Economically Tone Deaf and Selectively Outraged

MAGA's exclusive reactions and revelry

The murder of Charlie Kirk and shooting at a Colorado high school are abhorrent reminders that we cannot become numb to violence in any form. Political violence is never acceptable. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, Donald Trump has chosen to politicize Kirk’s murder, blaming the rhetoric of the “radical left”—all before anyone has been identified, let alone arrested for the murder.

Sadly, he and the MAGA troops reserve outrage only when Republicans are targeted (compare the near-silence when Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was targeted, the mockery when Paul Pelosi was nearly killed, and the snide remarks when two Minnesota Democrats were assassinated). As we saw yesterday, Democrats condemn political violence whoever is targeted, as such acts have no place in a democracy. Nor does selective outrage or scapegoating broad swaths of the country for violent attacks.

As we commemorate 9/11, we hold the families and loved ones of those lost in our hearts and remember the heroic conduct of so many Americans on that day.

We can be a good, brave, and decent people. We must demand the same of our leaders.

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At a swanky private dinner last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to punch Bill Pulte, Federal Housing Finance Agency director (and the Inspector Javert of mortgage fraud) “in the fucking face.” The United States’ standing in the international economic system surely does not benefit when its treasury secretary sounds like a petulant 3^rd grader. The backdrop of a temper tantrum provides an even more disturbing picture of the world in which MAGA oligarchs operate.

At a moment when Americans who are already financially squeezed face huge cost increases in healthcare, housing, and energy, the bratty children at Mar-a-Lago North exist in a world of their own.

Politico reported:

The Wednesday evening event was supposed to be one of celebration: It was both the much-anticipated inaugural dinner at Executive Branch, the ultra-exclusive Georgetown club created by and for Trump world’s uberrich, and a birthday party for MAGA-friendly podcaster Chamath Palihapitiya. A long table for the 30-some guests was set with top-of-the-line crystal and china.

When the international trade system is melting down, the independence of the Fed is imperiled, unemployment and inflation are ticketing up, job growth has practically flatlined, and Americans by a healthy margin think the economy is getting worse, the oligarchy is whooping it up in high style. So much for Republicans’ economic populism—or their political antennae. Democrats would be foolish not to put that entire bacchanal in a campaign ad or two.

Not all billionaires are behaving like this is a time to indulge in “champagne wishes and caviar dreams.” Surprisingly, mega-GOP donor and billionaire Ken Griffin has evolved into a loud, compelling, well-informed critic of Trump’s crony capitalism and anti-growth economic chaos machine. “The president’s strategy of publicly criticizing the Fed, suggesting the dismissal of governors, and pressuring the central bank to adopt a more permissive stance toward inflation carries steep costs,” he wrote for the Wall Street Journal opinion page. “These actions raise inflation expectations, increase market risk premiums, and weaken investor confidence in U.S. institutions.”

The Journal, which strangely ran a story about Griffin criticizing Trump, recalled that Griffin defended Walmart CEO Doug McMillon from Trump’s tongue-lashing over “raising prices in response to higher tariff costs.” (In June, Griffin declared, “Shame on the administration for criticizing an American CEO, who has done an extraordinary job of helping to have people get more for their dollar, more for the hours they work, for just being honest.”) In addition to bashing tariffs as inflationary and anti-growth, Griffin inveighed against “the inflationary aspects of large-scale deportations and the moral costs of expelling hardworking immigrants who may have entered the country illegally long ago.” He also dinged the big, ugly bill for running up the debt to astronomical levels.

Here is an idea for Griffin: Do everything to support politicians who want to stop these harmful economic policies, who despise the tariffs, who are deathly afraid of compromising the Fed’s independence, and who condemn deploying ICE shock troops. They are called Democrats. In fact, Griffin and the legion of grumbling CEOs who have realized that Trump will set our technological and economic standing back decades have the power to stop him.

Instead of wasting time conspiring against Zohran Mamdani, who is likely to win his race for New York mayor by a mile, a whole bunch of them could make a public announcement that Trump is Making America Poor Again. They could follow it up with a pledge to give every dime in donations for the 2026 cycle (which could amount to billions) to politicians who will stop the insanely self-destructive economic lark. That essentially boils down to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and all the Democrats.

Democrats should be fighting the fascism with every rhetorical, legal, and organizational tool available (as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Texas lawmakers, and millions of protestors are doing), but they must focus on the core economic issues if they want to prevent the economy from going entirely off the rails.

As The Economist explains:

Economist/YouGov polls show that the 20% of voters who are at the ideological center supported Mr Trump over Ms [Kamala] Harris by 52% to 44% in 2024. Yet now they give him a net approval rating of minus 27 points. At the start of his term, they liked his handling of crime, immigration, the economy and inflation. Now they disapprove on all four counts, with a whopping minus 40 for prices and inflation, the problem they care about most.

In short, average Americans know the economy is going downhill. Honest investors and employers know it too. Now, Democrats must convince enough voters (rich and poor and in between) that Democrats understand how tough things are and are determined to turn the car around and get back on the road to recovery.

Dems can argue that while Bessent, Pulte, and the other economic illiterates live it up at MAGA extravaganzas surrounded by candelabra, Democrats can be counted on to make life easier for everyone else. With a simple agenda (e.g., a humane and effective immigration plan, respect for Fed independence, returning the ACA and Medicaid to firm footing, repeal of the tariffs/consumer taxes, investment to keep pace with the green energy revolution), Democrats can offer the economic leadership that MAGA carousers could never imagine, let alone provide.