn
Kansas–Adam Hamilton
South Dakota–Brian Bengs
Montana–Seth Bodnar
Idaho–Todd Achilles

Additionally, two other states strongly Republican, with appointed Senators to replace JD Vance (Ohio) and Marco Rubio (Florida), are facing major challenges from Sherrod Brown and Angie Nixon, and both states have large areas of rural population.

All of these eight states are harmed dramatically by the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump; by the rising grocery and gasoline prices caused by the Iran War; and by the deleterious effect on all kinds of farm production, and interference with manufactured goods that these states rely on from Canada and other nations.

If any of these states, or multiples of them, go against the Republican Party in their states, it will, assuredly, guarantee a Democratic Senate majority in the next Congress.

Seven Weeks To Midterm Elections, And Democrats Are Gaining A Growing Edge Over Republicans

Ronald 19 Comments

A New York Times-Siena poll, with seven weeks to the Midterm Elections of 2026, is demonstrating a widening lead in the strength of the Democratic Party, to gain control of both houses of Congress from the Republican Party.

Democratic candidates have a lead over Republicans of 51-43, as Americans have anger over the growing economic inflation, the Iran War, Tariffs, the ICE abuses taking place against immigrants with many being citizens, and the growing concern over the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

On a variety of issues, Democrats have substantial leads over Republicans, including:

Health Care D plus 24
Immigration D plus 7
The Deficit D plus 10
The Economy D plus 7
Cost of Living D plus 8
Foreign Wars D plus 7
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict D plus 11

Independent voters strongly prefer Democrats in this election cycle, with 57 percent planning to vote for Democratic candidates.

Even white voters without college degrees are now a majority against Donald Trump, and voters in general see Republicans as more extreme, elitist, and corrupt, and prefer Democrats on cultural and economic issues.

By an 11 point margin, voters prefer a Democratic Congress, rather than a Republican Congress, for the upcoming 120th Congress (2027-2029).

Younger voters now favor Democrats by 35 percentage points; Hispanic voters by 43 points; and Independent voters by 23 points.

Only 18 percent of Generation Z voters (under age 30), prefer Donald Trump.

Only 28 percent of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while the massive number of 71 percent disapprove.

So the political situation for Democrats looks very promising, and one must remember that the party in the White House traditionally loses seats, and often control of Congress, in midterm elections.

Donald Trump Backtracking On Tariffs And Immigration Somewhat, But Denies Reversal!

Ronald 79 Comments

Donald Trump made having high protective tariffs and strict immigration enforcement two of his key policies when he began his second term in the Presidency.

But now, Trump is backtracking on both tariffs and immigration, as he has come to realize that it is undermining his public opinion ratings.

So with the higher cost of living, known as “affordability”, affecting millions of Americans, suddenly, tariffs on tomatoes, beef, coffee, and bananas, and other products are coming down, with cutting of tariffs on these goods coming from foreign nations.

On immigration, while ICE raids are continuing in an abusive manner, suddenly, Trump is realizing that there are immigrants with particular skills and talents, who now he says are essential to be allowed to migrate to America and contribute to American economic growth.

Clearly, after ten months in office, and after Democrats won handily in the various races that took place two weeks ago, Donald Trump is “caving in”, as his public opinion ratings are in free fall, in the mid 30s!

Donald Trump, The Disruptor In Chief!

Ronald 59 Comments

Donald Trump is the Disruptor in Chief.

He has declared the Gulf of Mexico is the Gulf of America.

He wants Veterans Day (November 11) and V E Day (May 8) to be renamed.

He wants Alcatraz, an infamous prison off of San Francisco, closed six decades ago and a much visited national park since then, to be renovated and reopened for the “worst of the worst” criminals.

He has no shame, and portrays himself as a potential Pope before the Catholic Church conclave to select the successor to Pope Francis.

He also shares the image of Darth Vader on “Star Wars Day”, May 4, as a muscular image of himself.

He wants to put tariffs on foreign produced films.

