ilarynx

Why doesn't Trump just point to his sons' "T1 - Made In America phone" for how to build a phone in the USA?

Oh. Yeah. 

https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/06/25/trump-mobile-drops-false-made-in-america-promise

Anyone taking business advice from a con-man moron who, against all odds, managed to drive a casino into the ground ("The house always wins"), is a fool. 

Mike Wuerthele said:

digitol said:

This will probably fall on deaf ears but Please I humbly plead that you refrain from posting political stories.  I totally understand  because traffic clicks $$$$  conflict model, but please.  If you feel you do well ($$$) with these types of posts, maybe consider a political section or dedicated mac political site.  It's horribly disturbing to see hobbies destroyed this way.  Humbly,  Long time mac user. 

If you don't think that the President's tariff application on Apple's largest manufacturing partner China applies directly to Apple, I don't know what to tell you.

Also, I don't make a single editorial decision based on "traffic clicks $$$ conflict." Our monetization team is strictly firewalled from editorial.

We do not require you to read everything we write.

Thanks for reporting these items. It's important and necessary. 

Those who have even a basic understanding of technology, economics, and politics, are aware that those three subjects are inextricably linked. Those who are lacking in understanding of one or more of those subjects, cannot seem to fathom how or why they're connected, and so insist on trying to separate them.

The TechDirt article on this matter is excellent. Highly recommended and worth repeating. Excerpts: 

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/why-techdirt-is-now-a-democracy-blog-whether-we-like-it-or-not/
...

...

...
...

CheeseFreeze said:

mark fearing said:

If that's true the tariff won't stand up in Court. You can't tariff people you don't like. The Constitution has a thing about Equal treatment. 

If one thing has been proven is that the US has very weak filters in place to keep a democracy, a democracy. I fear at some point a civil war may be the only option for true and lasting change. God forbid that ever happens. 

God didn't forbid civil war to happen in the 1800s, is there a reason to expect a change of "mind" on such things today? 

AppleZulu said:

Waiting for the reality-defying explanation from @9secondkox2 about how this is “all part of the plan.”

Even if Apple thought they could move iPhone manufacturing to the US, it would take years. A 25% tariff now isn’t going to help with that. 

Watch instead for some bluster followed by a reversal. Watch for Trump and his inner circle to buy Apple stock this afternoon and sell after the reversal. 

You called it! "Trump has a playbook."

There needs to be an over/under game for such things. How long will it take for Fox News to construct some absurd rationality, have some bubble-brained blonde spew out the nonsense, then for an orange minion to type it here. A baseline time for over/under should be established. Does anyone know the average wait time for the Kool-Aide line at Jim Jones's final event? 

9secondkox2 said:

Come on apple! Get it moving!

In addition, the EU has got fire breathing on them in a major way. 

This is all talk at the moment. As we have seen, Trump has a playbook. He will make a strong demand. If there is no effort or negotiation, he will  execute on that promise. Then, when stubborn parties have softened, he will negotiate again, or pivot as needed. This administration is very agile and can turn on a dime. And with Scott bessent factoring so heavily, it’s going to turn out well. 

Trump got criticized for helping apple with exemptions and he will surely get criticized for this. Dude can’t win with some people. 

Possible related fact: Cult members are always astounded when those outside their cult don't express mindless adulation for their cult leader. 

"Trump has a playbook." Yes, the demonstrably anti-American manifesto "Project 2025" that Trump denied knowledge of while campaigning, then implemented once in office.

Filed under Bloviating Scatology: "This administration is very agile and can turn on a dime" & "And with Scott bessent factoring so heavily, it’s going to turn out well." Get the acolytes some pom poms! Solid sycophancy, but lacking evidence. 

"Dude can’t win with some people" - Generally, patriotic American citizens don't take kindly to either incompetent buffoons or anti-American autocrats. Doubly so for those who fit into both categories.  

Ignored/lost in the kowtowing post is the dubious legality of such autocratic moves, whether for or against Apple. For the minions who think that the Executive branch is empowered to do such things, what is to prevent Trump-as-Muskovite from imposing tariffs and duties on specific automakers, or competitors of Trump's casinos and hotels? What happened to "the GoVeRnMeNt shouldn't be picking winners and losers"? Why, after so many years of decrying Soviet central planning of the economy, Republicans now slavishly trumpet the GOP's version of government central planning of the economy? What happened to the invisible hand of the marketplace? Has the GOP given up on capitalism, or are they now only pushing their brand of bribery, corruption, and crony-capitalism?  

The whole thing stinks on ice and everyone can smell it, with the exception of those who have their heads lodged where everything stinks. 

P.S. Re: The brown lipstick for Scott Bessent -  

>>> In early April, Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro said the Trump administration was primed to strike 90 deals in 90 days with trade partners...
However, 41 days after Navarro‘s boast on NBC’s Meet the Press and just 47 days until the pause is lifted, only the United Kingdom and China have put pen to paper. Asked on America’s Newsroom on Friday morning where the next deal is going to come from, Bessent responded vaguely and pointed the finger of blame...

He began to squirm when Hemmer asked him which deal would come first. “Uhm, Bill, we’re going to have to see,” he said.

But the Fox News host pressed on. “Is it a summer battle? Do we take this into the fall?” he asked. “And if we take it into the fall, are we talking about 2026 to do a deal that you can announce publicly.”

Around an hour before Bessent’s appearance on America’s Newsroom, Trump reignited his scorched-earth trade war, taking aim at the E.U. and tech company Apple. 

Trump warned that Apple would face a 25 percent tariff unless it moves iPhone production to the U.S. He also said he is “recommending” a 50 percent tariff on the European Union starting June 1.

The EU “has been very difficult to deal with,” Trump wrote. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”

Predictably, Dow Futures plunged by around 400 points in early trading.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/scott-bessent-squirms-when-pressed-on-trumps-missing-trade-deals-are-we-talking-about-2026/