President Donald Trump’s lust for retribution, and its most recent manifestation in the worldwide tariffs he’s just imposed, shows a willingness to take enormous risks with the nation’s economy. And why not? He won’t suffer one iota personally if things go awry (as they have for a number of his personal financial gambits). He’s got more money than he can spend, the Constitution prohibits his being reelected (hopefully) and, face it, he’s old.

For Trump, it’s just a big, thrilling game. (I’m reminded of the Charlie Chaplin movie where the dictator character performs a ballet in which he bounces a balloon depicting the world off his fingertips.) Unfortunately, it’s the segment of the population with the most to lose who will pay the price if that balloon ends up popping while Trump is playing with it.

Jonathan Hallstrom
Freeport