Rolling Stone: Spooked by Trade Wars, Trump Officials Hoard Supplies: ‘It Would Be Stupid Not To!’

Some Trump administration officials are stockpiling toilet paper and food before Trump’s tariffs cause prices to skyrocket

This is what they tell the geese:

Donald Trump’s trade wars with China and other nations are widely expected to cause sharp economic pain, but some experts have warned consumers not to hoard supplies and goods before prices skyrocket, arguing that mass stockpiling could backfire spectacularly.

But this is what the ganders do:

Two Trump administration officials and a Trump aide tell Rolling Stone that they have done some stockpiling of their own in recent weeks or months, and that they know others working in Republican politics — inside and outside of the administration — who are doing the same. One of the Trump officials says they have already run to Target to bulk-buy toilet paper, some types of food, and other household supplies. 

When asked why they’re doing this, the Trump aide — who says they and their partner have done similar household-supply hoarding lately, and are also “stashing cash” reserves in their D.C.-area home — simply replies: “Because it would be stupid not to!” The aide adds that they still believe in Trump’s tariffs regime, though, citing the supposed advantage of “short-term pain” in exchange for long-term “prosperity.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-officials-hoarding-supplies-trade-war-tariffs-1235329235

Financial Times: Donald Trump’s ‘Marie Antoinette moment’: call for national sacrifice falls flat

President faces backlash after warning Americans they will have to make do with fewer toys at Christmas

Here was the president acknowledging his trade war might cause real hardship for voters — many of whom elected him to bring down the cost of living and boost growth.

Trump’s enemies could hardly believe their luck. They mocked him on social media as a modern-day “Grinch who stole Christmas” and “Scrooge McTrump”. One television presenter, channelling the Sopranos, called him “Donny 2 Dolls”.

“‘Your family will have less, but it’ll be more expensive’ is definitely a solid economic pitch,” the stand-up comic Mike Drucker wrote on X.

Isaac Larian, chief executive of MGA Entertainment, the largest toymaker in the US, said the tariffs will be “disastrous”, predicting a “30-40 per cent drop in sales”.

The company gets 65 per cent of its products from Chinese factories, and the tariffs will force them to massively raise prices — from $15 to $29-$30 for a Bratz doll, one of its most popular items.

“If the tariffs are not reduced we’re going to be forced to lay off people, including people in our factory here actually manufacturing toys in the US,” said Larian, who said he voted for Trump last November.

https://archive.is/W4xe1#selection-2295.0-2302.0

MiBolsillo Colombia: Trump denies zero tariffs on China, yet concedes

The current tariff situation is complex, with the United States imposing a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, to which China has retaliated with a 125% tariff on U.S. exports. While items like smartphones and semiconductors enjoy a temporary exemption, a general 20% tariff remains in effect.

Referring to the 145% tariff, Trump described it as “very high” and stated that “it won’t be that high.” He added, “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It will decrease substantially.” However, the president was adamant in denying a return to the previous situation:

“But it won’t be zero – it used to be zero. We were just being destroyed. China was taking us for a ride.”

With this statement, Trump categorically denies the possibility of completely eliminating tariffs.

Executive summary: I’m Donald Trump. I’m big, dumb, and stupid. I don’t really know what the tariffs are. We’re taking China for a ride and crashing ourselves in the process. Life was good, but I’m fixing that.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-denies-zero-tariffs-on-china-yet-concedes/ar-AA1E4MUE

Daily Mail: Trump takes sledgehammer to NASA budget to fund Elon’s billion-dollar dream

The White House has announced the largest cut to NASA‘s budget in its history.

The Trump administration has slashed research funding, terminated multiple missions and allocated $1 billion toward Elon Musk‘s dream of sending humans to Mars

The $6 billion cuts include scrapping the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, which has already cost NASA billions and aimed to bring samples collected from the Martian surface back to Earth to be studied. 

More payola for his chum F’Elon Musk and a $1,000,000,000 appropriation by fiat & bypassing Congress. Only Congress can legally authorize such expenditures.

