Comment by nemothekid
7 days ago
>Have you considered the possibility that they know perfectly well what they're doing and they're just lying about it?
Politicians are just pretending to be dumb? Why?
>There is no way these people don't understand the difference between expressing a trade deficit as a ratio and actual tariffs laid by other countries.
I don't think most people deny that these are capable individuals. The problem is - I think the people in Trump's inner circle now are sycophants first. They know what Trump is doing is destructive, but they are just choose to be yes men. Remember, this isn't Trump's first go-around, and the majority of people who stood up to Trump the first time (Pence, Barr, Perry, Price, Rex Tillerson) are gone.
Funny enough wikipedia has an article[1] about this that is so large that it has many sub articles. Ultimately, I can't trust that his appointments are exercising any sort of discernment because a large number of his 2016 appointees were fired for doing so.
In short, Fitzgerald could be a genius, but all signs point to him being a yes-man that would rather sink the ship than stand up to Trump.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dismissals_and_resigna...
> Politicians are just pretending to be dumb? Why?
To hide their motives, if you think they are just dumb then you will not look for the real reason they do it.
Not sure that is what happens here, but that is a very common reason to play dumb.
> I think the people in Trump's inner circle now are sycophants first
If this is the case, we could at least likely put to rest most concerns that Trump will be implementing much of Project 2025.
I'd be very surprised if he had too much to do with that plan directly. Assuming that's true, and if he's only surrounded by yes men, no one is there to convince him to do anything other than exactly what he himself wants to do.
Politicians are just pretending to be dumb? Why?
I told you: because it creates a strategic dilemma that paralyzes the opposition. The same reason a hustler pretends to be dumb to lure the mark, the same reason trolls use shitposting to bait people.
His name is Howard Lutnick. He was CEO of a financial firm called Cantor Fitzgerald. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Lutnick
Yeah, and what if Lutnick doesn't care about making America better but just making money for himself? And his salary is not tied to his performance, but to his sycophancy?
It is not as if he is going to die of starvation because of tariffs. He has no skin in the game.
In my experience, people who operate that way often convince themselves that they can do both. They'll make themselves rich, that's the primary goal, but they contort reality enough to paint the picture of a win-win.
A great example is Rubio. People may disagree with his politics, but he has been a competent government person for a long time. Even had a legit shot at POTUS at one point. And now, he's trying to shrink away while Trump and Vance make a mockery of the Oval Office.