Why does Trump keep LYING about China and other countries paying tariffs when non-MAGA all KNOW we're paying them?

[robosmith]

At 1:45:50 Trump LIES

Quote

1:45:057  WE'VE BEEN DEALING NICELY WITH CHINA AND YOU PROBABLY HAVE HEARD THEY HAVE TREMENDOUS TARIFFS THEY'RE PAYING TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

[gatomontes99]

5 hours ago, robosmith said:

At 1:45:50 Trump LIES

 

Isn't it funny how y'all finally realized that the end user is the one that pays all taxes. Now, do tax the rich and tax corporations. 

[Boges]

I think he may be hoping exporters will eat the tariffs out of their profit margin. Which can happen, but only for big companies. 

Trump seems to believe in manifest destiny. If he says something over and over enough it'll become true. 

[LinkSoul60]

3 hours ago, gatomontes99 said:

Isn't it funny how y'all finally realized that the end user is the one that pays all taxes.

The reality is that it took your red hat group a while to figure that out while your orange idol touted tariffs.  Trump had two mandates from the election....inflation and immigration.   He's made a TV show out of immigration and deportation that is essentially the same as Biden deported, and has turned tariffs into the alienating of allies that will bite the US short and long term, and now into a pay for play scenario for many businesses that will also bite the US short and long term.  He continues to steer the US towards being the stand-alone joke in a global world....

Commentary: Trump is reviving crony capitalism

 

If you’re a CEO aiming to do business in the Trump era, set aside a slush fund for paying tribute to the Decider-in-Chief.

Okay, so maybe they’re not bribes, exactly. But Trump is essentially extorting certain companies to get things he wants from them. Clever CEOs are playing along, whether shareholders like it or not.

Exhibit A consists of Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD), which are basically buying export licenses from the Trump administration so they can sell semiconductors in China. Both companies have agreed to pay the US government 15% of their revenues from chip sales in China in exchange for the right to sell there.

“My political head is spinning again with this new pay-to-play plan with Nvidia and AMD,” Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group, wrote in an Aug. 11 analysis. “I pray for the sake of American free market capitalism that it stops here."

The Nvidia and AMD deals immediately bring to mind competitor Intel (INTC), which hasn’t yet agreed to cough up an export toll. Here’s a safe guess: It, too, will pay a similar fee for similar privileges.

At the moment, Intel is doing damage control. On Aug. 7, Trump directly attacked CEO Lip-Bu Tan, saying on social media that he “must resign, immediately.” Trump and some other Republicans seem to be concerned that Tan had improper connections with China’s military at another firm he ran until 2021.

Tan, a US citizen, now plans to meet with Trump to demonstrate his commitment to American interests, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fine. But that’s probably not what Trump is looking for. Trump has a feral instinct for detecting vulnerability in adversaries and using that leverage to extract measurable gains. He’ll want something more tangible from Tan and Intel than reassurances. Trump’s favorite currency is money. Intel probably has no choice but to pay.

Nvidia’s 15% gratuity to the government for chip sales to China will cost the firm about $3 billion per year. The company’s stock dipped on the news, then drifted up. Investors may have first thought only of the bottom line, then decided the payment would be better than losing chip sales to China completely. The hit to AMD would be smaller because its China sales are lower. AMD stock also dipped then rose following the news. Intel stock rose on news of Tan’s chat with Trump, as buyers hope the company’s damage-control effort pays off.

Trump has engineered this whole scenario. In April, Trump tightened restrictions on US chip sales to China, essentially blocking the sale of certain chips. Nvidia said that move would cost the company $5.5 billion in lost revenue. Then, in July, Trump reversed himself and decided to allow such chip sales to China.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has met several times with Trump during the last several months and has become an aggressive advocate for policies that benefit his company. When Trump changed his position in mid-July, it looked as if Huang had simply convinced Trump it was the right move. But the 15% gratuity now makes it look as if a deal was in the works that gave Trump some additional government revenue to crow about.

Crony capitalism is a system in which the rich and well-connected get their way because they have personal sway with decision makers. The Gilded Age, or “robber baron” era of the late 1800s was perhaps the peak of crony capitalism in the United States. One result was the massive concentration of wealth among leading industrialists, which eventually led to the union movement, the graduated income tax, and much stronger regulation of business.

We’re not back to the robber baron days — yet. But Trump clearly favors CEOs and companies that do his bidding and help him boast of what he considers victories. Trump often dangles the bait himself. And he clearly realizes that his authority to impose tariffs unilaterally gives him a certain power over CEOs, companies, and even entire countries.

