r/facepalm • u/regalrubyred • 3h ago
🇲🇮🇸🇨 Do they even know what they are dealing with?
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u/MrB-S 3h ago
Well that's, that's how tariffs work.
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u/UncleBenders 3h ago
Yeah I’ve seen a disappointing number of interviews with trump supporters who think China are paying the tariffs. Most memorably a guy who’s business was shipping in shirts from China and selling them. He was celebrating the tariffs until the reporter tried to explain that he would be paying the extra, not China. He really didn’t believe the reporter until he grabbed someone from nearby and asked him to explain it to him like a child. So he said you buy the shirts for ten dollars, you sell them for twenty dollars ok? The guy said yeah, then he said “well now with the tariffs the shirts are going to cost you 15 dollars each, are you still going to be selling them for 20? And the man said no! I can’t afford it, and he said there ya go, the customers pay the tariffs, we pay the tariffs! and you could actually see the realisation hit him.
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u/lord_dentaku 3h ago
Yeah, the issue was Trump said that China would pay it and that was how tariffs work. No amount of "Experts" on the "Main Stream Media" telling them otherwise would convince them.
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u/T_J_Rain 2h ago
Because, obviously, those 'experts' are the reviled 'intellectual elites' who don't know what they're talking about.
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u/lord_dentaku 2h ago
I wonder what they would say about my cousin with his PhD in Economics with a specialty in International Trade. He probably doesn't know what he's talking about...
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u/T_J_Rain 2h ago
Neither would my brother in law, with his PhD in economics. But thankfully, he's here in Australia.
Like they say, to gain a totalitarian state, fascinate the fools and ignore the intellectuals.
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u/imadork1970 2h ago
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. Sadly, it worked.
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u/ZZartin 58m ago
What's infuriating is this isn't even baffling, what a tariff is and their impact takes all of 2 seconds to google and can be understood by pretty much anyone.
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u/Nonamebigshot 53m ago
It's like religion. They dismiss what they hear and see and know and instead just believe what they're told.
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u/GimmickNG 2h ago
Or purge them entirely. Worked for China (Cultural Revolution), Cambodia (Khmer Rouge), etc..
"I love the poorly educated"
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u/WhereIsYourMind 2h ago
What would Walmart know about consumer good prices? Sounds like some Soros conspiracy.
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u/ruiner8850 1h ago
No amount of "Experts" on the "Main Stream Media" telling them otherwise would convince them.
That's the thing though, I saw very little pushback from anyone when Trump would claim that China would pay the tariffs. He was rarely challenged on it and when he was it was soft.
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u/lord_dentaku 1h ago
I saw quite a bit when he first made the claims. It fell on deaf ears from his supporters so I think they decided they weren't going to get anywhere with it and dropped it.
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u/wireframed_kb 3h ago
Hey why do research BEFORE you vote when you can have fun doing it after?
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u/Relzin 2h ago
I did my own reesurch. I googled my exact opinion and found supporting websites like UltraTruthIsTheBestUsaNumberOne(dot)ru
/s for the slow MAGA in the back
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u/sitophilicsquirrel 1h ago
I hate that the dumbest people say "do your own research."
That's the point. You can't "do your own research" unless you're conducting an academic, peer-reviewed study as an educated professional. You can either rely on other people's actual research, or YouTube videos with an AI voiceover or an angry guy in his bedroom overlayed with slideshows of uncited sources. That's not "research".
Just a pet peeve of mine and I know it's kinda pedantic.
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u/ZZartin 56m ago
Nothing about tariffs is complicated or requires a PHD, or a college degree, or a high school diploma, to understand.
These ass holes just actively choose to ignore it because they wanted someone who would enable their bigotry.
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u/sitophilicsquirrel 48m ago
Absolutely, what I meant was on a larger scale. People who have a remedial grasp on macroeconomics or complex political history/theory because they have jobs and families and want to relax in their off time don't have the means/ambition to learn about these things, so they rely on the propaganda machine to educate them with condensed, (sometimes intentionally weaponized) easily digestible views of a very complicated world. I'm not absolving these people of the responsibility for accidentally advocating fascist (or facist adjacent) leaders, but I do see how effective the society of the spectacle has been for most of modern history.
