Tariffs

[NavigatorII]

I’ve always owned GM trucks (Suburbans) and drove an old 89 F150 for about 6 years (I loved that damn thing).

But after getting stranded 3 times in a year I decided I was old enough for a reliable truck.

I don’t know why I love this Tundra so much, but it has really grown on me. And it needs stuff, the crappy foam steering wheel is cracking and the leather on the driver’s seat needs replacement, headlight is crazing and I’d like to replace the running boards and grille.

But overall the clearcoat is good and it’s only got minor dents and scratches. It cleans up nice.

If you want a product recommendation on something to restore faded plastic let me know.

I've nothing here for advice. My steering wheel is as good as the day I bought mine, I don't get that one. Every year I get notices from Toyota that the passenger side air bag needs to be replaced, defective. My passenger airbag is effectively turned off with my ignition key by me intentionally, I wish I could do the same with the steering wheel airbag. Eff em. So unless Toyota wants me to bring my truck into the shop for new engine oil gaskets as part of the deal, eff em. We could do a really good beautiful deal, the best deal. So far they haven't offered so....... 😂 I might add, my miles are all original miles, I bought my truck new in 2003 for 22K.

 

[fatman76]

I've nothing here for advice. My steering wheel is as good as the day I bought mine, I don't get that one. Every year I get notices from Toyota that the passenger side air bag needs to be replaced, defective. My passenger airbag is effectively turned off with my ignition key by me intentionally, I wish I could do the same with the steering wheel airbag. Eff em. So unless Toyota wants me to bring my truck into the shop for new engine oil gaskets as part of the deal, eff em. We could do a really good beautiful deal, the best deal. So far they haven't offered so....... 😂 I might add, my miles are all original miles, I bought my truck new in 2003 for 22K.

Yea I don’t know what they made them from in 2003 but the materials used in 2014 don’t last.

It’s cracking and splitting. Of course I have no clue what the previous owner did.

 

[NavigatorII]

Yea I don’t know what they made them from in 2003 but the materials used in 2014 don’t last.

It’s cracking and splitting. Of course I have no clue what the previous owner did.

I can't even imagine how your steering wheel is coming apart. That baffles me. One thing though, my horn is iffy. There's not a damned thing wrong with the horn itself. But the horn depressor wiring is messed up, I can depress the horn and it works when it wants to. But I can hit the red button on my key fob and that SOB alarm will start raising hell until I click it off. I have used it in traffic before, 😂

 

[instaGATOR]

Trucks I've owned include: Ford F-100, Dodge D-100, 2x Mazda Cab+, and a GMC Sierra Cab+ with the suicide back doors...
Also had a 4x4 Blazer and a Suburban with a 454 Corvette motor that was bored to a 469. 😲
The best has been the GMC Sierra Vortex 6000 and it's not even close.
However, the 2nd best was the 2nd Mazda Cab+ (the last time I bought new in 1990).

Cars are a bit like women I guess, each to his own,,, and stay-TF away from mine in both cases... 😎

 

[NavigatorII]

Trucks I've owned include: Ford F-100, Dodge D-100, 2x Mazda Cab+, and a GMC Sierra Cab+ with the suicide back doors...
Also had a 4x4 Blazer and a Suburban with a 454 Corvette motor that was bored to a 469. 😲
The best has been the GMC Sierra Vortex 6000 and it's not even close.
However, the 2nd best was the 2nd Mazda Cab+ (the last time I bought new in 1990).

Cars are a bit like women I guess, each to his own,,, and stay-TF away from mine in both cases... 😎

The worst truck you can own is a Jeep, unless it's a stripped down one the military uses. Those are bulletproof, the rest are pure utter junk. Chevy and Ford love your money and and I won't even mention Dodge in the conversation. But by all means, piss away your money. 😂

 

[fatman76]

I can't even imagine how your steering wheel is coming apart. That baffles me. One thing though, my horn is iffy. There's not a damned thing wrong with the horn itself. But the horn depressor wiring is messed up, I can depress the horn and it works when it wants to. But I can hit the red button on my key fob and that SOB alarm will start raising hell until I click it off. I have used it in traffic before, 😂

It’s one of a few things.
1) It’s not your fuse because that would never work.
2) Could be the relay - those can be sporadic. Esp old ones can get corrosion, especially in high salinity markets like Florida.
3) Most likely culprit is your clock spring - they wear out. If it works when you hit the alarm that means the relay is likely working.

