Trump’s Poor Grasp of Basic Economics Sinks Another American Manufacturer

Is someone keeping a running count of all the businesses that have fallen under the weight of Donald Trump’s incompetency in governance and breathtaking lack of economic knowledge?

Donald Trump has failed repeatedly at business.

Rather than the keen businessman he bills himself as (and his followers believe so readily), he has been through multiple bankruptcies, as well as a long list of branding flops, like Trump water, Trump steaks, Trump vodka, and Trump University (labeled a scam by prosecutors).

Knowing that an absolute failure Donald Trump is and has been, when it comes to business, why would anyone trust that his tariffs are a good idea?

Yes, I know. He’s listed as a “billionaire,” with his name on hotels and properties around the world. Let’s just keep in mind that most of his success came from reality TV, and that there’s the very real possibility that if we saw his tax returns – something he refuses to let happen – we might be quite astonished to see where his wealth comes from.

Most with even an elementary knowledge of what tariffs are reject the notion that any good can come out of Trump’s ill-advised trade war.

What’s more, there is a growing list of American businesses that can now say that they have fallen victim to the president’s efforts to weaken the American economy.

And yes, I believe this is deliberate on Trump’s part.

Harley-Davidson has been forced to move some production outside of the United States, in order to save their European market.

Soy and pork farmers are looking for government welfare bailouts, in order to keep afloat.

Layoffs have already begun because of the pain caused by Trump’s trade war.

Today, you can add a South Carolina electronics company to that list.

It’s not just a layoff, but a plant closure, affecting 126 employees.

Winnsboro, S.C.-based Element Electronics attributed its move to President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, imposed earlier this year, according to The State newspaper. The company couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The White House has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods so far and is considering levies of the same amount on another $200 billion in products, up from a previously announced 10 percent. China, in response, is considering duties on an additional $60 billion in U.S. goods.

So how many of these soon-to-be-unemployed South Carolina workers do you think are Trump supporters?

How many do you think are facing an uncertain future, but are still clinging to their MAGA caps and saying to themselves, “Trump will provide”?

I hate to be glib about it, but we’ve heard from others who are suffering because of amateur hour in the White House that they still feel Trump is going to pull them out of the nose dive, just before they crash.

I’d say their optimism is misplaced.

Element hopes to re-open its plant in the next few months but said it “cannot predict this with any certainty at this time,” acording to the Columbia, S.C., newspaper. Layoffs are slated to begin in October.

Other South Carolina-based plants have also warned of the impact from tariffs, which have spurred retaliatory duties from China, the European Union, Mexico and other countries. Automakers Volvo and BMW have both said the polices may cost the companies thousands of jobs.

South Carolina went big for Donald Trump in the 2016 primary season, as well as the election, grabbing the state with 55 percent of the vote.

Trump has repaid them by threatening their livelihood.

So at what point can we count on the MAGA troops to wake up?