State of the Disunion

Trump spoke at Congress last night. It wasn’t honest or eloquent. Trump isn’t bluffing about cutting Medicaid and Medicare, imposing 25% tariffs against America’s allies or about pardoning Jan. 6 convicted criminals or punishing European allies or rewarding Putin and Russia, or gutting the FBI and taking a wrecking ball to government.

As of Monday, the stock market had shed all of its $3.4 trillion in post-election gains. The stock market fell sharply when Trump announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Another big drop Tuesday after they kicked in at midnight. Stock market Dow sank 650 points; S&P 500 wipes out post-election gains as Trump flails.

Consumer confidence plummeted to a nine-month low because of concerns about Trump’s policies.

In South Carolina, wildfires began to burn over the weekend as dry conditions and high winds drove the flames. Firefighters from the Forest Service helped to contain the fires, but they were understaffed because of cuts by Trump. The new cuts to the service make prevention measures impossible; there aren’t enough people to fight fires effectively and safely. South Carolina governor Henry McMaster (R) declared a state of emergency on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Trump is refusing to share intelligence vital to protect Ukraine from Russia’s illegal invasion.