2003-2004 for TOYOTA TUNDRA CLOCK SPRING CRUISE EQUIPPED | eBay

2003 TOYOTA TUNDRA CLOCK SPRING. 2004 TOYOTA TUNDRA CLOCK SPRING. TOYOTA TUNDRA 2003 - 2004. for cars the Production Date: 09/2002-08/2004. ================================.

www.ebay.com

If you were closer I’d pop that relay into my tester and then order you a clock spring. I’d get that replaced in less than 2 hours, for a 6 pack.

 

[instaGATOR]

The worst truck you can own is a Jeep, unless it's a stripped down one the military uses. Those are bulletproof, the rest are pure utter junk. Chevy and Ford love your money and and I won't even mention Dodge in the conversation. But by all means, piss away your money. 😂

I bought the 2005 GMC in 2010 used with only 20,200 miles on it,,, not even fully broken-in yet, all original including the 20" Goodyear Eagles on the Chrome GMC Mag wheels. All leather 6-way adjustable heated seats. Full Bose System. On Star. Heavy duty towing package. Spray in bed liner and I couldn't tell it from a brand new truck, not a scratch on it anywhere. Garage kept by an old man in St. Augustine. I paid $17,800.00 cash out the door for what was a Lay-O-Ded $50,000.00+ truck new.

If,,, IF I ever ran across another one in that shape and at that price, I'd do it again with a huge smile on my face. Now 15 years and 200,000 miles later, it's still the best deal (after finding my wife anyway) in my long life. It's the best riding, hotest running, and most problem free vehicle that I've ever owned... (maybe I just got lucky again)

As to your Jeep comment, I concur, new ones are junk. Wife's Grandmother had an ole WWII beat up Jeep on the farm that she learned to drive on. We used to drive it around the farm and the adjoining woods when were were dating in the early 1970's. You couldn't kill that thing if you tried and it may still be running somewhere for all I know, lost track of it since then.

Post WWII back in the day, you could buy a Mil-jeep for $100, or an old Mil-harley for $20.
Those were the days, back in the late 1940's and early 1950's...

 

[nail1988]

Oh my..

 

[nail1988]

How can this be ?

 

[nail1988]

Winning

 

[grandhavendiddy]

The worst truck you can own is a Jeep, unless it's a stripped down one the military uses. Those are bulletproof, the rest are pure utter junk. Chevy and Ford love your money and and I won't even mention Dodge in the conversation. But by all means, piss away your money. 😂

Generally, that is spot on. We have two Jeep Grand Cherokees and they have performed flawlessly. One is hybrid. Wife and daughter love the cars.

This weekend, we drove a Tesla-S and a Rivian. The Tesla was PHENOMENAL and I already have an Audi A7. All American car? Our Audi is a 2014 too, has been great, but it could use an upgrade.

We really liked the Rivian too. Not as fast as we hoped, but still really good. More of a wifey status car pulling up to the ski resort or soccer games.

 

[grandhavendiddy]

Winning

View embedded media

My mantra here is calling "balls and strikes". Hell yeah, he's winning and we in America are winning.

Border is SHUT DOWN. Even Abbie Phillips on CNN said that.

SP500 Futures are skyrocketing.

 

[Capt Ron 1]

First off, these trucks are MUSA. American workers benefit from people buying them.

Secondly, GM vehicles are garbage. I’ve owned several of their trucks and had major issues with every one of them. I also do my own work and can see the quality of materials and parts. There’s a reason Toyota trucks hold their value so well. Only good thing I can say about GM trucks is the older ones are easy to work on. The opposite of Ford.

