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Trump’s Favorite Word: Tariff
And one of the few he says nowadays not in a barely-audible, raspy slur.
Tariff, light of my life, firing synapses of my brain. My lunacy, my misunderstanding. Tar-iff: the tip of my enlarged tongue shuffling two steps down the palate to spray, at two, on anyone nearby. Tar. Iff.
Donald Trump told the Economic Club in Chicago that his favorite word was tariff. In over his head, Trump was like a mouse who found himself in a room full of cats with no way to escape. Economists, business leaders and pretty much anyone with an ability to count to three (1–2–3) understand that the cost massive tariffs against imported goods will have to be passed onto American consumers causing many basic items to go up in price — bigly.
But Trump’s desire for high tariffs has been consistent. In an interview on Tuesday at the Economic Club of Chicago, he said, “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff.’” As president, he called himself “a Tariff Man.” In fact, he imposed substantial tariffs when in office. Those actions were, however, mild compared with the tariffs he is proposing now. He initially suggested a 10 percent tariff on all imports, but now he talks about tariffs as high as 20 percent. (In Chicago, he even mused about 50 percent.) He wants a 60 percent tariff on imports from China.