Imagine that “Tariffs, Trump, and the Danger of Indifference” was an award-winning documentary film, premiering in a theater down the street from where you watch your political movies. But there are other films being shown at the same theater. Also, the producers of the movie are behind the scenes, behind the curtain, and in the alleyway behind the theater – and that’s where the real action is – but you never see that.
You never see what’s going on behind the theater or in the basement, because you’re too focused on what they want you to see; on the screen. There are (2) main showings.
On the left, the screen shows a dark comedy: Donald Trump as a corrupt, self-dealing buffoon – a fascist wrapping himself in the American flag – unraveling the Western liberal order. “Agent Orange.” On the right, it seems like an entirely different movie is on. This one is a sardonic melodrama, “The Passion of the Trump.” This is a tale of martyrdom where a heroic figure is constantly tortured by globalists, liberals, and left-wing conspirators. In a lot of ways these productions couldn’t be further from one another. That’s how they all view it, anyway.
But me?
I hear them talk during intermission, saying the same things. Repeating the same lines. Laughing at the same jokes.
Some laugh with indignation. Others laugh with amusement. But none of them fight it too hard.
I’m not in a theater at all. I’m standing outside, watching something unfold in the alley behind the building. What I see isn’t performance. It’s the real story. It’s the greatest financial heist in American history – and it’s happening in front of everyone’s eyes.
A Digital Takeover of Government Infrastructure
Donald Trump’s true coup wasn’t January 6th. It was the recent digital, silent, and precise rerouting of government infrastructure and mainly the channels of payments.
While the public debated the result of the 2024 election, Trump and his collaborators quietly hijacked the federal government’s financial nervous system.
And now, it appears they have access to the levers of money movement itself: the Treasury’s general fund, which is how Trump will eventually be funneling import tariff payments to wherever he sees fit – personally. He has already demonstrated to people at random throughout the country that their social security benefits can be shut off or blockaded. Both undocumented individuals and American citizens have reportedly been kidnapped and trafficked across the world to places like El Salvador in an apparent slave trading operation the President is now personally running from the White House. That has not yet received the appropriate amount of definition, though many have covered the various aspects of the inhumane treatment of those people.
Donald Trump now controls the means of money printing as well.
TRUMP’coin Was Just the Beginning, Even Though It Flopped
He is no longer beholden to market outcomes. This is where both sides of the multiplex get the story wrong. On one side (the left) they think that Donald Trump is so dumb, or egotistical, that he has bungled the tariff policy – but many of those people agree that tariffs are the appropriate way to force jobs onshore – they disagree with how Donald Trump is conducting this action, though. On the right, people say “trust Donald Trump” to run the economy; including this negotiation – which they claim is going well.
However, as I’ve written about already, it is Donald Trump’s indifference which should cause you the greatest concerns. Because they’ve rigged the system so thoroughly that volatility itself becomes a greater payday. Whether the market crashes or rallies, they collect. Whether policies succeed or fail, they profit.
This isn’t mere manipulation. It’s a total national socialist takeover.
DOGE, Musk, and the Meme Shell Game
Most people still treat Elon Musk’s antics like a sideshow, but the DOGE project was a test case for many of these far more dangerous plans which have been articulated explicitly in Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency firm’s “Gold Paper.”
Their plan has been rolled out in stages, with other forms of creating confusion between private cryptocurrency or banking relationships and business, and the government. All the while, these guys are specifically centralizing the financial and economic system within their own death grip.
DOGE wasn’t a joke. Even if it comes to a close, where people can criticize it as a failure, it doesn’t matter. They’ve done what they came to do. In fact, essentially shutting it down while claiming it was a rousing success will make it nearly impossible for anybody to hold Elon Musk or Donald Trump accountable for it. That part has also gone according to plan. It was a model: a decentralized, viral asset used to shape public perception and extract liquidity.
It trained millions to respond to symbols over substance – a perfect smokescreen.
Treasury Security Scott Bessent, who has praised Trump’s ability to “gain leverage” like it’s a Wall Street compliment.
Scott Bessent talking about Donald Trump personally gaining leverage with tariffs:
But this isn’t just leverage in a boardroom sense. It’s about liquid power – the kind that lets you bail out your friends, boost stocks on demand, and treat the dollar like your own casino chips. TRUMP’coin, anyone?
It’s Not Like Something We’ve Never Seen Before, It’s Like The Superman III Scam
Let’s call it what it is: a fractional skimming scheme. Think Superman III or Office Space. When you control the rails of the payment system, you don’t need to crash anything. You just take a little – or a lot – off the top, every time money moves. And in a trillion-dollar-per-day system, that “little” becomes historic wealth.
This is why Scott Bessent has applauded the mere functioning of the financial system even on the days when it was collapsing. He is partially telling the truth.
So when the markets dip or surge on bad news – like they did after Trump’s recent tariff fiasco – and people ask, “Was this a dumb move or a smart move?” it actually is very telling about the hope from even the part of the Democrats, that Trump is more benevolent than he really is. Think of this: even Trump’s biggest critics often assume he thinks this is a good idea for the country simply because he’s repeated that a lot of times.