Our Tundras will be on the road much longer than your truck and with fewer problems along the way.

But part of the reliability is they don’t design their engines and transmissions to run on the ragged edge, which is why their fuel economy is poor.

Edit: and change your damn spark plugs you goof…it takes an hour on that truck if you take your time. It’s not good for the engine internals to run on weak spark.

I could debate this with you and win easily. First of all, GM has been building trucks for over 100 years. They just know TONS more about building trucks. Secondly, there is nothing a Toyota truck does better than a GM other then burn gas. Do not start on outlast, because GM trucks last longer on the road than ANY truck. Technology is being used too quick in my opinion across all manufacturers, and it is causing problems. And wokeness about climate has hurt, talking about GM's dynamic fuel management system and floating valves, as well as electronics. If you doubt what I am saying here...I challenge you to look what contractor's and others that use their trucks as tools of their jobs. It AINT Toyota's. I will give Toyota and the Japanese the win on cars...not even close on truck. This is from a 40 year car person.

 

[nail1988]

Biden was weak

 

[Capt Ron 1]

My mantra here is calling "balls and strikes". Hell yeah, he's winning and we in America are winning.

Border is SHUT DOWN. Even Abbie Phillips on CNN said that.

SP500 Futures are skyrocketing.

I have called most things Trump SPOT ON. Here is another instance where I told everyone to give it time...and I STILL do not think most understand how valuable this will be for the USA. For ONE with something NOT about the economy...did you see how fast China caved? They cannot sustain their attempt at economic domination is the USA shuts them off, and will not be able to keep up long term militarily. THIS WAS HUGE to see. They depend on US for their economy...and a great public condemnation of China that pisses most Americans off where they boycott them will do unimaginable damage to them. they are a big, paper tiger.

 

[Capt Ron 1]

Biden was weak

View embedded media

Well DUH...they were paying him MILLIONS of dollars.

 

[fatman76]

I could debate this with you and win easily. First of all, GM has been building trucks for over 100 years. They just know TONS more about building trucks. Secondly, there is nothing a Toyota truck does better than a GM other then burn gas. Do not start on outlast, because GM trucks last longer on the road than ANY truck. Technology is being used too quick in my opinion across all manufacturers, and it is causing problems. And wokeness about climate has hurt, talking about GM's dynamic fuel management system and floating valves, as well as electronics. If you doubt what I am saying here...I challenge you to look what contractor's and others that use their trucks as tools of their jobs. It AINT Toyota's. I will give Toyota and the Japanese the win on cars...not even close on truck. This is from a 40 year car person.

Contractors and cowboys need towing power, and Toyota's have none. That's why landscapers and soccer moms use them, they never have to pull anything. And the Tacoma's sales dominance proves this - great trucks that lack capability.

But GM transmissions are hot garbage (there's a class action on the 8-speed and recalls on the 10-speed), they have electrical problems and some models had under designed transfer cases. I've personally felt the pain of these issues with trucks I've owned.

Fords are higher quality, but over designed and too complex. When they break it's $$$. But Ford is the preferred contractor truck. The F150 has been the best selling truck for 50 years for a reason, and even RAM outsells GM trucks most years.

One black eye for Toyota is the recent recall for metal in the engines...but GM just recalled over a half million trucks for engine issues too...and it's 6X as many engines as Toyota recalled.

GM quality isn't there. They've always made inexpensive trucks that are easy to work on an relatively easy to repair.

 

[nail1988]

 

[GhostOfMatchesMalone]

We’re down 200 from when Trump announced the tariffs.

S & P down 200 since “liberation day.” Today’s rally backed by Fed’s announcement that it will buy our treasuries if necessary and Trump’s begging the Chinese for a deal.

Looks like we've been liberated from another lib talking point.