Trump threatened Apple with steep tariffs on its imported products earlier this year, unless it started making the iPhone and other products in the United States. That would double or triple the cost of an iPhone, making it financially ruinous. But CEO Tim Cook met with Trump recently to tout other domestic investments. That led to a splashy made-in-America “announcement” with Cook at the White House on Aug. 6, the kind of publicity stunt Trump revels in

Trump refused approval for a deal crucial to Paramount’s finances until the company agreed to a generous legal settlement involving its CBS subsidiary and canceled the show of comedian Stephen Colbert, a vocal Trump critic. Then Trump’s regulators approved the deal. Paramount did what Trump wanted and got the favor it was seeking.

Trump has browbeaten Coca-Cola into making soda with real cane sugar, perhaps to reward sugar-industry barons who happen to be political supporters. He has muscled a dozen big law firms into doing pro bono work for his pet causes. Many big companies have rolled back diversity and inclusion policies because Trump finds them offensive. In many cases those firms moved preemptively, on their own, simply to avoid the possibility that Trump would threaten their federal contracts or try to drum up a consumer boycott against them.

Trump’s method of favor-trading is the velvet glove: seek back-scratching deals first, then attack if he doesn’t get them. CEOs are figuring out that it’s better to work with Trump behind the scenes than go through the whole painful process of refusing Trump’s demands, facing a Trump threat, watching their stock tank, trying to make nice with 

Trump, and then agreeing to some kind of face-saving deal anyway. Nvidia’s Huang is the model Trump-whisperer, making concessions that seem like win-wins and bypassing the confrontational part of the cycle. More CEOs are likely to follow.

There are obvious risks. Some of these deals, such as the export gratuities, could be illegal and overturned by the courts, causing more uncertainty for firms than they might face otherwise. CEOs who bed down with Trump may also be betting too heavily on one party and pay the consequences if the other party ever regains power. Their brands could also suffer, as Elon Musk’s Tesla has, if consumers begin to view CEOs or their companies as partisan operators.

But for now, the money move is to play Trump's game, because it's the only game in town.

Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Blueskyand

[Michael Hardner]

40 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

 

Commentary: Trump is reviving crony capitalism

 

If you’re a CEO aiming to do business in the Trump era, set aside a slush fund for paying tribute to the Decider-in-Chief.

Okay, so maybe they’re not bribes, exactly. But Trump is essentially extorting certain companies to get things he wants from them. Clever CEOs are playing along, whether shareholders like it or not.

 

My investment advisor called me yesterday and said he wanted us to get back into Apple.  I was kind of surprised, given the offshoring mandate. 

He told me that the market is thinking that the sucking up to the president is working. 

This is where we are now.  We have jumped back into the era of paying homage to monarchy and elites.

[paxamericana]

5 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

We have jumped back into the era of paying homage to monarchy and elites.

Greatest presidential president!

[gatomontes99]

58 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

The reality is that it took your red hat group a while to figure that out while your orange idol touted tariffs.  

We always knew it. What makes you think we didn't? 

 

58 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

Trump had two mandates from the election....inflation and immigration.

No. It was immigration and DEI. Inflation was a close third, maybe. But tariffs don't necessarily equate to inflation. Tariffs don't change the price to consumers. Tariffs change the cost of doing business. The only way the price to consumers changes is if supply drops.

1 hour ago, LinkSoul60 said:

He's made a TV show out of immigration and deportation that is essentially the same as Biden deported

That is a massively dishonest stat there. Biden counted turnbacks as deportations. We don't have any turn backs to speak of. Oh, there are some, but no where near the number of turnbacks Biden had. Further, there have been ZERO illegal aliens released into the US. The net positive under Trump is massive. You don't get to imply that nothing has changed when there has been an earth shattering shift. 

1 hour ago, LinkSoul60 said:

has turned tariffs into the alienating of allies that will bite the US short and long term, and now into a pay for play scenario for many businesses that will also bite the US short and long term.  He continues to steer the US towards being the stand-alone joke in a global world....

More hyperbole. And such a weird argument to make. The left loves taxes on corporations. Why get mad about that? He's making them pay their fair share. 

[robosmith]

37 minutes ago, paxamericana said:

Greatest presidential president!

Apparently YOU LIKE PATHOLOGICAL LIARS. 🤮

Probably because YOU ARE ONE who believes LYING is the the way to get what YOU WANT. 🤮

[robosmith]

6 hours ago, gatomontes99 said:

Isn't it funny how y'all finally realized that the end user is the one that pays all taxes. Now, do tax the rich and tax corporations. 

