Somebody get this guy a straitjacket
Any joking aside, something appears to have snapped in the mind of Donald J. Trump. Early on Tuesday, expressing his outrage over Canada and tariffs and trying to show their evil practices to rob the United States of tariffs. Trump claimed that Canadians are smuggling United States goods into Canada to avoid paying tariffs. Trump stated today: “They buy shoes and they wear ‘em. They scuff ‘em up to make ‘em sound old, or look old.”
In an apparent effort to increase trade war tensions with Canada, Trump made that statement today. No one is quite clear what his intention is or what it truly means, but it appears to be the ramblings of someone who does not appear fully well. In addition to lashing out at Canada, and threatening an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods with further sanctions, Trump on Monday attacked Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany, tweeting: “The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition. Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!”
Much of that tweet included information that is untrue – for example, crime in Germany is down. Merkel responded by dismissing Trump’s claims, noting that the goal is always to reduce crime, but that Germany had a 9.6% decrease in reported crimes. On the border issue, Trump lashed out at Democrats on Twitter, asserting they wanted “illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13” and “they view them as potential voters!”
That tweet about immigrants, suggesting they will “infest our Country,” would appear to support those who claimed Trump was referring to all Mexicans and Central Americans entering our country as “animals” in recent weeks. The word, infest, is defined to be “of insects or animals” that are present in large numbers. Overall, the bizarre “scuffed shoes” comment, the attacks on Germany and the most recent tweets on immigrants “infesting” our nation suggest a person who is losing his grip on reality and in a dangerous place.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.