Summary
The Trump administration admitted it sent formal letters to several countries urging them to submit trade proposals by July 8, the deadline for its “90 deals in 90 days” initiative.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called them “friendly reminders,” but critics mocked the move as desperate.
The initiative began in April after Trump paused new tariffs amid market unrest.
Online commentators questioned whether deals will materialize, accusing the administration of backpedaling from bold claims about trade leverage and partner enthusiasm.
The really sad part about this is that this poor stupid pig apparently actually believed the USA was such a good country that people would still want to line up and do business with us.
Like they really believed it, it wasn’t just bullshit to them, that the USA was the greatest in the world. It’s just a little bit sadder than when I thought they were lying.
Countries do want to do deals with the US. Not because it’s the greatest country but because it is the largest market in the world. Americans consume a lot more then other countries.
That’s the thing with Trump. He’s the quintessential American. If you took everything that distinguishes Americans from the rest of the world and combined them all into one person, that person would be Donald Trump.
Previous Presidents were separate from the people. They tended to have a level of education that most people lacked (or at least had educated advisors that they listened to) so they knew that all that American exceptionalist propaganda that your culture is flooded with is bullshit. Trump actually believes it, though. He really thinks that the world marches to America’s tune and that when America decides to crack the whip the world will just have to bend over and take it, and that the only reason why other countries have any autonomy at all is due to America’s generosity.
Congratulations. You’ve finally got a President that truly represents you.
I’ve been saying this the whole time. I have friends who voted for Trump and when all of this started they just kept talking about how the tariffs were a great negotiation tactic and even if they would destroy the economy if allowed to go into effect, that would never happen. They seemed shocked when I said I believed Trump is actually stupid and thinks they’ll magically fix everything on their own. I think this is the most fascinating part of the psychology of people who vote for Trump- everyone is a Trump whisperer, an expert in deciphering exactly what he means literally and what is a joke or boast such that somehow Trump agrees 100% with each and every person who votes for him even when he says and does things that suggest otherwise. And none of them seem to realize that they all believe in a Trump with wildly different views than each other’s perception of Trump. It’s maddening.
The nastiness of Trump is his appeal. They like the idea of people getting punished while they get away with it. It’s part of why his appeal is so broad. His speech’s feel like a friend making snide remarks. So they envision him punishing the people they dislike, but never them.
No one wants to admit this to themselves, never mind someone else. So they’ll tie themselves up in knots trying to justify why they like him.
Look, the US is/was a great country and for a long time a great partner.
Nowadays I wouldn’t touch it with a 10’ pole.
You have a president who openly says he doesn’t respect you, and he’ll only take a deal if you lose, makes jokes about how making a deal is lining up to kiss his ass, and is fighting everyone else at the same time.
He’s also openly said his trade policies are just bargaining chips, so there’s little long term risk to ignoring them.
It works in everyone else’s favour to just do boring and watch this fall apart.