Tariffs, Economic Downgrades And Qatari Jets On The Sunday Shows

We watch so you never have to.

The original Trump admistration was filled with morons, sycophants and genuine villains. So much like every bad movie sequel, the second Trump administration is filled with worse versions of the original cast. Like Caddyshack II, but worse.

Don’t look up 75 percent of this cast!

Let’s check out the Sunday shows to see characters that would never have made it past the rough draft of most productions.

Downgrade, Economic and Intellectual

A perfect example is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

It’s always baffling when the Trump administration sends him to the Sunday shows to try to calm economic fears. Bessent made dual appearances on CNN’s “State Of The Union” and NBC’s “Meet The Press,” and tried to minimize the downgrading of the United States’s credit rating, a direct result of their policies.

On CNN:

JAKE TAPPER: So let's just talk about Moody's downgrading America's AAA credit, citing out-of-control debt, citing growing interest payments on that debt. How concerned are you that this is going to drive interest rates in the US even higher and maybe even drive investment in the US away?

BESSENT: Well, Jake, first of all, that the history of rating agencies by the time they get to a downgrade, everything's already in the market. […] I don't put much credence in the Moody's …

Bessent then tried to blame the Biden administration and other factors for Moody’s assessment, but Tapper reminded him (and the viewers) that this isn’t so easy to do.

BESSENT: There are several components there. […] So what we have seen under the past four years and what we inherited -- I inherited 6.7 percent deficit to GDP […]

TAPPER: So when in the first Trump administration […] there were tax cuts passed, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that those tax cuts added $2.5 trillion to the national debt and did not -- I mean, there's always a hope that it will bring about so much revenue growth that it will pay for itself, but that didn't happen.

BESSENT: Well, we also had something called COVID. And so there was a Rescue Plan. The...

TAPPER: This is separate from that, though.

If you want to bring up COVID and why the pandemic was so terrible, you may want to look up who was in charge of the initial response that almost cratered the economy. (Hint: It’s the guy who hired you.)

On NBC, they showed this graphic where Moody’s explicitly cites the Trump tax cuts extension as part of its decision, but Bessent just repeated the same lie.

BESSENT: I think that Moody's is a lagging indicator. I think that's what everyone thinks of credit agencies.

Try making this argument to TransUnion or Equifax next time you want to buy a car or take out a loan, and see how unserious Bessent is about our economic status.

On “Fox News Sunday,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had a different view of the downgrade.

JOHNSON: Moody's is not incorrect, but that emphasizes the very need for the legislation we're talking about -- historic spending cuts.

Oh, we need MORE tax cuts! We’ve seen this “brilliant” strategy before.

Let Them Eat Tariffs

Back on CNN, Tapper brought up Trump’s insistence that retailers like Walmart “eat the tariffs” rather than pass them to consumers, as normally happens with tariffs. Bessent tried to defend the tariffs while tacitly admitting who would ultimately pay for them.

BESSENT: So Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs. Some may get passed on to consumers.

Walmart is not China. So if Walmart or the consumers “eat the tariffs,” then it means China or any other country that Trump levied tariffs on will never have to “pay” for them.

Tapper then asked about the effects of this uncertainty on small businesses, which often have very small margins and would be gravely affected by these tariffs. Bessent's answer was feckless.

TAPPER: What do you say to people concerned about the uncertainty, and what do you say to people who say, small business owners who say, we need relief? […]

BESSENT: […] We didn't get here overnight in terms of this terrible trade situation we have with China, but also with the rest of the world. And President Trump is renegotiating these, and strategic uncertainty is a negotiating tactic.

I’m sure small business owners will be comforted knowing their pain is but a “negotiating tactic.” To Bessent, the pre-revolution France is his personal “Live, Laugh, Love.”

We All Get To Ride The Qatari Jet?

We end on the ridiculous ways that Republicans are trying to justify the open bribe by Qatar of a brand new used jet for Trump.

Scott Bessent bringing up the French for a different reason on CNN:

TAPPER: You're a hard-nosed businessman. Even if Qatar isn't asking for anything in return now for the jet, I mean, that's a bill that could come due. Nobody in the Middle East gives things just to -- or anywhere in the world, just gives a $400 million jet just to be nice.

BESSENT: Well, I don't know, Jake. The French gave us the Statue of Liberty. The British gave us the Resolute Desk. I'm not sure they asked for anything in advance.

The Statue of Liberty belongs to all Americans and is available for visitors. The Resolute Desk belongs to the US government and is used by every president. So, unless we all get free rides or the next president inherits this jet, this is a bribe.

On ABC’s “This Week,” Middle East special envoy and useful idiot for Russia Steve Witkoff tried a different tactic with host Jonathan Karl.

WITKOFF: Well, first of all, Jon, it’s a perfectly legal transaction. It’s been vetted by the White House counsel, by the Justice Department. There are outside law firms involved.

You guys, the Trump administration investigated itself and found nothing wrong! Why do you keep asking about this?

The Trump Administration is a DEI program for unqualified idiots.

Have a week.

Follow Michael Mora on Bluesky and Threads. (If you are still on Twitter, I’m also HERE)

You can subscribe to Michael Mora's Substack, The Diasporican Writer, for additional thoughts and topics!