JD Vance

It's said that we understand facilitation to mean something. Of course, the Supreme Court or any other court can further illuminate that. But this point is interesting to me. So there are two things about my boss, and I never reveal private conversations, two things about the President of the United States that I am extremely fascinated by.

It's said that we understand facilitation to mean something. Of course, the Supreme Court or any other court can further illuminate that. But this point is interesting to me. So there are two things about my boss, and I never reveal private conversations, two things about the President of the United States that I am extremely fascinated by.

One is he has better instincts about human beings than anybody that I've ever met. We can talk about that, but I'll set that to the side. Just sort of almost a bizarre level of intuition about people.

One is he has better instincts about human beings than anybody that I've ever met. We can talk about that, but I'll set that to the side. Just sort of almost a bizarre level of intuition about people.

The second, which I think is very underappreciated and it motivates the foreign policy in Ukraine and Russia, it motivates the things that he said about the Middle East, it motivates really a lot of them, is he has this sort of humanitarian impulse. I've heard the president say,

The second, which I think is very underappreciated and it motivates the foreign policy in Ukraine and Russia, it motivates the things that he said about the Middle East, it motivates really a lot of them, is he has this sort of humanitarian impulse. I've heard the president say,

Well, you know, maybe if we sent the very worst people to different places, then American prisons would be a little less violent. Because as you know, American prisons are not a good place. They're not very good at rehabilitation. Sometimes people go in there for not, you know, I think we overstate how much people go to prison for truly petty crime.

Well, you know, maybe if we sent the very worst people to different places, then American prisons would be a little less violent. Because as you know, American prisons are not a good place. They're not very good at rehabilitation. Sometimes people go in there for not, you know, I think we overstate how much people go to prison for truly petty crime.

But they go in there for something that should at least give them an opportunity for a second chance. They end up getting stabbed while they're in prison. that there is just something fundamentally inhumane about sending a very violent person to another prison outside of the country. I don't buy that. I don't think that's what motivates the president.

But they go in there for something that should at least give them an opportunity for a second chance. They end up getting stabbed while they're in prison. that there is just something fundamentally inhumane about sending a very violent person to another prison outside of the country. I don't buy that. I don't think that's what motivates the president.

And again, that's a separate question from whether it's legal, which the president's been very clear he would follow the law.

And again, that's a separate question from whether it's legal, which the president's been very clear he would follow the law.

So I want to answer your question, but I want to give some context here and back up a little bit because I do think that there has been a little overconfidence from the economic class and from other watchers of this policy that They know what Donald Trump doesn't, that we're sort of motivated by chaos or stupidity or something else.

So I want to answer your question, but I want to give some context here and back up a little bit because I do think that there has been a little overconfidence from the economic class and from other watchers of this policy that They know what Donald Trump doesn't, that we're sort of motivated by chaos or stupidity or something else.

And you don't have to agree with the policy, but there are a couple of very important points that I think illustrate this. Number one, yes, we are at a global minimum tariff of effectively 10%. That understates it in a lot of ways because we also have substantial tariffs on automobiles. We have substantial tariffs on steel. We have substantial tariffs on a whole host of other product categories.

And you don't have to agree with the policy, but there are a couple of very important points that I think illustrate this. Number one, yes, we are at a global minimum tariff of effectively 10%. That understates it in a lot of ways because we also have substantial tariffs on automobiles. We have substantial tariffs on steel. We have substantial tariffs on a whole host of other product categories.

Okay, one of the very classic, very straightforward predictions of the economics profession is that if you do this – the currency, meaning the US dollar, the currency of the importing nation that's applying the tariff is going to appreciate, okay, what happened? The currency actually depreciated.

Okay, one of the very classic, very straightforward predictions of the economics profession is that if you do this – the currency, meaning the US dollar, the currency of the importing nation that's applying the tariff is going to appreciate, okay, what happened? The currency actually depreciated.

I think it's worth just stepping back and saying the consensus forecast of our economics profession is like profoundly wrong on this particular question. Similarly, similarly, If you look at the inflation numbers, if you look at the jobs numbers, if you look at nearly every metric, we keep on beating expectations.

I think it's worth just stepping back and saying the consensus forecast of our economics profession is like profoundly wrong on this particular question. Similarly, similarly, If you look at the inflation numbers, if you look at the jobs numbers, if you look at nearly every metric, we keep on beating expectations.