Liberation Day, A Victory for the Dems, and Cory Booker’s Historical Filibuster
Welcome back to Politics Explained. This week we’ll be covering Trump’s “Liberation Day,” economic implications of the president’s tariffs, the election of Susan Crawford, and Senator Cory Booker’s record-breaking filibuster. Let’s get started!
This past Wednesday is what Trump called Liberation Day. In a TV-show-like manner, he pulled out some prop boards and announced the tariffs he’s been promising to impose on nearly every single country on earth (including uninhabited islands occupied solely by penguins). These “reciprocal tariffs” were calculated using the trade deficits* between countries and the US. The problem here is found in the president’s logic. He believes that the US is getting ripped off as we buy more than we sell (leading to a negative trade deficit). However, this isn’t entirely due to unfair trade policies imposed by other countries on the US. Rather, it’s caused by the expensive nature of goods made in our country, the fact that many other countries are not as wealthy as the US, and that some countries just don’t need what we sell. Furthermore, these reciprocal tariffs were calculated considering only goods and not services, which the US sells a lot of.
Due to Trump’s Liberation Day, the global economy is in shock and trade war has begun. Stock markets have plunged and countries are preparing to respond. China has already matched Trump’s tariff with a 34% tariff on the US of their own. Financial firm JP Morgan has raised their predicted chances of a recession (a significant decline in economic activity spread across the market) to 60%, the highest it has been. A recession would bring slowed growth to our GDP, increase unemployment, and make the average American’s life harder. Trump claims that this economic disaster is all part of the plan.
In a victory for the Democrats, Susan Crawford has been elected to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. Crawford won easily against Elon Musk/MAGA-backed candidate Brad Schimel, in a symbolic race that was not only on the state’s supreme court decision, but also on Musk/MAGA vs. the Democrats. After all, Musk campaigned for Schimel and spent $2 million in support of his run. Crawford’s win emphasizes the resistance to President Trump’s second term and has given a little life back to the defeated, frenzied democrats.
Another contributing factor which has helped bring life back to the left was Senator Cory Booker’s historical filibuster. Breaking the record of Strom Thurmond, a racist who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, Sen. Booker spoke for over 25 hours from Monday to Tuesday. In his speech, he read the letters of constituents from his state and from those outside of New Jersey, giving voice to those who are unhappy with the Trump Administration. He spoke of his Christianity, took questions from his democratic colleagues, and continuously criticized our current president. He did all of this without taking a break to use the restroom or step away from the podium, a testament to the dire situation he believes we find ourselves in.
*Definition of the Week (trade deficit): the amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports.