Nope. When the end user pays a tax, he will demand and get a raise from his EMPLOYER IF he has the market power to get one.

Your PARTISAN PLATITUDES are PATHETIC.

As is YOUR LAME ATTEMPT to change the subject from Trump LYING about OTHER COUNTRIES paying the tariffs. 🤮

Edited August 12, 2025 by robosmith

[WestCanMan]

Here robo, this is from MSN, a notoriously left-leaning outfit:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/economy/analysis-china-factories-cut-shifts-and-workers-pay-as-us-tariffs-bite/ar-AA1Knr4s

FYI when tariffs raise the cost of foreign goods, it protects or even creates opportunities for local businesses to turn a profit. 

This is a complex, nuanced issue, so I could never fully explain it to someone with your low IQ, Americans just need to be thankful that Trump got elected.

[LinkSoul60]

45 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

My investment advisor called me yesterday and said he wanted us to get back into Apple.  I was kind of surprised, given the offshoring mandate. 

He told me that the market is thinking that the sucking up to the president is working. 

This is where we are now.  We have jumped back into the era of paying homage to monarchy and elites.

The funny thing is, or probably best said the sad thing is...are you at all surprised?  His entire life has been one big grift so why not give it all in his last hurrah of being a wannabe dictator.  It's both comical and concerning that the US put restrictions on advanced computer chips as a national security concern, but Trump disregards that now he's blackmailed Nvidia and AMD into pay for play.  So much for supposed national security if he can make a buck or two....  It's why he met Tan/Intel yesterday and raved about him today, despite calling for his removal last week.  The guy is a daily joke....

[paxamericana]

10 minutes ago, robosmith said:

Apparently YOU LIKE PATHOLOGICAL LIARS. 🤮

Probably because YOU ARE ONE who believes LYING is the the way to get what YOU WANT. 🤮

 

[robosmith]

1 minute ago, paxamericana said:

 

And fall for cheap theatrics from a PATHOLOGICAL LIAR.... 🤮

[paxamericana]

10 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

It's both comical and concerning that the US put restrictions on advanced computer chips as a national security concern

Did you forget the Biden administration also did this!? At least Trump got Nvidia to pay the government a cut. This is an extortion of the Chinese, a bad thing how?

Edited August 12, 2025 by paxamericana

[LinkSoul60]

32 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

We always knew it. What makes you think we didn't?

Because the cost of living was the #1 issue during your federal election.  Trump was the guy bring prices down day 1, remember.

33 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

No. It was immigration and DEI. Inflation was a close third, maybe. But tariffs don't necessarily equate to inflation. Tariffs don't change the price to consumers. Tariffs change the cost of doing business. The only way the price to consumers changes is if supply drops.

Immigration was the second most important thing on peoples mind but DEI, that only lived in your right wing twisted ideology.  Tariffs are a tax that increases input costs.  Higher input costs mean prices increase which causes inflation. It's not a complicated thing.  

Your July CPI came out out today;  The core Consumer Price Index, which excludes food and energy, picked up to 3.1% Y/Y in July, its highest level since February, exceeding the 3.0% consensus and the +2.9% pace in June, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday.

Tariffs went into full effect last week.  I wouldn't be betting that you're not going to see more inflation coming your way shortly.

39 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

That is a massively dishonest stat there.

Everything is dishonest if it doesn't fit the Trump Maga narrative or isn't on Truth Social.

40 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

More hyperbole. And such a weird argument to make. The left loves taxes on corporations. Why get mad about that? He's making them pay their fair share. 

It's a weird argument that countries are factually trying to diversify more of their trade to more reliable partners?  Maybe try reading....   'The left loves taxes on corporations'....really?  Corporate taxes are part of government revenues.  The more tax companies pay the more the cost of their goods or services increase and is eventually passed onto you.  Again, not complicated stuff.

[gatomontes99]

26 minutes ago, robosmith said:

Nope. When the end user pays a tax, he will demand and get a raise from his EMPLOYER IF he has the market power to get one.

Your PARTISAN PLATITUDES are PATHETIC.

Lmao...what the hell are you talking about? 

Ok. The end user pays the tax. I have a salary. That salary pays for my income taxes. My employer is, effectively, paying my taxes. But my employer passes those costs on to the consumer. So the end user of our product/services pays my taxes as well as any taxes from products we purchase to provide our products and services. 

Now, just because my employer pays my taxes through funds they gain from the end users, doesn't mean they can increase the price. The price is set by supply and demand...aka the market. We raise our prices when demand out paces supply and lower our prices when supply out paces demand. 

