Derek Thompson

Yeah, I think a little bit of it is fear. Trump has shown very clearly that if he doesn't like you or your institution, whether you're a university or a law firm or a media company, Paramount, 60 Minutes, he's going to come after you. He's going to treat you unfavorably, especially if you're interested in doing business.

Yeah, I think a little bit of it is fear. Trump has shown very clearly that if he doesn't like you or your institution, whether you're a university or a law firm or a media company, Paramount, 60 Minutes, he's going to come after you. He's going to treat you unfavorably, especially if you're interested in doing business.

Yeah, I think a little bit of it is fear. Trump has shown very clearly that if he doesn't like you or your institution, whether you're a university or a law firm or a media company, Paramount, 60 Minutes, he's going to come after you. He's going to treat you unfavorably, especially if you're interested in doing business.

that the government has some say over, you know, like Paramount, for example, wants to execute a merger. And so there's a thinking that they're getting a little bit more involved in their news coverage to make sure that their news divisions don't piss off Donald Trump, who then will put pressure in the DOJ to not allow Paramount to go through with its merger.

that the government has some say over, you know, like Paramount, for example, wants to execute a merger. And so there's a thinking that they're getting a little bit more involved in their news coverage to make sure that their news divisions don't piss off Donald Trump, who then will put pressure in the DOJ to not allow Paramount to go through with its merger.

that the government has some say over, you know, like Paramount, for example, wants to execute a merger. And so there's a thinking that they're getting a little bit more involved in their news coverage to make sure that their news divisions don't piss off Donald Trump, who then will put pressure in the DOJ to not allow Paramount to go through with its merger.

There's a lot of fear that this guy is vindictive and incredibly petty and that his politics is highly interpersonal rather than institutional. And so you don't want to get cross with him. I do think that a little bit of that is definitely happening.

There's a lot of fear that this guy is vindictive and incredibly petty and that his politics is highly interpersonal rather than institutional. And so you don't want to get cross with him. I do think that a little bit of that is definitely happening.

There's a lot of fear that this guy is vindictive and incredibly petty and that his politics is highly interpersonal rather than institutional. And so you don't want to get cross with him. I do think that a little bit of that is definitely happening.

I also, to your point that this just makes absolutely no effing sense, he just said, was it yesterday or the day before, that Americans are just going to have to accept that they can't buy all the dolls that they want to buy. An enormous number of dolls that baby girls in this country get, I've got one, 20 months old, come from China. China, I think, makes 90 to 95% of

I also, to your point that this just makes absolutely no effing sense, he just said, was it yesterday or the day before, that Americans are just going to have to accept that they can't buy all the dolls that they want to buy. An enormous number of dolls that baby girls in this country get, I've got one, 20 months old, come from China. China, I think, makes 90 to 95% of

I also, to your point that this just makes absolutely no effing sense, he just said, was it yesterday or the day before, that Americans are just going to have to accept that they can't buy all the dolls that they want to buy. An enormous number of dolls that baby girls in this country get, I've got one, 20 months old, come from China. China, I think, makes 90 to 95% of

of the imported toys that Americans buy every single year, so if you're going to raise tariffs by 145% on everything coming from China, that means a lot more expensive baby dolls. What Trump was saying is, hey, it's no big deal. It's patriotic. Buy fewer dolls. Pay more for the dolls. It's going to go down great. I was like, wait, pause. At least three things. One, to your point, imagine...

of the imported toys that Americans buy every single year, so if you're going to raise tariffs by 145% on everything coming from China, that means a lot more expensive baby dolls. What Trump was saying is, hey, it's no big deal. It's patriotic. Buy fewer dolls. Pay more for the dolls. It's going to go down great. I was like, wait, pause. At least three things. One, to your point, imagine...

of the imported toys that Americans buy every single year, so if you're going to raise tariffs by 145% on everything coming from China, that means a lot more expensive baby dolls. What Trump was saying is, hey, it's no big deal. It's patriotic. Buy fewer dolls. Pay more for the dolls. It's going to go down great. I was like, wait, pause. At least three things. One, to your point, imagine...

If President Sanders or President AOC said, it's patriotic America for you all to spend 3x on toys, we're just going to raise the cost of toys in this country by a factor of three, that's patriotic, you would have an absolute backlash. I mean, this is obviously a kind of state-controlled economy that's incredibly reminiscent of precisely the kinds of socialism that a lot of Americans despise.

If President Sanders or President AOC said, it's patriotic America for you all to spend 3x on toys, we're just going to raise the cost of toys in this country by a factor of three, that's patriotic, you would have an absolute backlash. I mean, this is obviously a kind of state-controlled economy that's incredibly reminiscent of precisely the kinds of socialism that a lot of Americans despise.

If President Sanders or President AOC said, it's patriotic America for you all to spend 3x on toys, we're just going to raise the cost of toys in this country by a factor of three, that's patriotic, you would have an absolute backlash. I mean, this is obviously a kind of state-controlled economy that's incredibly reminiscent of precisely the kinds of socialism that a lot of Americans despise.

He would have a lineup of cute little girls, one after another, just crying, crying, crying about the fact that they're babies. dolls are no longer being imported from China. I mean, you would have, I think a very glitzy, highly dramatic and highly catastrophic recording from Fox news about how president AOC is destroying American childhood.

He would have a lineup of cute little girls, one after another, just crying, crying, crying about the fact that they're babies. dolls are no longer being imported from China. I mean, you would have, I think a very glitzy, highly dramatic and highly catastrophic recording from Fox news about how president AOC is destroying American childhood.