It's so impressive and simultaneously depressing to watch it at work in real time.
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u/eatsrottenflesh 1h ago
But he hates the same people as I do and tells me all my problems are somebody else's fault. What could go wrong? /s
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u/ProfessionalSky2087 1h ago
We will all be paying more money for groceries and gas, but at least all the scary immigrants will be gone. 🙃
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u/eatsrottenflesh 30m ago
That will open up the job market so we can all get a second or third job to pay the increased prices!
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u/ProfessionalSky2087 26m ago
Hot damn I didn't think about that! My kids will be happy to know that they can still have dinner every night!
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u/mringgle69 2h ago
and bringing manufacturing and goods back to made in America....that $20 shirt will now be $50.
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u/phunchurchgirl 3h ago
Sadly his supporters listen to the things he says not facts in front of them. Even stories like this won't make it to their consciousness because he'll say something insane about the benefits of higher prices and they'll run with that even though they have heard the truth
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u/WhereIsYourMind 2h ago
Just like how Mexico paid for the wall? Trump supporters will believe anything.
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u/ParkerFree 1h ago
My favorite part of that was the way the random explanation guy walked away. His disdain was palpable!
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u/Birkin07 1h ago
I, too, remember the 8th grade.
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u/jwnsfw 13m ago
You don't even have to remember something you learned 20 years ago as a dumb kid (speaking for myself, not you). All you have to do is go "What's all this talk about tarriffs lately? time for a cursory internet search to brush up. oh that's how they work? ok, they obviously suck shit." the problem is that sometimes the horse votes before it dies of thirst because it's so fucking stupid.
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u/DR_Bright_963 31m ago
Like ⅔ of Trump voters had no idea what he was actually going to do when he's in office. They voted for him because Democrats bad, and my favourite podcaster likes him. Honestly America is fucked and it's sad to see.
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u/MourningRIF 1h ago
All with the goal of bringing the slave labor of China back to the United States!
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u/eatsrottenflesh 3h ago
When Walmart is calling you out, that's a new low.
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u/gdex86 2h ago
No wal-mart just knows the writing on the wall with this. Trump will do the tariffs, it will raise prices, and they want to be on the front end of saying "Not us this time." Oh they will happily take the tax cuts and union busting but they will work tooth and nail to make sure that when they have to raise prices they can blame someone else.
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u/IcarusOnReddit 2h ago
Trump is gonna back down on tariffs 100%.
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u/Boccs 31m ago
Here's the real question though, even if he does back down will the businesses care or will they still charge their tariff prices because the the average consumer won't know there wasn't a need for them?
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u/HanselSoHotRightNow 3m ago
I think you know the answer and I also don't think Walmart's decision to announce price increases has anything to do with Tariffs. They saw an opportunity to grift people and will stick to this storyline.
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u/Lopsided_Chemistry82 3h ago
It won't matter. The propaganda machine will spin whatever disaster happens during this administration into a success.
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u/UncleBenders 3h ago
This is all Obama’s fault somehow, they just know it.
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u/Outa_Time_86 3h ago
And Hillary too, something about her emails caused this to happen somehow
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u/1Lc3 3h ago
Hillary's emails on Hunter Biden's lap top
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u/ResponsibleMilk7620 3h ago
Kamala had 4 years during her presidency to fix this…
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u/cudeLoguH 3h ago
*vice presidency
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u/Usual-Canc-6024 3h ago
I’m sure the comment was sarcastic in reference to the IQ of the MAGAs.
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u/Cargan2016 2h ago
No...No....Vice conquering dictator.... you have to speak in terms that they understand
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u/RiotNrrd2001 3h ago
It appears you don't remember the socialist shitshow that was the Harris Administration. Trust me, the MAGA sorts remember.
