"If you still thought America was one of the world’s good guys ..."

From the international trade and fiscal moron who brought you Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she’s no longer 'HOT?' ...

President da Silva — an actual president of an actual democracy — was somewhat less than intimidated. He announced hours later that Brazil calls Trump's raise of a 50% tariff. In his extortion letter, the latter promises to re-raise Brazil by the same percentage. And so the game shall go.

The extortionist writes that "these Tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of Brazil's Tariff ... causing these unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States." Just as da Silva was less than intimidated, we're less than surprised that, as CNBC notes, "But the United States has a goods trade surplus with Brazil, which totaled $7.4 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative."

The reality behind Trump's rage is that someone in Wolf's Lair who on occasion reads a newspaper informed him that four months ago Brazil's Supreme Court ordered that the nation's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, should stand trial for attempting in 2022 what Trump attempted in 2021 and should have stood trial for: a coup.

Said trial began two months ago. A trifle late but Trump, having been duly informed of this foreign development, now rightly sees Brazil's trial as an alarming precedent. He knows that dictators must stick together if the world is to be safe from democracy.

"This marks the first time in Brazilian history that a former head of state is being tried for attempting to overthrow the government," reported NPR in early June. And if it can happen there it can happen anywhere. On Trump's Truth Social site, where his extortion letter is posted, a brownshirted MAGA Sturmabteilung lover named "StormRider" posted this profoundly ironic comment: "Welcome to the FAFO presidency." That is what Trump has realized. And boy is he pissed.

But Trump being pissed and Trump alleging untruths about a righteous foe and Trump making an ass of himself before the world — merely another day of Donald in Amerika. What is new is that for the first time in former America's history, a criminal buffoon of a commander in chief is using an import tax as a weapon of political retaliation against a foreign country upholding the law.

Muses Paul Krugman about this latest abomination, "If you still thought America was one of the world’s good guys, this should tell you whose side we’re on these days."

To "if you still thought America was one of the world's good guys," I would add that this should tell you that having your head examined is past due.