Trump’s Tariffs by Lawrence O’Donnell

of saying Washington Donald Trump know that they are guilty of exactly that and now some of them like the New York Times They really really are trying to do something about it but this is their first try so it's not perfect the New York Times first try was published tonight under the headline as debate looms Trump is now the one facing questions about age and capacity with a subheadline reading his rambling sometimes incoherent public stat ments have stirred concern among voters the Times article does not use the term sashing which describes the way some in the news media edit Donald Trump's crazy statements down to a shape that allows them to then try to make sense of them but the article does offer the New York Times own confession about doing exactly that here is the New York Times confession in writing tonight in this article often his mangled statements are summarized in news accounts in ways that do not give the full picture of how baffling they can be the New York Times has done that every single day the New York Times has been covering Donald Trump the politician including in this article tonight they couldn't get through the whole article without doing it in this article the New York Times is trying to cure itself of its habit of sashing Donald Trump and in the very next passage after the one that I just read the new YK times tries to sash what Donald Trump said last week to these stupid rich people at the New York economic Club who clapped enthusiastically for Donald Trump's incoherent response to a question about child care a response that was not an answer it was a widely criticized incoherent jumble that did not answer the question about child care in any way and in the article tonight the New York Times thought they could cure their sashing habit by quoting a larger portion of what Donald Trump said about child care instead of the short sashed bits that they used in the coverage of that event last week here is the New York Times attempt at a cure for its own habit of sashing in which in the end it sashes Donald Trump again tonight's article says that because quoting Donald Trump at length quote can provide additional context here is a more extended account of his reply on affordable child care it's a very important issue but I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about that because Child Care is child care it's couldn't you know there's something you have to have it in this country you have to have it but when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I'm talking about by taxing foreign Nations at levels that they're not used to but they'll get used to it very quickly and it's not going to stop them from doing business with us but they'll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we're talking about including child care that it's going to take care and after running that extended incoh response by Donald Trump the New York Times then in the very next paragraph San washed it with this interpretation what he seemed to be saying was that he would raise so much money by imposing tariffs on imported goods that the country could use the proceeds to pay for child care in itself that would be a disputable policy assumption a disputable policy assumption that is the single most disturbing thing I have read in the New York Times about the New York Times let me just read the New York Times San washing once again what he seemed to be saying was that he would raise so much money by imposing tariffs on imported goods that the country could use the proceeds to pay for child care in itself that would be a disputable policy assumption there was a time not long ago when everyone not the New York Times and I mean everyone including the printers and the delivery truck drivers knew what a tariff is now it appears no one at the New York Times knows what a tariff is including their top reporters covering the presidential campaign this New York Times article allows Donald Trump to say that his tariffs would be taxing foreign Nations the New York Times allows that to stand as a fact in its campaign reporting and that means that the New York Times campaign coverage and the New York Times economic coverage is hopelessly lost in this campaign how slowly do I have to say it for the New York Times campaign reporters to understand it for the very first time I've said it many times before I understand the New York Times campaign reporters are too busy to be watching this program I don't expect them to learn learn any of this from me I expected them to learn this by the end of the first year of high school a tariff is imposed by the United States of America and paid for by the people of the United States of America and no one else ever the entire point of a tariff is to raise the price of the foreign product to the American Consumer so that the American Consumer does not want to buy it anymore because it's too expensive all economists understand that American tariffs function as sales taxes paid by American consumers economists consider tariffs sales taxes yes tariffs raise money yes tariffs were the only way the federal government raised money before the imposition of income taxes and the only way the American government can raise money is fraud the American people the American government cannot tax anyone other than the American people and the night before the debate the New York Times is telling its readers that Donald Trump's tariffs are taxing foreign Nations yes Donald Trump tells a lot of lies yes it's impossible to keep up with every one of those lies but the Tariff lie the New York Times in an article designed to take on Donald Trump's lies and incoherent ranting Prince Donald Trump's tariff lie and lets it stand its only question about it is whether the tariffs would raise enough money to pay for child care same washing Donald Trump's insane response about child care last week the New York Times tries to tell you that Donald Trump seems to be saying that his tariffs would raise so much money that that money then then could be used to pay for TR care but then maybe Donald Trump wouldn't use it for that Donald Trump did not say one word about paying for child care or using tariff Revenue to pay for child care there's not a single thing in Donald Trump's response that any sane person can convert to Donald Trump's suggesting that the federal government should in any way do anything to pay for anyone's child care in the New York Times hallucinated that explanation into existence and after hallucinating that explanation of Donald Trump's Madness into print the miror times then says it's a disputable policy assumption no it's not it's completely impossible what this article does do is prove to you how deep the actual intellectual rot is at the New York Times at the reporting and at the editorial level going all the way up to the top this is a big and important article for the newor time time had to be examined by multiple editors to make its way into print and every one of them was completely cool with Donald Trump's Insanity about tariffs the New York Times was perfectly happy to put in print that Donald Trump's tariffs are quote taxing foreign Nations that lie that lie the New York Times let's stand unchallenged everyone working in the business section of the AR timeses is embarrassed by this everyone in the business section editors and reporters all know the truth about tariffs but they are not the reporters and editors who cover the Trump campaign and so they have no input into an article about tariffs in the campaign coverage none the New York Times and the rest of the news media has been enabling Donald Trump's lies about tariffs for 10 full years now and I used to think that they were doing that because Donald Trump was telling bigger lies than his lies about tariffs more destructive lies lies about elections lies that have gotten people killed and so for years I have been occasionally and only occasionally but repeatedly pointing out Donald Trump's lies about tariffs multiple times a year it has been a very lonely Pursuit but now I know it is much much worse than I thought now I know that there are people working at the New York Times who believe Donald Trump when he says tariffs are taxing foreign Nations there are people at the near Times who will allow that to go into print uncontested they