The Daly Weekly (3/21)

Tesla violence, MAGA leftism, Supreme Court credibility, and more!

Hi everyone.

Welcome to this week’s Daly Weekly, where I answer whatever questions you throw at me.

Let’s get right to it…

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What are your thoughts about the recent acts of vandalism and arson at Tesla dealerships? Are they acts of domestic terrorism? — Alex D.

I think they’re terrible, and I do view at least the acts of arson as a form of domestic terrorism (linked to Elon Musk’s involvement in our politics). Those responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Do you think your critics on this website will ever recognize the lack of logic in accusing you of being a “Democrat” or a “liberal” whenever you complain about the Republican party not being conservative enough? — Ben G.

Ben, to a certain type of person, literally any criticism of Donald Trump and today’s Republican Party makes someone a “liberal Democrat.” Tribalism has unfortunately blinded such people to what conservatism and liberalism even mean anymore.

I make this point all the time, but I’ll do it again… My political views are largely consistent with Reagan conservatism. Donald Trump’s are not. JD Vance’s are not. On the issues (and even the framing of the issues), these guys are much closer to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren than they are Ronald Reagan. Interestingly enough, Batya Ungar-Sargon, a professed lefty Trump supporter, pointed this out to an initially skeptical Bill Maher (and his audience) last weekend:

“A leftist agenda.” She’s not wrong.

It’s amazing to me how many people (on both sides) don’t recognize how far left Trump has pulled the GOP. That’s the blinding power of tribalism. It can turn you into a passionate defender of what you would otherwise despise.

John I've been thinking... exactly what "deals" has the "Art of the Deal" man made during his years as president? I googled but just found a list of accomplishments, not specifically "deals" that benefited the U.S. — Rick H.

Hi Rick. I would recommend that people who aren’t familiar with the story learn about Tony Schwartz, the guy who wrote Trump’s iconic book, “The Art of the Deal.” Schwartz wasn’t merely Trump’s ghostwriter. He actually created and sold to Trump (out of frustration with Trump’s lack of biographical cooperation) the entire narrative of Trump being a master negotiator. Trump, of course, was a well-known, eccentric businessman from a very rich family. He was known for having big ups and downs in his business ventures, stiffing a lot of people who did work for him, and being a celebrity-playboy, but he wasn’t really known for having exceptional negotiation skills. That was largely Schwartz’s creation. Nevertheless, the brand not only stuck, but ultimately served Trump very well, from a campaign perspective, when he entered politics.

As far as Trump “deals” that have benefited the U.S., it’s hard to think of any. Executive actions aren’t deals, and in his limited negotiations with Congress, he pretty much gave the Democrats whatever they wanted. I do, however, think Trump was very good, when running for president, at negotiating for political support and endorsements from key players at crucial times. In 2016, I think getting Ben Carson’s surprising endorsement, and getting Chris Christie to kneecap Marco Rubio in the primary, probably made a difference. Same with endorsements from Tim Scott and RFK Jr., at precisely the right times, in 2024. So, I’ll give credit where it’s due.

President Trump wants Canada to be our 51st state. I support President Trump but a big BUT! Is Canada liberal is Canada conservative? That is the big but question. If liberal, the house Democrats would benefit greatly. What’s your views on this issue? — Conrad P.

I think it’s ridiculous that this is even being treated like a real possibility, Conrad. Everyone (including Trump supporters) initially dismissed it as a joke (a troll of sorts against Justin Trudeau), but it’s pretty clear now that Trump is genuinely (and quite weirdly) obsessed with expanding our country’s borders. Unfortunately, this fixation can no longer be laughed off, because it’s causing real problems between our two countries… which I guarantee will not end with Canada becoming our 51st state. When one watches supposedly serious members of Trump’s cabinet trying to legitimize the president’s position on this, you can almost see their souls leaving their bodies. Yet, they do it anyway.

As for your other point, yes — Canada, generally speaking, leans left (though they were trending right until this “51st state” nonsense knocked Canada’s Conservative Party back on its heels). What I don’t get is why you think Trump would care whether or not he’d be annexing liberal, presumably Democratic regions. Trump’s not a conservative, he said just the other day that he’d rather have Canada under liberal leadership than conservative leadership, and I haven’t seen much evidence that he cares about having Republican majorities in the first place.

Why is Australian made steel being subjected to a 25% tariff when Australia has a trade deficit with the US? Steel makes up less than 1% of our total net exports to the US. This blanket approach to applying tariffs is nonsensical, and only increases production costs to US businesses. — FDM

When you called it nonsensical, I think you answered your own question. There’s no rhyme or reason for this stuff. It’s economically illiterate. Trump just really likes tariffs, they’re something he can apply and enforce without Congress, and he doesn’t particularly care what the damage they cause (otherwise he would have already put an end to this crusade). Sadly, it’s not any more complicated than that.

John: I'm writing this as a fellow fiscal conservative who is alarmed at (1) the blowout of the federal deficit and national debt, the interest rate of which is now the second largest federal expenditure behind social security, and (2) the lack of will of either the U.S. public or the political class to acknowledge the reality that entitlement spending is just a few years from bankruptcy. Republicans are too busy cutting taxes and deluding themselves into thinking they pay for themselves (they do not), and Democrats are too busy on a general spending spree and deluding themselves into thinking if we only taxed the rich properly (we already do), it would pay for their precious programs that infect every aspect of public life (it won't). Looking at the political realities, but also that this Thelma and Louise fiscal car about to careen off a cliff, what is our path out of this mess? — Steve R.

First of all, Steve, your description of the problem is both accurate and terrifying. The good news is that there is indeed a path out of this mess (which I’ll keep linking to). The bad news is that our leaders will not, under any circumstances, follow it. Virtually everyone in Washington brave enough to take this issue seriously has been purged from office. With one or two exceptions, there aren’t any adults left in the White House or Congress to avert this crisis. And when it all comes crashing down, the pain will be catastrophic.

Question- will the SC Justices actually start ruling in favour of the extreme changes and 'adjustments' Trump so desperately demands? And how far will it go in these 4 years? Gaslighting the masses has been effective in history for sure, no? — Sharon H.

I actually have quite a bit of faith in this Supreme Court, Sharon, to abide by the Constitution and rule of law. I don’t always agree with even the conservative justices’ approaches to certain cases, but I don’t think they are political hacks. Trump, perhaps ironically, nominated justices who’ve ruled against his wishes a number of times. I don’t think that’s going to change.

Sir John: I never hear anything about the Keystone Pipeline anymore. What’s going on with that nowadays? —“Keystone Pipeline Or Keystone Cops?” regards from The Emperor

I don’t have any knowledge on this, beyond what you could probably find on Google, Emperor.

What happened to “John D.”? He was a regular on the Q&A. — Bob H.

I fear he may have been assassinated by comment-section favorite, Bob Ricketts.

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Thanks everyone! You can send me questions for next week by leaving a comment in the comment section.