FASCISM 101

Why Trump caved on tariffs

In a stunning—but totally predictable—turn of events, Donald Trump yesterday backed down from implementing across-the-board tariffs that had already started to send the global economy into a tailspin.

• Trump blinked because the people who got him elected—billionaires—were turning on him.

WHAT HAPPENED: At 1:30 yesterday afternoon, Trump announced on social media that he was “pausing” most of his tariffs for 90 days.

• The “pause,” however, is limited to those countries that didn’t retaliate against Trump’s tariff hikes—most notably China. Trump increased the tariff on Chinese imports to a stratospheric 104%.

WHY THE SUDDEN CHANGE? In the hours after Trump’s incredible reversal, Trump and his cronies went into overdrive trying to explain the about face.

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the tariff reversal was Trump's “strategy all along” (yeah, sure) and actually planned over the weekend, while the White House Press Secretary blamed the media.

Apparently Trump himself didn’t get the talking points—he said the decision was made Tuesday morning because people were getting “yippy.”

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: By Monday, Trump’s tariffs had wiped out nearly $10 trillion in market value across the world—roughly half the yearly economic output of Europe—evaporated in just days.

• That meant the personal wealth of the world’s richest people also drastically shrank: Jeff Bezos lost $24 billion in value, Mark Zuckerberg lost $27 billion, and co-President Elon Musk lost a staggering $31 billion.

Needless to say, Musk and other billionaires started to turn on Trump.

• Over the weekend, Musk came out publicly against the tariffs and ignited a very public and bitter feud with Peter Navarro, the Trump loyalist pushing hardest for the tariffs.

By Tuesday afternoon, Trump had caved—and markets reacted with “euphoria.”

CONNECTING THE DOTS: Remember—billionaires spent billions of dollars in 2024 to get Republicans elected—and seeing trillions of dollars wiped out by unnecessary tariffs and trade wars is a very bad return on that investment.

ZOOM OUT: Historically, capitalists have welcomed and supported fascists like Hitler, Mussolini, and Trump—because at the end of the day, fascism is good for the bottom line.

• As Michael Parenti noted in his landmark study of the link between fascism and capitalism, “if fascism means anything, it means all out government support for business and severe repression of anti business, pro-labor forces.”

Capitalists will accept brutal, fascist dictators—but not losses, especially when they’re unnecessary and self-inflicted from an autocrat they gave billions of dollars to.

• The real surprise is that it took Trump this long to cave.

WHAT’S NEXT: Don’t worry, billionaires will get a fantastic return on their investment in Trump if Republicans are able to pass their tax cuts this year—which will be yet another massive redistribution of wealth from the middle to the top.

• Also: Democrats are now calling for an insider trading probe to see if Trump violated any laws in this whole episode–where his billionaire buddies could have made a fortune if they “timed” the market right.

📰 Most important stories

There’s a lot of BS out there. Here’s what’s actually important—and why.

White House “seriously considering” deporting U.S. citizens

Why it matters: Trump openly considering deporting U.S. citizens to foreign prisons shreds constitutional rights and sets a terrifying precedent for authoritarian abuse. If he actually attempts this, and the courts allow it (and those are big IFs), it quite literally is the end of the American experiment. Full story from Truthout.

Social Security abandons DOGE-led phone service cuts amid chaos, backlash

Why it matters: Public pressure works! This is wholesale retreat by Elon Musk and his teenage goons set on destroying one of America’s most popular government programs. Full story from The Washington Post.

Corporate media minimize massive Hands Off! protests

Why it matters: In case you needed proof, the progressive watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting documented how corporate media deliberately downplayed Saturday’s protests—showing their #1 bias is towards the rich and powerful—not “left” vs “right.” Full story from FAIR.

🗳️ Question of the day

On Tuesday we asked: Did you participate in the "Hands Off" protests? You all are super engaged!

READERS WRITE: Penny wrote, “Hundreds, maybe even thousands, turned out in Bend, Oregon!”

RMC wrote, “Joined people in Grove City, Pa., a very red city and county. We didn't have thousands, not even hundreds, but we were very vocal and had a lot of beeping and thumbs up from passing cars.”

M Livingston wrote, “It was awesome, empowering and uplifting; let's do more, along with anything else that will cause enough Republicans to grow a spine and put country/democracy over dictator Trump.” Couldn’t agree more!

TODAY’S QUESTION: What word would you use to describe your political views?

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SAY HIS NAME

Israel executes American teen

Israeli soldiers shot and killed 14-year-old Palestinian American Amer Rabee in the occupied West Bank on Sunday and injured two other U.S. citizens—without any meaningful response or outrage from the U.S. government.

• If an Israeli American teen had been executed by the Palestinians in similar fashion, our government and corporate media would be demanding justice on the global stage.

But when Palestinians are killed, even American ones, American leaders are silent.

WHAT HAPPENED: Amer’s family says Amer and two teenage friends went out to pick almonds near their home in the Occupied West Bank on Sunday afternoon.

• The Israeli military claimed the teens were “terrorists” who threw rocks—a claim based on grainy video footage that Amer’s father says does not even clearly identify his son.

FOR CONTEXT: Most governments respond to non-lethal acts like rock throwing with non-lethal force.

• The Israeli government, however, responds with 47 rounds of gunfire at the unarmed children—an execution.

One of the boys who survived, Ayoub Ijbara, was shot three times and underwent emergency surgery. He, too, is a Palestinian American citizen.

U.S. RESPONSE: Amer was born in New Jersey and had lived between the U.S. and the West Bank for most of his life.

• His father said he called the U.S. Embassy for help when Amer was shot—but no aid came in time. Hours later, he found his son’s body in a bag at an Israeli military base.

The State Department later offered condolences but refused to condemn Israel, hiding behind the excuse of an “ongoing investigation.”

BIG PICTURE: Over 900 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since October 7, 2023, according to the U.N.

• Just 30 Israelis have died in the West Bank in that time.

But Israeli soldiers and settlers rarely face accountability for killing Palestinians —even U.S. citizens—while American lawmakers continue sending billions in aid.

WHAT’S NEXT: Amer’s family and advocates are demanding a U.S. investigation. But until our government is pressured into action—justice for Amer will likely remain out of reach.

RELATED: At least 60,000 children malnourished in Gaza as Israel keeps blocking aid—American tax dollars hard at work.

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Here are some stories the algorithm may have kept out of your feed.

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• One Trump proposal is being called “a death sentence”

• Michelle Obama addresses her future and divorce rumors on podcast

• We love to see it: MAGA has turned on a key Supreme Court justice

• Trans pilot falsely accused in D.C. plane crash gets revenge on conservative influencer

• The New Republic put together an amazing guide on how we can all fight back against Trump