Asma Khalid

I think what stood out to me was that oftentimes this first joint address to Congress for a new president is about laying out an agenda. Now keep in mind Donald Trump is not entirely a new president but he's done a lot in the six weeks he's been in office and he went through all of that. He's frozen foreign aid. He's withdrawn from the World Health Organization.

He's made English an official language. But my point in laying all this out is that he's done a lot. And so a lot of this speech was actually articulating some of the things he's done. And he leaned heavily into the culture war issues. You saw this with his focus on trans issues, his focus on immigration and the border. These are places he feels really comfortable.

He's made English an official language. But my point in laying all this out is that he's done a lot. And so a lot of this speech was actually articulating some of the things he's done. And he leaned heavily into the culture war issues. You saw this with his focus on trans issues, his focus on immigration and the border. These are places he feels really comfortable.

He's made English an official language. But my point in laying all this out is that he's done a lot. And so a lot of this speech was actually articulating some of the things he's done. And he leaned heavily into the culture war issues. You saw this with his focus on trans issues, his focus on immigration and the border. These are places he feels really comfortable.

But what we did not hear much of in this speech, and it sort of surprised me, was his plan to tackle inflation and high prices. Trump has said that he won this election because of two main issues, the border and high grocery prices. He talked a lot about the border. We did not hear a whole lot about his plan to deal with grocery prices.

But what we did not hear much of in this speech, and it sort of surprised me, was his plan to tackle inflation and high prices. Trump has said that he won this election because of two main issues, the border and high grocery prices. He talked a lot about the border. We did not hear a whole lot about his plan to deal with grocery prices.

But what we did not hear much of in this speech, and it sort of surprised me, was his plan to tackle inflation and high prices. Trump has said that he won this election because of two main issues, the border and high grocery prices. He talked a lot about the border. We did not hear a whole lot about his plan to deal with grocery prices.

He sees tariffs as a sort of revenue cure-all, right? He sees it as the possible solution for so many things. And one of the things that I was struck by is his recollection of how tariffs worked the first time around, right? I mean, he put in place massive tariffs on over $300 billion worth of goods coming in from China.

He sees tariffs as a sort of revenue cure-all, right? He sees it as the possible solution for so many things. And one of the things that I was struck by is his recollection of how tariffs worked the first time around, right? I mean, he put in place massive tariffs on over $300 billion worth of goods coming in from China.

He sees tariffs as a sort of revenue cure-all, right? He sees it as the possible solution for so many things. And one of the things that I was struck by is his recollection of how tariffs worked the first time around, right? I mean, he put in place massive tariffs on over $300 billion worth of goods coming in from China.

Most economists will say that didn't really lead to any net positive gains for the U.S. economy. In fact, it actually hurt many consumers who ended up eating up those tariffs, right? And economists will say it's often like a tax on American consumers.

Most economists will say that didn't really lead to any net positive gains for the U.S. economy. In fact, it actually hurt many consumers who ended up eating up those tariffs, right? And economists will say it's often like a tax on American consumers.

Most economists will say that didn't really lead to any net positive gains for the U.S. economy. In fact, it actually hurt many consumers who ended up eating up those tariffs, right? And economists will say it's often like a tax on American consumers.

Yeah. And I do think, you know, to me, that is a recognition also that there are certainly some folks, even within his own Republican Party, who have hesitation about the efficacy of tariffs. But, you know, again, I would say that like this is a broad strategy, not just he's talking about tariffs on China. He's put in place tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Yeah. And I do think, you know, to me, that is a recognition also that there are certainly some folks, even within his own Republican Party, who have hesitation about the efficacy of tariffs. But, you know, again, I would say that like this is a broad strategy, not just he's talking about tariffs on China. He's put in place tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Yeah. And I do think, you know, to me, that is a recognition also that there are certainly some folks, even within his own Republican Party, who have hesitation about the efficacy of tariffs. But, you know, again, I would say that like this is a broad strategy, not just he's talking about tariffs on China. He's put in place tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

These are amongst the United States largest trading partners. He's talked about tariffs on all steel and aluminum. Another batch of tariffs coming in April where he says these are reciprocal tariffs. Meaning if a country tariffs the U.S. at a certain rate, he intends to tariff them back at a certain rate. This is a huge sort of multipurpose tool that he feels can be used for so many things.

These are amongst the United States largest trading partners. He's talked about tariffs on all steel and aluminum. Another batch of tariffs coming in April where he says these are reciprocal tariffs. Meaning if a country tariffs the U.S. at a certain rate, he intends to tariff them back at a certain rate. This is a huge sort of multipurpose tool that he feels can be used for so many things.

These are amongst the United States largest trading partners. He's talked about tariffs on all steel and aluminum. Another batch of tariffs coming in April where he says these are reciprocal tariffs. Meaning if a country tariffs the U.S. at a certain rate, he intends to tariff them back at a certain rate. This is a huge sort of multipurpose tool that he feels can be used for so many things.

And the question I've had is like how much of this is really about an economic revenue adjuster or is this really just a political negotiation tactic?