Trump Confusion Syndrome

[yankees60]

Trump Confusion Syndrome
https://www.mauldineconomics.com/frontl ... n-syndrome


Upfront Costs

“Costs and Chaos”

Confusion = Risk

West Palm Beach, Dallas, DC, and Boca Raton?

I think I’m going to start a new 12-step program. I sense there are a lot of potential members. The meetings would start with something like this:

“Hi. My name is John. I have Trump Confusion Syndrome. I don’t think it’s contagious, but many of my friends are suffering similar symptoms.

“I like a lot of what the new Trump administration is starting to do. But then the president announces head-scratching moves like steel tariffs and then general tariffs which seem counterproductive for the economy. I end up feeling like Alice in Wonderland’s Red Queen, trying to believe six impossible things in my head before breakfast.

“Of course, I know Trump has a different leadership and negotiating style. I get that. My confusion stems from trying to figure out which is the negotiating part, and which is just bad policy.”

Trump Confusion Syndrome, or TCS, is distinct from Trump Derangement Syndrome in which afflicted people feel outrage about everything the president says or does. TCS isn’t about agreeing or disagreeing. It’s mostly about understanding. And then when something still seems wrong, feeling free to say it out loud. Yes, there are certain circles where disagreement is frowned upon.

Part of the TCS problem is that Trump’s style creates confusion. This method seemingly has worked pretty well for him, too. The problem: It works only by keeping everyone confused—even some of his own supporters.

Now, we could debate whether this is the best strategy a president can follow. That might be academically interesting. But as of now, Trump is the president and this is his way. It is unlikely to change. All we can do is deal with it. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I am quite happy that they are actually finding out where our money is spent (which is creating confusion). That process requires full internal audits be made public which has just not been done. We are finding a lot of problematic expenditures and outright fraud and waste. And we’re just three weeks into the process.

But the tariff thing? This is more problematic.