Another Presidential Temper Tantrum

Last week President Trump announced that he would add tariffs to Mexican goods if they don’t stop the flow of immigrants from Central America. This was not a well-reasoned decision; it was a presidential temper tantrum.

These immigrants can come here legally. It is my understanding that it is also legal for them to enter Mexico. His ultimatum says they must change their laws, build the necessary infrastructure and hire and train thousands of border guards. He gave them ten days to accomplish all this.

His action has enormous consequences. It will damage our economy. It will lead to an increase in illegal immigration from Mexico. Worst of all, it shows the world that, as long as Trump is president, they can neither trust nor rely on the United States.

This also hurts him politically. The two things he needs to do to maximize his chances of reelection are to keep the Republican Party together and the economy strong. If the Democrats somehow manage to nominate an electable moderate, he could be in trouble.
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It seems that he believes that he doesn’t need facts nor the advice of others; just his instincts. Those instincts served him very poorly in this case.
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