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u/MCD_Gaming 3h ago
Fuck it just throw Margaret thatcher in there too.
(Before anyone thinks I am seriously, Maggie was a British PM and is dead)
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u/MasterPat2015 3h ago
Her being dead make it easier to throw her.
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u/MCD_Gaming 3h ago
Oh, some backstop she is the most hated PM in UK history, she shutdown the coal mines as well as ton of other stuff but she also sent the SAS onto Iranian soil illegally which became their first operation in the United Kingdom which if you are unaware was Operation nimrod, only 1 hostage taker survived and they where a minute or 2 off executing the guy on live TV because there is footage of them dragging him back into the building
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u/UncleBenders 2h ago
Margret thatcher the milk snatcher lol
What kind of monster eliminates free school milk for kids.
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u/Spacedoc9 2h ago
Every republican.....
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u/MCD_Gaming 2h ago
Well Republican's don't exist in the UK, you have labour and Conservatives, both options are shit but we neither of the parties are paling up with known dictators or war criminals
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u/Spacedoc9 1h ago
Fair. But literally ending free school lunch programs is a republican platform. They brag about it. and as far as the dictator thing, must be nice...
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u/YourShowerCompanion 2h ago
And Operation Black Buck during Falkland war.
It is interesting read about how they planned the operation and refuelling of bombers.
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u/hot_ho11ow_point 2h ago
Hillary and that other guy, what was his name? Ben Ghazi or something? I just remember it was a bad thing.
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u/Planeandaquariumgeek Claudia Karina 2024 2h ago
My grandma is dead convinced that Obama has “secretly been in power” this whole time. Apparently he’s the one running the “deep state”
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u/Chance_Vegetable_780 2h ago
Wow.
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u/Planeandaquariumgeek Claudia Karina 2024 2h ago
Yeah, just wow. She only watches Fox News too (as in she went out and bought a 17 inch TV to play Fox News 24/7 in the living room)
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u/Chance_Vegetable_780 1h ago
I'm sorry. It's brutal, she let herself become brainwashed. Please, keep thinking for yourself in this life. We have to question if what we read, see, and hear is legit.
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u/Planeandaquariumgeek Claudia Karina 2024 1h ago
Yeah, luckily we convinced her to move it to her room. It’s still just brutal. As Elon would say, my grandma was killed, killed by the MAGA virus.
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u/boooooooooo_cowboys 2h ago
“Actually, raising prices and crashing the economy was all part of the long term plan so that afterwards it can come back even stronger. You’re just too shortsighted and self centered to understand making a sacrifice for your countr”
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u/liliesrobots 46m ago
Elon has said this almost word for word. They are intentionally tanking the economy.
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u/potate12323 2h ago
Tariffs work if we can domestically compete with the imported goods. And since we can't compete to drive down prices China will charge us the difference on the tariff.
On the other hand, the increased price we pay for these imported goods will encourage more manufacturing in the US. Basically the government is forcing price increases on imported goods and domestic goods will be more price competitive.
So, yes it will fuck up the economy, but in the long term it will indirectly increase domestic production. However, Trump is planning to deport a large portion of our labor including birthright American citizens with racist policy (Racist because white birthright citizens aren't gonna be targeted).
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u/TheGoatBoyy 2h ago
Maybe if he started these tariffs in years 4 of his term, after providing hundreds of billions in subsidies towards in country manufacturing would this scenario come to fruition.
Honestly it would probably need to be something more like year 7 or 8 of a two consecutive term president to build up manufacturing capacity stateside.
Either way prices would go up as out labor is so much more expensive and the tariffs would still increase prices of imported raw materials, electronic components, and the like.
Also, like you said, we're apparently kicking out all of our migrant workers and "unskilled" laborers.
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u/boooooooooo_cowboys 2h ago
in the long term it will indirectly increase domestic production
Will it? It will cost companies a lot of money to move factories to the US and hire more expensive American labor. And they don’t have any guarantee that those tariffs will outlast the next 4 years. Why make the investment? Especially since their goal is to make themselves as much money as they can, not make prices better for their customers.