He wants to purge the Smithsonian Institution and its various museums of any references to race and gender.

He has mounted an attack on higher education at the top Ivy League universities.

He wonders if he must obey the Consitution that he swore the oath to enforce both in 2017 and 2025.

He wants anyone opposed to him and his actions in the past and present to be prosecuted by a Justice Department that is his personal fiefdom.

He has taken action against corporations, law firms, and media organizations to force them into compliance or face the consequences.

He refuses to make sure the laws are faithfully executed, even from federal courts, and doubts about the veracity of “due process”.

He lies incessantly without a sense of shame or guilt, and no one can trust anything he says.

There has never been a President anything like him, not even Richard Nixon at his worst!

The Hidden Victims Of Donald Trump’s Economic Disaster!

Ronald 3 Comments

As the effects of Donald Trump’s fixation on protective tariffs as a major part of his economic policies take hold, there are many hidden victims, who will suffer the most.

With escalating prices on all kinds of consumer goods, not just dolls or pencils, as stated by Trump in his Meet The Press interview that aired on Sunday, there will be massive suffering and spreading poverty across America.

Many of the white working class people who thought Donald Trump would be preferable to a mixed race woman as President (Kamala Harris), will suffer mightily, as many will lose their jobs, will lose their homes, will be unable to purchase basic “groceries”, including eggs, so much emphasized in the campaign in 2024.

But also, African Americans and Latino Americans will suffer mightily, as they lose opportunities to move ahead, with the attack on DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), which will affect educational opportunities, and employment prospects.

Additionally, many of “Generation Z”, already having difficulties moving ahead toward independence from their family upbringing, will have to endure the uncertainty of their futures, in an economy which is moving toward a severe recession, if not a Second Great Depression.

With a national government headed by billionaires, the oligarchy that controls so much of the American economic future, having no concern except their own greed, selfishness and further aggrandizement, a revival of the “Gilded Age” of the late 19th century will lead to further exploitation and great human suffering.

And internationally, the nation will be under the greatest threat since World War II, as isolationism, which helped to bring about the horrors of that war, will put American national security at risk.

It is sad to write this “gloomy” essay, but this author and blogger senses that this is the future of America in the age of Donald Trump, and with no certainty that it would be improved once Trump leaves office, if he does, by January 20, 2029, if not sooner!

The First Hundred Days Of Trump Second Term More Revolutionary Than FDR!

Ronald 68 Comments

The First Hundred Days of Donald Trump, Second Term, is coming up on Wednesday, April 30.

The nation and the world have seen the most revolutionary, radical set of actions and statements by Donald Trump that the nation has ever witnessed.

One would have thought that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Hundred Days of the “New Deal” from March 4, 1933 to mid June 1933 would be a marker that would never be matched.

But Donald Trump has far surpassed the impact of FDR, and in many ways, trying to wipe out most of the last century and more of the federal regulatory state and the leadership of the democratic world in international relations.

Trump has demonstrated that Presidential power is way out of line, a growing problem since FDR onward, but with most occupants of the White House having good intentions in their assertion of power, unlike Trump.

The massive use of executive orders, 137 so far, an all time record for such a short time as President;

the threats and actions against universities, law firms, cultural institutions, corporations, state governments;

the bypassing of judicial interventions;

the Republican party in Congress refusing to assert their authority;

the growing dictatorial attitude of Trump appointees inside and outside the Cabinet;

the repudiation of our traditional alliances in world affairs;

the dangerous flirtation with protective tariffs that undermines the American economy;

the clearcut corruption and grift being conducted in clear vision;

and so much more not listed here,

all have created a whirlwind of chaos and anarchy that affects all Americans in deleterious ways!

Imagining A Ronald Reagan-Donald Trump Meeting!

Ronald 14 Comments

Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, is honored and really worshipped by tens of millions of conservatives, seen as an icon of their beliefs in limited government.

But if Ronald Reagan was alive today, it seems very clear that he would be vehemently opposed to everything Donald Trump believes in and promotes.

