Is Trump's Childish Desire for Attention Driving His Trade War Actions?

This  is a guest post by Kevin Davies, a writer (prose & songs (300+)), artist, graphic designer, game creator and  publisher. 

It was originally posted on Kevin Davies' Facebook page and is posted here with his permission. Copyright 2025 by Kevin Davies. 

COULD THE DESTRUCTION OF GLOBAL TRUST IN THE USA, AND TRILLIONS IN LOSSES, ACTUALLY BE ABOUT TRUMP’S CHILDISH DESIRE FOR ATTENTION?

Setting aside the misguided economic ideas of Peter Navarro, could it be that from Trump's perspective, his actual objective with the imposition of global tariffs is to create a situation where he can obtain the childish, loathsome, narcissistic ATTENTION he craves from other world leaders, by attempting to force them to contact him up then submit and GROVEL, asking what must they do to have the unwarranted and senseless trade-harming actions removed (akin to some sick reality-game show)? 

Though many of Trump’s sycophants have threatened worse 'medicine' if foreign governments respond with their own actual 'reciprocal' tariffs, based on observed behaviour it is likely they will be surprised and annoyed that their rude threats are not heeded. 

It is also likely that Americans will be horrified if many foreign countries permanently shift at least some of their trade away from the USA and toward other markets. 

Indeed, the majority of Canadians polled support trade action and broadening of markets in response to Trump’s unjustified aggression — the original reasons given for the tariffs on Canada: border security, fentanyl, and military spending have been demonstrated to be false. 

INVESTORS DON’T RESPOND WELL TO THREATS

Yet the actual, or at least most recent and cogent, explanation by the Trump administration: that the hostile trade policies are all about arm-twisting US MULTINATIONALS TO ‘RE-SHORE’ INVESTMENT and JOBS is so dim-witted and ill conceived as to be the plot of a Monty Python sketch. 

When US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick acknowledged that any corporations that return manufacturing to the USA would likely use ROBOTS INSTEAD OF WORKERS — because US workers wages can’t compete with workers in developing countries (the reason why multinationals originally left), then offered the suggestion that blue collar workers will somehow retrain en masse to service the robots, he revealed the complete intellectual failure of the entire trade hostility plan. 

If US or foreign multinationals saw any benefit in returning manufacturing plants to the USA — whether using robot or human labour — they would do so without coercion, and would have done so already. The USA could offer subsidies or other benefits to investors and corporations, as they have done in the past, without resorting to any trade actions with foreign countries. 

Indeed, many, especially progressive, observers predicted the destruction of decent paying jobs, communities, and families, due to corporate offshoring. 

The common refrain from economists and politicians was that workers would retrain and acquire new, better paying jobs. Yet, without government funded education and training grants for all those affected, it was just unreasoned economic ‘happy talk’. 

The same assertions can be heard when it comes to the expected mass job losses due to automation and AI.

Also, if the US government was somehow going to train millions of blue collar workers to service automated systems — presumably to encourage multinationals to reinvest in the USA, they would already have done so. Instead Republicans are trying to eliminate the federal Department of Education.

The entire tariff scheme is irrational; tariffs are a TAX ON DOMESTIC IMPORTERS that is passed on to consumers causing price INFLATION and ultimately REDUCED CONSUMPTION and thus a SLOWING of domestic GROWTH. 

The tariff policy merely serves as an opportunity for Trump and his poorly informed manipulated supporters (remarkably still between 30% to 45% of Americans depending upon the issue) to exert a misdirected revenge grievance upon the scapegoated ‘other’. It’s a classic authoritarian tactic.

Unfortunately for those blue-collar, rural, and domestic business Trump supporters, the solution offered by Trump and his team has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PROBLEM. 

Might the tariff actions all be a DISTRACTING SHOW, and a big con — or at least a ‘throw it against the wall a see what sticks’ strategy to humor Trump’s middle and lower class voters — all while raising domestic tax revenues to put toward a massive tax cut for the rich?  

Meanwhile, media attention on tariffs allows for less scrutiny of the attempted implementation of the decades-long Republican conservative project to DESTROY ‘BIG’ GOVERNMENT so that everyone is forced to exist in a libertarian ‘every person for themselves’ low-tax, low-service dystopia that benefits only the wealthy (as long as they can ensure their own safety).

This is the dream of Grover Norquist, darling of conservatives and founder of Americans for Tax Reform (1985), who said he wanted to “Starve the beast,” and: “I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” (Interview on NPR's Morning Edition, May 25, 2001.)

THE ACTUALIZATION OF THE WEALTHY REPUBLICAN DREAM 

What everyone is witnessing today is the decades-long project of Norquist, The Heritage Foundation, the super-wealthy, and their Republican allies come to fruition. Ironically, 48% of Americans, many who rely on government for more aspects of their life than they care to acknowledge, were tricked by Trump’s charismatic and bitter rhetoric and lies into giving the wealthy what they wanted (whether it will ultimately benefit them is another matter). 

The sick ‘patient’ is not just the US economy, it’s the democratic society of the US and all Western countries. How much longer will it take for the real ‘doctors’ to realize that the super-wealthy have been permitted to accumulate too much and their insatiable greed — like a cancer — has spread to the point where they are trying to control and destroy everything in the service of their own limited self-interest. 

Thanks to the actions of the psycopathic wealthy, in many countries democracy is being eroded, mixed-market capitalism has shifted too far toward primarily serving the interests of the wealthy with ‘trickle-down’ supply-side policies, information and news are being made unreliable by algorithms serving commercial and political aims, science and facts are being undermined by irrational beliefs and lies, and the idea of a considerate and caring society that through government policies ensures steady quality of life improvements and equality for all, is for too many a sad joke.

The ‘social contract’ has been broken. Many people are suffering, confused, and uncertain what to do and what is to come. Things are moving fast. Too fast for many well-intentioned politicians and intellectuals. Too many are unfortunately seeking a ‘strong man’ to solve their problems through simple edicts or violence. 

What we are experiencing is not entirely new. Circumstances are much like a century ago. Humanity is again in trouble due to rising inequality and authoritarianism (the two go hand-in-hand), a rapid increase in (military) technology, and a lack of empathy, kindness, and willingness to share by the wealthy (many of whom aren’t even cognizant of the stresses and living conditions of the masses). 

Collectively, we need to WAKE UP to what is happening, reevaluate our society, our economic system, our governments, our policies, our sense of what is reasonable and fair, what type of people we want to lead us, and our fundamental morality (several countries, including the USA have and are still committing and/or supporting Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes with impunity — even as they assert their relative morality while ignoring international law and treaties).  

I sincerely hope we can make the necessary improvements before the wealthy and their sycophants propel us into another global economic, medical, or military disaster. Take care. 

— Kevin Davies, April 10, 2025.