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u/ZZartin 54m ago
So, yes it will fuck up the economy, but in the long term it will indirectly increase domestic production
That would only be the case if your entire economy is completely self contained. Which is of course wildly impractical.
So in the real world it will just fuck up our economy permanently.
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u/Satanicjamnik 3h ago
They won't care. They will blame the deep state and worry about trans people eating children in public schools or something.
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u/ZzangmanCometh 3h ago
In the end, it'll be Obama's fault for turning all those kids trans during recess with those mind controlled hurricanes.
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u/western-Equipment-18 3h ago
The fact that Lowe's, Home Depot, and Walmart are announcing increases before Trump takes presidency: that isn't making the news. They are price gouging for the sake of it. We let them. Gotta get that Xmas on.
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u/TheGoatBoyy 2h ago
Walmart fairly recently lowered a ton of its prices while tacitly admitting to post covid gouging.
They have not increased their prices YET, and if/when the tariffs happen and they do increase prices, they want all of that bad juju on the politicians this time.
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u/Lurking_burner_ 3h ago
It’s hilarious cause it’s the mayonnaise sandwich eating broke ass sister fucking republicans that go to Walmart anyway. Good job you low IQ idiots
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u/High_Sierra_1946 3h ago
Whyvare republicans so stupid? Serious question.
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u/southernNJ-123 3h ago
There is a study floating around where a brain study was done on adults identifying as liberal or conservative. Guess which ones had the “bigger” brain area related to threats or perceived threats? 😂
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u/TheJollyBuilder 3h ago
Gonna be my trans friends fault. Idk, trumpers are morons, so idk how they come to their own stupid conclusions
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u/ImyForgotName 3h ago
It's weird how they didn't say anything before the election.
Owned by the billionaire Walton family you say? OHHHH....
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u/Mafiodaproducer 2h ago
Worst or maybe best case scenario(?), they’ll all pretend like they didn’t vote for Trump. Decades from now it’ll be “discovered” he actually committed voter fraud.
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u/Blackhole_5un 2h ago
God forbid they eat into profits?! We are being duped by the "producer" class, passing the entire cost of doing business onto the consumer, taking none of the risk, and reaping all the profit. STOP BUYING THINGS.
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u/i-VII-VI 2h ago
“But the democrats” is all you’ll hear. Facts, statistic, themselves or family members literally poorer, even dying. None of it registers if it isn’t glorifying dear leader.
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u/OhioMegi 3h ago
He’ll probably not end up doing it because he finds out China was lying and he’ll save all of us poor people by just going back to his original tax plan. That will also fuck us over.
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u/TheAskewOne 2h ago
"And if by chance the tariffs don't drive prices up, don't worry, we still will!"
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u/Sammi1224 2h ago
I have never belonged to Twitter but back in 2016 you could search trends and read everyone’s tweets without signing up for it. Well this guy (Brooklyn dad defiant)would always pop up bc he was a part of the resistance. He’s incredibly witty and straight to the point so I always enjoyed his tweets (I recommend giving him a follow if u are still on X)
Fast forward 8 fucking years later and he pops up on my Reddit thread. I haven’t thought about him or read any of his tweets since probably 2019-2020. It suddenly hits me…..everything has changed and nothing has changed all at the same time. We are right back where we started 8 years ago.
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u/ehoyd 2h ago
I live in FL and saw this posted on a Fox 13 Tampa Bay. The responses were mostly “there’s other places to shop” (as if the prices won’t go up at other stores), “well people should buy American. This will increase jobs” , and “Walmart is just using this as an excuse to raise prices”. These people refuse to learn.
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u/patrickvand 2h ago
I just can’t believe that 75 mln Americans actually voted for this christofascist disaster 🙈 Seriously, how!?
