For those scouring the news cycle for the next meme, I offer what seems to me the word of the day: “chaos.” Yes, that’s right, like some character out of the Book of Revelation Donald Trump has unleashed chaos upon the world. He is in the process of gutting, defunding or eliminating all the left’s favorite playpens, from the Department of Education to the National Endowment for Democracy. Thanks to the efforts of Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency, he has revealed the sorry truth that “NGO,” which we were told meant “non-governmental organization,” actually means “nurturing governmental officialdom,” i.e., diverting taxpayer dollars for oneself, one’s relatives and people who can do you some favors. Which is to say that the “non” in “NGO” really means “all” or “limitless.” As one canny commentator on X observed, “Over the last few months, we’ve come to a realization that should have landed much harder: NGOs weren’t just adjacent to government, they were the parallel government.”
Indeed. Remember all that talk about “the deep state?” NGOs were a critical enabling yeast. . . .
Donald Trump has upset that apple cart. For people who care about things like fiscal sanity, accountability and transparency, it is a welcome restoration. For people who have made their living exploiting the many opportunities for corruption the status quo ante offered, it is chaos, a plunge into outer darkness.
Once again, the tergiversations of the punditocracy and the public-teat-sucking political class are amusing to behold. Donald Trump announces a raft of tariffs in an effort to bring critical industries back to the United States and to level the economic playing field. The markets weep for a few days.
One by one, countries line up to make a deal with the world’s largest economy.
At last count, some 90 countries have signaled their intention to trim the tariffs and other trade barriers they have erected against America. Even China is making some agreeable noises.
Trump has responded by delaying the imposition of certain tariffs, a canny bit of flexibility that the anti-Trump chorus has denounced as “panic.” “No One Is Buying the White House Spin,” screams one headline. But in fact, countries are lining up to buy it, and it’s no spin, it’s negotiation.
As the investor Bill Ackman put it, “A willingness to adjust a strategy based on new facts and data is a sign of the strength of a leader. It is not an indication of weakness.”
OH, AND BY THE WAY:
I'm trying to understand NYT economics. How can what's good for the US be an obvious disaster for Europe? pic.twitter.com/JR8nDvbF3k
— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreyatucker) April 14, 2025
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