[LinkSoul60]

2 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

Ok. The end user pays the tax. I have a salary. That salary pays for my income taxes. My employer is, effectively, paying my taxes. But my employer passes those costs on to the consumer. So the end user of our product/services pays my taxes as well as any taxes from products we purchase to provide our products and services. 

I have to jump into this and ask....what the hell are you talking about?  Your employer pays you a salary/wage.  They do not pay your state or federal income taxes.  That is a deduction from your wage/salary....not the companies.  The end consumer ultimately pays your wage/salary.  If your employers input costs increase so does the price of your product/services so all stays equal after paying your wage/salary, and obviously other fixed or variable costs.

7 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

Now, just because my employer pays my taxes through funds they gain from the end users, doesn't mean they can increase the price. The price is set by supply and demand...aka the market. We raise our prices when demand out paces supply and lower our prices when supply out paces demand. 

I'll agree that pricing is generally market driven but when you have industry sectors being hit with the same tariffs and increased input costs guess what....prices increase across the sector and inflation goes up.

[gatomontes99]

18 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

Immigration was the second most important thing on peoples mind but DEI, that only lived in your right wing twisted ideology.  Tariffs are a tax that increases input costs.  Higher input costs mean prices increase which causes inflation. It's not a complicated thing.  

Your July CPI came out out today;  The core Consumer Price Index, which excludes food and energy, picked up to 3.1% Y/Y in July, its highest level since February, exceeding the 3.0% consensus and the +2.9% pace in June, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday.

Tariffs went into full effect last week.  I wouldn't be betting that you're not going to see more inflation coming your way shortly.

Or, in reality: 

"In July 2025, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.7% on an annual basis, remaining steady from June."

BTW, how much did you pay for eggs before the election? Inflation isn't happening. 

19 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

Everything is dishonest if it doesn't fit the Trump Maga narrative or isn't on Truth Social.

Well, don't use dishonest stats and you won't get called out for it. Or, you just flat out lied. Trump is up to 158,000 illegal immigrants either arrested or deported, with very few turnbacks. He is on pace to exceed 300,000. Biden deported and turned back 274,000 in 24.

26 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

It's a weird argument that countries are factually trying to diversify more of their trade to more reliable partners?  Maybe try reading....

Are they? So, you are telling me that other countries don't want to sell to the largest economy in the world just because the largest economy in the world wants more fair trade? Yeah, right. Ok skippy. 

 

27 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

Corporate taxes are part of government revenues.  The more tax companies pay the more the cost of their goods or services increase and is eventually passed onto you.  Again, not complicated stuff.

That isn't how that works. I explained it my reply to robosmith. The market sets the price. Cost is not relevant. 

[robosmith]

47 minutes ago, WestCanMan said:

Here robo, this is from MSN, a notoriously left-leaning outfit:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/economy/analysis-china-factories-cut-shifts-and-workers-pay-as-us-tariffs-bite/ar-AA1Knr4s

msn.com is a NEWS AGGREGATOR now. They post stories from FOS LIES, too. Duh

47 minutes ago, WestCanMan said:

FYI when tariffs raise the cost of foreign goods, it protects or even creates opportunities for local businesses to turn a profit. 

Show us where that has EVER WORKED. It utterly FAILED here and caused the Great Depression in 1929

47 minutes ago, WestCanMan said:

This is a complex, nuanced issue, so I could never fully explain it to someone with your low IQ, Americans just need to be thankful that Trump got elected.

I wish you knew something ABOUT HISTORY or how to find EVIDENCE for YOUR LAME CLAIM. Duh

[gatomontes99]

8 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

I have to jump into this and ask....what the hell are you talking about?  Your employer pays you a salary/wage.  They do not pay your state or federal income taxes.  

Yes they do. I want a salary that leaves me with an income that allows me to have a certain standard of living. That means my income must be high enough to pay my taxes and still cover my needs. So, yes, they pay my taxes. 

 

14 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

If your employers input costs increase so does the price of your product/services so all stays equal after paying your wage/salary, and obviously other fixed or variable costs.

Wholly untrue. The market sets the price. if costs go up and they try to pass those costs on to the consumer in the form of higher prices, demand will go down. This isn't a theory. It is a well known, proven fact. 

[LinkSoul60]

3 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

"In July 2025, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.7% on an annual basis, remaining steady from June."

You appear to have trouble understanding that CPI has rose and the full impact of tariffs haven't been felt yet.

10 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

Well, don't use dishonest stats and you won't get called out for it. Or, you just flat out lied

I never showed any stats, although they align with Biden's deportation numbers.  It's only a lie of it's main stream media, right?