The sheer corruption continues unabated in plain sight.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/trump-takes-sledgehammer-to-nasa-budget-to-fund-elon-s-billion-dollar-dream/ar-AA1E3M88

More here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/trump-administration-proposes-cutting-6-billion-from-nasa-s-budget/ar-AA1E3xtd

LA Times: ‘The truckers are scrambling’: Trump’s tariffs hit drivers, L.A. port workers hard

Amid a wave of unprecedented tariffs, anxiety is running high for truck drivers like Helen, who makes her living delivering cargo containers from the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors to warehouses and other customers around Southern California.

After a strong start to the year, the number of jobs has started to slip in recent days and truck drivers have heard reports predicting a sharp decline in incoming cargo for May and June.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-truckers-are-scrambling-trump-s-tariffs-hit-drivers-l-a-port-workers-hard/ar-AA1E63Gd

Newsweek: Mike Pence Calls for Donald Trump Reversal—’Warning Signs Are Flashing’

Former Vice President Mike Pence urged President Donald Trump to reverse course on the sweeping tariffs he announced in April.

In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Pence wrote that “economic warning signs are flashing” as he criticized Trump’s tariffs as a “massive policy misstep.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mike-pence-calls-for-donald-trump-reversal-warning-signs-are-flashing/ar-AA1E2Gmg

Newsweek: Mike Pence Calls for Donald Trump Reversal—’Warning Signs Are Flashing’

Former Vice President Mike Pence urged President Donald Trump to reverse course on the sweeping tariffs he announced in April.

In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Pence wrote that “economic warning signs are flashing” as he criticized Trump’s tariffs as a “massive policy misstep.”

I’ve a hunch King Donald won’t be listening to any advice from his former vice-president Mike Pence.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mike-pence-calls-for-donald-trump-reversal-warning-signs-are-flashing/ar-AA1E2Gmg

NPR: The U.S. economy shrinks as Trump’s tariffs spark recession fears

Economic output is shrinking. The stock market has dropped sharply. And consumer confidence has tumbled to its lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That hardly looks like the new “golden age” the president promised on Inauguration Day just over three months ago.

Figures released by the Commerce Department Wednesday show that the United States’ gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, after growing at a solid pace of 2.4% in the final months of 2024.

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/30/nx-s1-5380204/trump-economy-gdp-tariffs-recession-consumers

Guardian: Trump tariffs prompt slump in shipments to US ports

Donald Trump’s increasingly erratic trade war has triggered a slump in shipments to the US’s most important ports, amid the growing risk of a recession in the world’s largest economy.

In the latest sign of the US president’s tariff policies rattling the economy, figures show the number of vessels scheduled to arrive at the Port of Los Angeles next week is down by almost a third on the same period a year earlier.

Analysts said the latest shipping figures, which are updated on a daily basis, indicated the fallout was escalating.

Highlighting that it typically takes between 20 and 40 days for a sea container to travel from China to the US, Sløk said there would be a knock-on impact on demand for US trucking from the middle of next month, which could lead to empty shelves and layoffs in the distribution and retail industries.

This could lead to a recession by the summer, he added.

Thank the narcissist in the White House! Does he care? No!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-tariffs-prompt-slump-in-shipments-to-us-ports/ar-AA1DLit0

Mirror: Karoline Leavitt [Bimbo #1] called out for propaganda stunt that would make ‘Kim Jong Un blush’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt [Bimbo #1] was called out on social media for a video that showed mugshots of undocumented alients accused of committing crimes like rape and murder lining the White House.

The youngest press secretary was joined by ‘border czar’ Tom Homan at a press conference early Monday morning, where they talked about the “100 days of promises made and promises kept” by U.S. President Donald Trump in the first 100 days of his presidency, largely focusing on the deportation of undocumented migrants.

My question is how many of these people were actually tried and convicted in a court of law? That’s key point that Bimbo #1 and her crowd of gagglers tend to overlook.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/karoline-leavitt-called-out-for-propaganda-stunt-that-would-make-kim-jong-un-blush/ar-AA1DLHJj