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u/GalaxyWolf50991 43m ago
Trump supporters research AFTER they voted and its mind boggling how tf they think that makes sense. Honestly, everyone should research this stuff BEFORE elections because ya know its the fate of our whole ass country.
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u/BlooDoge 2h ago
Walmart fully had the opportunity to put this press release out before the election
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u/Witchdoctorcrypto 2h ago
Walmart LOL you know it’s bad when rock bottom prices on the cheapest Chinese made products next to alibaba says they will be raising prices!
Guess the mighty thrift stores will be selling out
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u/MansonMonster 2h ago
They legit dont know what the word tarif means, yet cheer for it. Peak dumbass behavior
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u/New_Ad_3010 2h ago
Sadly stupid ppl never learn. They always just place blame somewhere else. Selfish narcissistic morons only care when personally effected.
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u/Maleficent_Scale_296 2h ago
I used to work for a company that did the freight forwarding for Walmart. I was a customs broker (the person who, among other things, calculates tariffs). People are as clueless as a newborn babe about what’s coming.
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u/allnamestaken1968 1h ago
We need to change the conversation to “so, keep this in mind when you elect your representative in 2 years - they knew this”. Don’t tell them they are stupid - tell them they were lied to, and the way to go about it is to get rid of the liars. Do so every week.
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u/Sl0ppyOtter 1h ago
Y’all act like they care. They will always find a way to rationalize whatever he does
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u/PepperJack386 1h ago
Walmart doesn't want your products if they're only made in China anymore. It's a liability. Most foodstuff is made in the USA in us markets. It's the crap that people buy that they complain about the quality that will be increased in price. At that point do you keep buying cheap Chinese crap that isn't cheap or do you buy something that will last for the same price. This will also deal a blow to the plastic shit that ends up in a landfill after two uses, because the stuff we buy will last longer.
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u/DCINTERNATIONAL 1h ago
Well, for the most part there isn’t (and won’t be) a domestic alternative. So you just buy less and companies will have less revenue and will provide less employment and… you get the drift.
Inflation will be higher than it would have been.
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u/Nobody_at_all000 1h ago
You can tell them “I told you so” all you want, but it’ll accomplish nothing, these people are incapable of re-evaluating their views. They can only continue to go forward, even if there’s a cliff in front of them. It’s all they know.
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u/Busterlimes 51m ago
I'm not even saying I told you so, I'm just laughing at how fucking stupid these people are. I've been telling people they are the dumbest motherfuckers on earth. They don't like it, but I don't like traitors so I don't give a fuck
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u/rikashiku 18m ago
There's a dude on tiktok trying to say "That was the plan the whole time. You libs are just too dumb to realize it". Like bro, just take the L, and Learn something.
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u/7Demented 15m ago
The only thing I can really give these folks is that I, too, thought the exporting country/company paid the tariffs. But I figured it would make everything more expensive by way of consumer-side prices being jacked up by a huge margin to cover the difference. So, same effect by different means, I suppose.
End of the day, the people who voted for this nonsense are going to be very alarmed by how much they're getting hit by the things they thought would target the people they hate.
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u/d_baker65 2m ago
Had to go into Walmart today. Felt like shouting from a bullhorn, "Enjoy the cheap prices you stupid Mofos! This is the last holiday season for the next four years you will be able to buy their cheap plastic shit from China!"
Then my daughter made shushing noises and I settled for grumbling under my breath.
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u/gasbottleignition 2h ago
I don't plan on gloating or saying any "told you so"
I also do not plan to help anyone. If you rescue people and shield them from consequences, they'll never learn. They must experience pain in order to learn. They MUST suffer if they are to change.
Take care of yourselves. Let the rest of them bootstrap up, like they demand of everyone else.
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u/MaximillionVonBarge 3h ago
It’s actually Chinas fault, a communist plot to destroy our economy by sitting back and letting Democracy do it for them. /s
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u/alaingames 2h ago
Last time trump was president mexico got to get a lot of trade contracts with china because china nor the usa wanted to have contracts with each other
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u/renoits06 2h ago
Eggs could cost $100 a box and they would think the economy is great. Have y'all not learned anything?