Ronald Reagan believed in dialogue, and managed to work with opposition Democrats on major issues, and had Democratic Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill at the White House on a regular, friendly basis. Most famously, on the crucial issue of Social Security reform, the two men came up with an agreement in 1983 that helped promote the long term survival and extension of Social Security.

Ronald Reagan believed the solution to undocumented immigration, a constant reality over the decades at the US-Mexico border, was to promote immigration reform, as was agreed to in 1986.

Ronald Reagan understood the threat of the Soviet Union, and while supporting all efforts for dialogue and diplomacy, he knew that the nation needed to work to undermine Russian aggression as part of the Cold War.

Ronald Reagan clearly knew the danger of high protective tariffs, having lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s, with a major cause of that horrific economic disaster being the Smoot_Hawley Tariff signed by President Herbert Hoover in 1930, despite the entreaties of hundreds of economists.

Ronald Reagan believed in the power of oratory, and avoided “stirring the pot” of turmoil, and worked to unify the nation through his speeches and public utterances in times of celebration and also, of tragedy.

Ronald Reagan’s children, Ron Reagan Jr. and Patti Davis, have made clear their vehement opposition to everything MAGA Republicans promote under Donald Trump, and as do multitudes of conservative commentators, assert that Donald Trump is NOT a conservative of the Ronald Reagan stripe in any way!

Donald Trump lies incessantly, more than any President in American history.

Donald Trump works to divide and denounce anyone in his Republican party who dares to challenge him, as well as any opposition in the nation, as he conducts himself as an authoritarian figure.

Donald Trump is extremely nativist, connected to racism, and has no concern for the plight or the rights of any undocumented immigrant, and even is out to remove any foreign born individual that has moved toward citizenship, instilling fear by his massive deportation efforts without any common decency, compassion, or empathy.

Donald Trump is a known collaborator with the Russian Federation uncer Vladimir Putin, and is ready to give up our alliances with democratic nations around the world. He and his team, including JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and others in the Cabinet engaged in national security, are ready to abandon Ukraine, and cozy up to our long term rival that does not have our safety and security as their goal.

Donald Trump is ready to cause a new Second Great Depression in his incessant drive to impose high tariffs, which history tells us is suicidal economic policy. And Trump representa a threat to the longevity of Social Security, in his quest to cut government spending.

This author and blogger is NOT defending Ronald Reagan, who he considers terrible in many ways, BUT in comparison to Donald Trump, he is to be seen as in the main wave of conservatism, while Trump is clearly NOT a conservative, just an unprincipled opportunist, who is conducting himself in a Fascist authoritarian manner!

The 1920s Under Calvin Coolidge And The 2020s Under Donald Trump: Isolationism, Protectionism, Nativism!

Ronald 16 Comments

There could not be more of a difference in personality between Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President (1923-1929) and the 45th and 47th President, Donald Trump (2017-2021, 2025- ).

Coolidge was quiet, soft spoken, avoided publicity and attention, while Trump is bombastic, outspoken, and craves constant publicity and attention.

It seems clear that if Coolidge had ever met Trump, he would be frowning about him as a showboat and braggart!

And yet, the two Presidents actually have much in common, specifically three terms:

Isolationism—desire to avoid involvement with rest of world and alliances

Protectionism—promotion of high protective tariffs

Nativism—support of limitations on immigration from other nations.

These policies in the 1920s led to disaster in the 1930s and 1940s, causing the Great Depression; causing the rise of Fascism, which forced America into World War II; and denying many immigrants, particularly Jewish, but not only them, who were trying to escape from totalitarian Fascism in Italy under Benito Mussolini and Germany under Adolf Hitler. This led to the Holocaust of 12 million people in Nazi Germany’s areas of control!

Sadly, we now seem to be going in that same direction, as a century ago, as immigrants are being deported to an uncertain future, and we are on the cusp of a major economic collapse due to high tariffs being imposed by Donald Trump.

But even worse is the collaboration and flirtation with authoritarian nations, particularly the Russian Federation, against nations that were once America’s democratic allies!