11 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

So, you are telling me that other countries don't want to sell to the largest economy in the world just because the largest economy in the world wants more fair trade?

No, I'm saying every country wants access to the US market but not at any cost.  Of course trade with the US will be done, just lesser as the diversification of their trade relationships increase.  You drink too much orange Kool-aide thinking the US doesn't have fair trade deals, but I'm sure you're also one that thinks a trade deficit means you're getting screwed.  

16 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

That isn't how that works. I explained it my reply to robosmith. The market sets the price. Cost is not relevant.

Are you serious....  The state and federal government collects taxes from your pay.  That's why you file a tax returns with the government, not your employer.

You obviously don't work in or have anything to do with the financial side of your business/company.  Costs are totally relevant.  

[LinkSoul60]

17 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

Yes they do. I want a salary that leaves me with an income that allows me to have a certain standard of living. That means my income must be high enough to pay my taxes and still cover my needs. So, yes, they pay my taxes. 

Read what you typed....  An increased salary does not mean the company is paying taxes for you.  It means they're paying you more salary.  Think about it....

22 minutes ago, gatomontes99 said:

Wholly untrue. The market sets the price. if costs go up and they try to pass those costs on to the consumer in the form of higher prices, demand will go down. This isn't a theory. It is a well known, proven fact. 

It's wholly fact.  As the input costs of goods or services increase pricing increases accordingly.  That is in the business 101 course you missed.

But yes there is a band in some instances where demand will decline if price is increased too much. That isn't this conversation of tariffs though.  If a sector (and not a particular company) see's input costs increase all companies within that sector will generally raise prices.  That means you pay more for goods supplied from that sector.

[gatomontes99]

7 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

You appear to have trouble understanding that CPI has rose and the full impact of tariffs haven't been felt yet.

No, like the deportation stats, you cherry picked the numbers.

8 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

I never showed any stats, although they align with Biden's deportation numbers.  It's only a lie of it's main stream media, right?

You said Trump had deported less than Biden. I put up the actual numbers that show Trump on pace to blow past Biden. Now, all of a sudden, you didnt say that? FFS man.

 

10 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

No, I'm saying every country wants access to the US market but not at any cost.  Of course trade with the US will be done, just lesser as the diversification of their trade relationships increase.  

Yeah. Thats the goal! Less imports for more domestic production. 

 

11 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

You drink too much orange Kool-aide thinking the US doesn't have fair trade deals, but I'm sure you're also one that thinks a trade deficit means you're getting screwed.  

Really? Let's take an extreme example, China. They could send us damn near anything they wanted, use slave labor to make it and pay little to no tariffs while we couldn't send anything to them unless we put one of their oligarchs on the board, paid massive tariffs and subjected our businesses to no trademark protections. But our trade was fair? 

There are literally hundreds of examples of lesser consequence. But you can see how we've lost jobs to Mexico over car manufacturing. India stole service jobs. We can bring jobs, like those, back to the US while gaining tax revenue for those that don't and tax revenue for those that do. We win all the way around. 

25 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

Are you serious....  The state and federal government collects taxes from your pay.

That is pay I wouldn't accept if it wasn't high enough to cover my expenses. Let's say my expenses for the year are $30,000. If I take a job for $30,000, then I won't be able to cover my expenses. So, I only accept jobs that have a "take home pay" over $30,000 per year. My employer pays my taxes because they are my end user. If no one is willing to accept my wages, I either have to reduce my costs or accept a loss. 

The same goes for businesses. If the tariffs prevent profit, they either raise prices (which only works if someone is willing to pay) or cut costs.

31 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

You obviously don't work in or have anything to do with the financial side of your business/company.  Costs are totally relevant.  

Costs are not relevant to market price. Let's say you start an egg farm. You have to build a coup, by chickens, feed them, collect the eggs, clean them, package them, deliver them and then sell them. The first dozen is going to cost you some crazy number like $30,000. Who is going to pay that? No one. The market says eggs are $2.30/dz. 

[gatomontes99]

22 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

Read what you typed....  An increased salary does not mean the company is paying taxes for you.  It means they're paying you more salary.  Think about it....

Yes, think about it, please. 

 

23 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

It's wholly fact.  As the input costs of goods or services increase pricing increases accordingly.  That is in the business 101 course you missed.

You need to get into business 330.

[herbie]

You mean the convicted felon rapist fraud pedo lies too? No!

700, 900, 1500, 1200%, homeless criminal gangs, murderous lettuce pickers, they're eating the cays and dogs.......