Ben Stiller

But over the last couple of weeks — There's an adjustment. We'll see whether there's pain. — union members of his administration have started talking about a period of adjustment.

But over the last couple of weeks — There's an adjustment. We'll see whether there's pain. — union members of his administration have started talking about a period of adjustment.

— A period of detox, a period of pain.

— A period of detox, a period of pain.

Yet he has notably refused to rule out the possibility of a recession, as have members of his administration. And look, economists would say you should never rule out the possibility of a recession, so that's not inherently unreasonable. But the tone has really shifted here from one of things will turn around on day one to there may be this period of pain, but it will pay off in the long run.

Yet he has notably refused to rule out the possibility of a recession, as have members of his administration. And look, economists would say you should never rule out the possibility of a recession, so that's not inherently unreasonable. But the tone has really shifted here from one of things will turn around on day one to there may be this period of pain, but it will pay off in the long run.

And it's worth highlighting here, if this recession happened, it would be specifically because of his policies, right? It would be his tariffs, his uncertainty that's generating the pullback in activity that leads to the recession. That's something presidents often try to avoid even saying the word recession. And here he's talking about potentially causing one. Right.

And it's worth highlighting here, if this recession happened, it would be specifically because of his policies, right? It would be his tariffs, his uncertainty that's generating the pullback in activity that leads to the recession. That's something presidents often try to avoid even saying the word recession. And here he's talking about potentially causing one. Right.

So, you know, I asked this question to a lot of economists over the past couple of weeks. And people will say, in theory, the idea of short-term pain for long-term gain can be reasonable, right? This is harsh medicine, but we need it. But you better be darn certain. of the long-term gain.

So, you know, I asked this question to a lot of economists over the past couple of weeks. And people will say, in theory, the idea of short-term pain for long-term gain can be reasonable, right? This is harsh medicine, but we need it. But you better be darn certain. of the long-term gain.

And what you hear almost universally from basically every economist, every expert, is that is not what this is. First of all, there's really no need for this harsh medicine right now. The economy is in basically pretty decent shape. But secondly, this specific medicine, this isn't a harsh medicine, a chemotherapy that will generate a cure. This is bloodletting, right?

And what you hear almost universally from basically every economist, every expert, is that is not what this is. First of all, there's really no need for this harsh medicine right now. The economy is in basically pretty decent shape. But secondly, this specific medicine, this isn't a harsh medicine, a chemotherapy that will generate a cure. This is bloodletting, right?

This is a medicine that will actually make the problem worse.

This is a medicine that will actually make the problem worse.

Yeah, I mean, I would go further, right? It's not just that they're not certain there would be long-term gain. They're confident that these policies will not yield a long-term gain. Why? Look, anytime we say economists say, right? Somebody should shock me, right? Because economists think many, many different things. This is sort of like- Shock.

Yeah, I mean, I would go further, right? It's not just that they're not certain there would be long-term gain. They're confident that these policies will not yield a long-term gain. Why? Look, anytime we say economists say, right? Somebody should shock me, right? Because economists think many, many different things. This is sort of like- Shock.

This is sort of the one thing that economists almost universally agree upon. is that tariffs are ultimately a damaging policy, or at least that these kinds of broad-based tariffs are a damaging policy. Now, there are different reasons for this, and this is a complex subject. There are a lot of economists who reject the very idea that we need to reindustrialize the country in some way.

This is sort of the one thing that economists almost universally agree upon. is that tariffs are ultimately a damaging policy, or at least that these kinds of broad-based tariffs are a damaging policy. Now, there are different reasons for this, and this is a complex subject. There are a lot of economists who reject the very idea that we need to reindustrialize the country in some way.

They argue that over the decades, free trade has left Americans better off on the whole, that even if it has hurt some people, that on average it has been beneficial. I think most economists would make that point. But there's certainly been a lot of rethinking among at least some economists over the past couple of decades about the way that free trade has played out. Mm-hmm.

They argue that over the decades, free trade has left Americans better off on the whole, that even if it has hurt some people, that on average it has been beneficial. I think most economists would make that point. But there's certainly been a lot of rethinking among at least some economists over the past couple of decades about the way that free trade has played out. Mm-hmm.