Over ten months into his second term, President Trump has paid no attention to fulfilling the campaign pledge that is believed to have won him the election: the promise to bring down inflation and prices.

Until this week. Perhaps urged by aides that “affordability” has become the hot button issue for America’s families struggling to pay their bills, he staged a rally in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. He had previously said, “The word affordability is a con job by the Democrats” and “a Democratic hoax”. But at the rally he was expected to execute a volte-face and acknowledge that, yes, there is a problem, and to announce a vigorous plan to battle high and rising costs.

But he didn’t. As someone for whom there’s never been a moment in his life when he’s lacked for money, he cannot make the transition into the lives of ordinary Americans. He fraternizes with other billionaires, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who of like mind said on “Face the Nation” last Sunday, ”The American people don't know how good they have it.”

So Trump continued to spoof the word ‘affordability’ at the rally:

”I say it and I said it the other day and a lot of people misinterpret it, 'Oh, he doesn't realize prices are high'. Prices are coming down very substantially, but they have a new word — you know, they always have a hoax — the new word is ‘affordability’."

…always said in a mocking tone. Behind him, a banner the width of the stage and printed cards held up by the audience proclaimed “Lower Prices” and “Higher Paychecks” as the crowd chanted “Four More Years”.

A quick run-through of what you probably already know to get to the larger point of today’s piece:

Prices are not "coming down very… Read More »

Without any of the careful deliberation we should expect from a president, Donald Trump instantly reacted to the National Guard shootings that killed a young woman and left another soldier in critical condition with a tweet:

“I will permanently pause immigration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen.”

He continued elsewhere that he would “end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country and denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced,

“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”

At the direction of the president, the agency is to re-examine all people from 19 countries including Afghanistan who hold green card work permits.

Crowd below offering clearance papers to American troops above in hopes of boarding planes to U.S. at Kabul Airport August 28, 2021.

Trump on his Truth Social pledged… Read More »