Some people have begun talking about self-dealing and the concern for how Trump’s administration might be ripping somebody off. But, it appears that nobody has yet to recognize what I do, which is that they are ripping everybody off.
The Art of the Sequel
In Trump’s first term he complained about tariffs. He also attempted to buy Greenland. But all of that got memory holed after he brought COVID upon us. Between 2015 – 2021, from the time Trump first started campaigning to become President of the United States of America, he had a lot of people around him who in some ways helped keep the guardrails up. Despite a lot of treachery, his self-dealing did not turn into full-blown treason back then.
However many people (including those who don’t fully comprehend what’s happening yet) are now beginning to see how that has taken shape. Trump now has financial conflicts of interest at odds with the American people, and basically the entire global economy. Despite the fact that he’s been adept at corrupting those around him, his reign is coming to an end.
“The Art of the Deal” was a book that Trump and his acolytes have used for decades to justify him as a dealmaker. In reality, he inherited a great deal of money, and more importantly – influence and leverage – from his father Fred. The trust which was passed on to Donald and his siblings, which he then seemingly controls unilaterally, is how he also views the inheritance of the United States: something for him to control unilaterally.
Trump 2.0? Which might really be more like Trump 3.0, or Trump 2.2.5 or something, depending on how you look at what’s really gone on over the last few electoral cycles. Fewer people around the President are standing up to him or speaking out against him. Just the way he may like it, but, that’s much worse for the American people.
They’re More Evil Than Stupid
It is unlikely that Scott Bessent, and other members of the administration are ignorant about what Trump, and Musk have done. In fact, it’s most likely that the likes of Howard Lutnick, and other people closest to the trade policy, are well aware of and financially incentivized to perpetrate this whole scheme.
This is why Trump no longer cares whether his policies succeed in the public sense. He doesn’t need them to. Success is now measured only by whether he and his circle can profit. He can alienate entire segments of the international order, the investor class, or his former voting populace – because he doesn’t need them anymore.
If you’re still playing on his team, you’re a sucker.
I believe we saw the first instance of this money printing and private bailout operation with Tesla. When Tesla stock spikes just because Trump pretends to buy a car on the White House lawn – while actual protests and bad earnings dominate the headlines – what you’re seeing isn’t fandom succeeding. Elon Musk has twice been caught pretending to be good at video games this year, and most reporters are only capable of assuming he’s a deeply insecure guy who needs people to think he’s the best at everything.
In reality, the purpose of this kind of media stunt is to sell shares of his company to video game fans who watch. To me, it’s that simple. Most people can’t see this, though, because they’re stuck in a theater watching a movie like Alex in A Clockwork Orange.
It’s not that the market moved in response to Trump’s Truth Social post.
He moved the market, then he posted about it. It’s like a magic trick.
Both Sides Watching the Same Screen…Still Miss It
Sometimes, the metaphors overlap. Left-leaning outlets mock Trump’s tariffs as laughably stupid. Right-wing pundits praise them as masterful strategies. Both are wrong, because both are arguing about form, not function.
“Will Trump’s tariff policy work?” That’s a great question.
But you need to break down a few things before you can try to answer. Most people who comment on these things from the Bulwark to Kyle Krystal & Friends, Dave Smith, the Young Turks, Joe Rogan, Tim Dillon, or MSNBC, FOX, AP, or literally any other news outlet I see – do no ask themselves a) what is Trump’s tariff policy, b) what would it mean to work in his mind, c) what does the public think Trump’s tariff policy is, d) how are these things aligned or at odds?
Because too many people think Trump is trying to create a policy to empower Americans. He is not. This is about his own personal unjust enrichment. That’s the bottom line. Democrats are still thinking about the 2024 election licking their wounds and planning ahead for 2026 or 2028 as if this is a “normal” situation where they can just wait for the next electoral cycle to do something meaningful.
Wall Street is Shaking
When Bill Ackman questioned whether members of the administration were trying to crash the market for personal gain, he wasn’t grasping at straws – he was glimpsing the alley. But Ackman quickly apologized like a coward. It doesn’t matter either because he hasn’t connected the final dots. This isn’t just about insider trading like Elizabeth Warren and other so-called progressives are suggesting. It’s governing by liquidity theft. A built-in house edge, invisible to the public but omnipresent in policy.
Recognize the Reality
This is not sustainable. But it won’t be undone by the next headline or the next hearing. Congress needs to act with urgency. Not just to hold Trump accountable, but to reassert control over the Treasury infrastructure. Over digital payments. Over who gets to print money in America and why.
This is not about left or right. This is about power and its abuse. If we fail to break the hypnotic spell of the Trump Theater, we will miss our last chance to shut down a financial regime that sees the American public not as citizens, but as marks.
It’s time to kill the projector, exit the building – and storm the alley.
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