the dumbest tariff
trade war in history got
dumber this weekend
I have said over and over that I wish I could stay away from political commentary and go back to what I wanted to this space for and that was to recognize interesting word play or use of words in the news.
Today I get to do both!
When the Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal … just to write that, I picture caricatures of large men in dark suits and white shirts and ties who have faces that never smile, sitting around a board and looking in disapproval at everything … writes a headline that states: The Dumbest Trade War Revisited (WSJ: 8/24/2026), I had to take notice.
Dumbest?
Dumbest!
Grammatical breakdown:
dumb → adjective
dumber → comparative
dumbest → superlative
Even in being DUMB, that man currently in office reaches the superlative.
The Editorial Board wrote:
President Trump took exception last year when we called his tariffs against Canada and Mexico the dumbest trade war in history. It got dumber this weekend as Mr. Trump escalated with another round of border taxes on Canadian imports, a mere 10 weeks before midterm elections.
Prices for steel and aluminum mill products have surged 22.5% and 40.5%, respectively, over the past year. General Motors last month projected a $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion hit this year from tariffs. U.S. auto makers have been lobbying the Administration to reach a truce with Canada. Mr. Carney said Saturday that a major reason the deal blew up is that the Trump team refused to ease tariffs on heavy and medium duty trucks, including those made at Ford’s plant in Ontario. Why is Mr. Trump punishing Ford, America’s largest auto producer?
Mr. Trump’s latest round of border taxes will hit an array of consumer goods, construction materials and manufacturing components. Republicans are already getting pounded on the campaign trail over his tariffs and inflation. One reason for Mr. Trump’s frigid approval rating is that voters believe Mr. Trump is waging blunderbuss wars without a strategy, and on trade they’re right.
To repeat, Why is Mr. Trump punishing Ford, America’s largest auto producer?
Is this what that man’s followers voted for?
In his inaugural address, he said:
My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed, their freedom. From this moment on, America’s decline is over.
What is his chosen avenue to reverse these horrible betrayals?
How does he stop his percieved decline?
Wage the dumbest trade war in history … with Canada.
Who knew Canada was at the root of our decline?
Wars without a strategy!
The dumbest trade war in history got dumber this weekend.
As Jim Hacker said in the TV show, Yes Minister, “When a country is going downhill, it is time for someone to get into the driving seat, and put his foot on the accelerator.”
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