It’s probably more to target his donors than the voters. Although with farmers, that is both. China found it quite effective last time he tried it.

It’s not going to be hugely effective as you mentioned but likely still more effective than blanket in targeted tariffs.

Trump doesn’t have a master plan. He’s just a bully with power. It seems from his rhetoric pre election that he didn’t even understand what tariffs actually are or how they work. The only way bullies stop is when they are stood up to.

Last time, there was a sense of waiting it out. Now that it’s happening again it’s more a sense that nobody wants to put up with his bullshit.

Canada is probably America’s biggest ally and trading partner. He wants to annex them. It’s ludicrous. He is big on nationalism to try and scare people. Well he’s inspired nationalism worldwide to be unified against him.

If it was me, I’d be targeting Tesla and musk in particular as well.

They are trump supporters. Targeting red states puts political pressure on him to stop the tariff war.

What’s forgotten, is that the USA did it for their own interests and became extremely wealthy in doing so.

Fast forward to now and assisting Ukraine is not just about preventing larger ambitions for Putin’s Russia, but helping Ukraine become a valued partner to EU, USA and Ukraine s benefit.

Trump is simple in his logic and very transactional. He doesn’t have a master plan and doesn’t understand long term gain for both parties. His actions make him seem compromised by Russia but I don’t know that it’s knowing on his part or just that he makes an easy asset to control by surrounding him with other more directly controlled assets. It’s odd, as he is so unreliable, that you would need a constant rotation of Russian agents. So, I wonder if the compromise is less transactional, but more a deeper psychological one. It’s pretty clear he’s got lots going on in terms of pathologies, but nobody is assessing him clinically in public.

As the USA burns all bridges, people are starting to wake up to not having America as a trusted ally. The consequences are significant and I imagine most countries will start to pivot away from the US, which will be damaging to the USA. Already Trump has blustered about those in bricks that pivot away from using the dollar. That will just be one aspect. I imagine us bases worldwide will be reduced or closed. China will step in to fill the gap for many. The EU will likely step up to do it for themselves. However, they will likely reduce USA trade and increase regulation on US software and hardware that will be viewed as a security risk, just like chinas is now.

The middle east stability is going to be the most unpredictable. In a post petrol world, will the USA continue to support Israel and Saudi Arabia? Trump seems to want to but he’s also unpredictable and racist.