Originally published at: No, President Trump, the Income Tax Wasn’t A Mistake. But It Was an Accident. - TPM – Talking Points Memo
This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. In his Rose Garden speech launching a global trade war by announcing the most sweeping tariffs in modern history, President Donald Trump bestowed a history lesson…
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The modern GOP: “Stupid is as stupid does.”
And as Josh points out, the modern GOP: Pro-Crime! Eliminating the Tax Division of the DOJ favors wealthy tax cheaters, also known as (alleged) criminals.
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After 100+ years, the more things change, the more they stay the same…
“It has long been understood that the Republicans never support a worthy cause until forced by public sentiment. Too stupid to devise and enact wholesome laws and to formulate and execute sound administrative policies, this piratical organization is wont to wait until Democrats point the way,” he said in a speech on the floor.
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“Responding to allegations that only poor men were fighting and dying, President Abraham Lincoln…”
…called them “suckers and losers”?
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Quelle suprise,
DonOLD Drumpf don’t know much about history.
I’ll bet he don’t know much biology, either.
He don’t know nuthin’ 'bout no science book,
He don’t know 'bout the things he took.
He don’t know that one and one make two
He hopes you don’t know nothin’ too
He thinks a wonderful world that would be.
Apologies to Sam Cooke
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Make
Depression
Great
Again
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Excellent example of why knowing history matters
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President Donald Trump bestowed a history lesson on his audience that diverged from the factual record:
Surely you jest.
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From the article:
“ he and then-President William Taft put their weight behind….”
Kudos! (Taft weighed some 350 pounds. I believe the story goes that they had to put in a special bathtub in the White House to accommodate his bulk).
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Ha ha, I caught that too!
(Also,
The populist
KansanNebraskan politician William Jennings Bryan….)
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From Le Monde April 3 2025 [Trump doesn't know it, but his protectionist hero, McKinley, ended up changing his stance]
McKinley, Trump’s alleged hero gave up on tariffs: In the late 19th century tariff laws did not produce miracles. The McKinley Tariff, in particular, led to an immediate price increase that directly contributed to the Republicans’ defeat in the 1890 elections (and, indirectly, fueled the 1893 recession, with a double-digit unemployment rate). On the geopolitical front, his trade pressures also proved to be failures: By bullying Canada, President McKinley had (already!) dreamed of pushing it to become the US’s 51st state. The opposite happened: Annoyed, the Canadians grew closer to the United Kingdom.
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“It has long been understood that the Republicans never support a worthy cause until forced by public sentiment. Too stupid to devise and enact wholesome laws and to formulate and execute sound administrative policies, this piratical organization is wont to wait until Democrats point the way,”
Over 100 years later, and things haven’t changed. They’ve just gotten worse.
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And let’s not forget that, months into his second term, President McKinley was assassinated.
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Trump continues to promote the incredible misconception that tariffs are paid by the exporting country. He either believes, or wishes his listeners to believe, that the US is somehow able to extract money from other nations to provide government revenue. He has said or implied this many times, notably during the Harris debate, but was never called out on this obvious falsehood. If his followers had realized that they would be paying, would they have voted for him?
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Exactly. It wasn’t until AFTER the voting had taken place and it was too late that the “shamestream media”, always in the can for the Republican Party, happemned to mention this obvious fact. Even NPR!
Oops.
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