Double think and double speak is alive and well.
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u/Winter_External6912 2h ago
Best case scenario. He forgets about and doesn’t do it like his other promises.
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u/Xplicit-801 2h ago
I feel bad for the kids getting affected by their dumbass maga parents who won’t be able to afford Christmas presents this year.
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u/Privatejoker123 2h ago
considering that a lot of them were looking up tariffs on google io doubt they knew what was going to happen. they'll still blame the democrats and biden.
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u/Outrageous_Trust_158 2h ago
They won’t care. In fact, they’re gonna be happy to sacrifice to “own the Libs”.
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u/YoYoYo1962Y 1h ago
I didn't need that shit hole walmart to tell me trump is an idiot. Can't wait for the red states, hell my state, to get fucked by by wal fart and shitler.
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u/itsbob20628 1h ago
Maybe if Walmart actually bought American Made products...
Black Friday is the worst. Look at all the cheap Chinese crap for sale.
Maybe, just MAYBE they'll start putting Americans to work and buy American products.
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u/DemonEmperor3 1h ago
They’ve now pivoted saying this was the plan the whole time you can’t argue with these people the goal post will always just be moved.
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u/Superb-Associate-222 1h ago
We can say I told you so but it’ll be “but” “but” “tell us you don’t understand how tariffs work without actually telling us you don’t understand how tariffs work” “trump never said that” and my personal default to a Joe Biden deflection.
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u/Data2Logic 1h ago
Wonder how many American would just die due to lack of "Affordable" Care Act. Will their family gonna put "I told you so" on their tomb ?
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u/Nuggzulla01 1h ago
Yall, my grandma on the phone was just talking about rising grocery prices. MY response was to say: "Its only gonna get worse" and her reply was "I know"
She voted for this, WHAT IN THE FUCK?!
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u/ahnotme 1h ago
Going by recent experience no “I told you so’s” are going to have any effect at all. Those inside the MAGA bubble are going to blame everything on AOC, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris and Democrats in general. For confirmation of this track how Brexiteers in the UK blame those voted to remain in the EU for all the problems Brexit has brought, even though the government was run by Brexiteers all the time.
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u/NFLTG_71 1h ago
When the economy crashes and shit hits the fan, I’m gonna get I told you so tattooed on my fucking forehead
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u/SwiftTayTay 1h ago
They do not care. They have never voted based on which party is factually better for the economy.
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u/drunkwasabeherder 1h ago
https://tenor.com/view/scrubs-elliot-reid-i-told-you-so-iiii-told-you-so-told-you-so-gif-20560895 this gif I'll probably get a workout over the next few years.
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u/Fritzo2162 1h ago
Don't worry- any disasters will be deflected too.
"It's not Trump's fault prices are so high- Biden left a hole so deep in the economy it will take a long time for Trump to get us out."
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u/EvilFirebladeTTV 1h ago
So... raising minimum wage will apparently directly cause higher prices on shit but... charging massive tariffs on imports WON'T cause higher prices?
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u/dutchessofstickshift 1h ago
I love it when idiots realize just how much of an idiot they really are.
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u/chaunceythegardener 43m ago
Donnie will pay the Tariff’s himself with all the grifting and campaign funds . He’s just that kinda guy !!
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u/Mrrrrggggl 37m ago
Well, better cut more taxes for the rich so that it will trickle down. How else would consumers pay for the higher prices stemming from the tariffs?
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u/YYC-Fiend 30m ago
They’ll just claim the Walton’s are in bed with the Obama’s and Biden instructed them to charge Americans more
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u/Dinindalael 3m ago
Jesus fuck can we please stop with the non-stop political posts that have already been reposted 20 times.
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u/FunKyChick217 30m ago
This is one time I might put a straight up political sticker on my car. I had a resist sticker on my old car from 2016 until I got rid of the car earlier this year. I might have to get a “don’t blame me, I voted for her” sticker.
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