 

[nail1988]

Yo Kal / Jimbus

The President has a message for you

 

[grandhavendiddy]

I have called most things Trump SPOT ON. Here is another instance where I told everyone to give it time...and I STILL do not think most understand how valuable this will be for the USA. For ONE with something NOT about the economy...did you see how fast China caved? They cannot sustain their attempt at economic domination is the USA shuts them off, and will not be able to keep up long term militarily. THIS WAS HUGE to see. They depend on US for their economy...and a great public condemnation of China that pisses most Americans off where they boycott them will do unimaginable damage to them. they are a big, paper tiger.

Yes, you did. I said, "we shall see" and Trump did what I hoped he would do which is listen more to Bessent than to Navarro.

 

[Capt Ron 1]

Yes, you did. I said, "we shall see" and Trump did what I hoped he would do which is listen more to Bessent than to Navarro.

We communicate very well....YES...you were nervous as everyone was, but you did not condemn. I am also a huge Bessent fan...BRILLIANT man.

 

[grandhavendiddy]

View embedded media

Looks like we've been liberated from another lib talking point.

It's flat plus (and regardless of other tax items) we are bringing in more revenue and finally telling other countries we mean business.

 

[grandhavendiddy]

We communicate very well....YES...you were nervous as everyone was, but you did not condemn. I am also a huge Bessent fan...BRILLIANT man.

Appreciate you here.

I have come to find with Trump is that he is NOT infallble, nor is every move is some exercise in 4 dimensional chess, BUT after surviving lawfare, assassination attempts and not choosing to go through the primaries and kicking Biden to the curb, he absolutely gets the benefit of the doubt and time where others would not.

 

[grandhavendiddy]

Contractors and cowboys need towing power, and Toyota's have none. That's why landscapers and soccer moms use them, they never have to pull anything. And the Tacoma's sales dominance proves this - great trucks that lack capability.

But GM transmissions are hot garbage (there's a class action on the 8-speed and recalls on the 10-speed), they have electrical problems and some models had under designed transfer cases. I've personally felt the pain of these issues with trucks I've owned.

Fords are higher quality, but over designed and too complex. When they break it's $$$. But Ford is the preferred contractor truck. The F150 has been the best selling truck for 50 years for a reason, and even RAM outsells GM trucks most years.

One black eye for Toyota is the recent recall for metal in the engines...but GM just recalled over a half million trucks for engine issues too...and it's 6X as many engines as Toyota recalled.

GM quality isn't there. They've always made inexpensive trucks that are easy to work on an relatively easy to repair.

Great post. Completely agree. Well said.

 

[GhostOfMatchesMalone]

Appreciate you here.

I have come to find with Trump is that he is NOT infallble, nor is every move is some exercise in 4 dimensional chess, BUT after surviving lawfare, assassination attempts and not choosing to go through the primaries and kicking Biden to the curb, he absolutely gets the benefit of the doubt and time where others would not.

Every move Trump makes will be criticized. 'Experts' will be assembled to make as compelling of a case as possible for why THIS TIME Trump has blown it.

Every time that happens, some here fall for it. Trump is overplaying his hand, he didn't think this through, etc etc etc

Every time that happens, some here push back and point out Trump's track record. We are told we cannot find fault with Trump, we refuse to criticize him, etc etc etc.

Here's what I would hope: From this point forward, every time Trump makes a move, let's wait and see what happens before we judge it. Let's let it fail before we say its a failure.

As you said, Trump has earned the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Capt Ron 1]

Economist believes US-China tariff truce could be the start of a financial revolution

Former Trump advisor Stephen Moore said the market rebound that came as China and the U.S. agreed to a 90-day pause on massive tariffs could signal the start of a financial revolution.

www.foxbusiness.com

This is what I am expecting, and have been from the start...IF they worked. Now the thing is...will China stick with what they are saying? I say YES they will, because Trump had their gonads in his hands and were clapping them together pretty darn hard. They are an export nation, and they cannot make it without selling to the USA. Their long-term success really depends on us.

 

[NavigatorII]

I could debate this with you and win easily. First of all, GM has been building trucks for over 100 years. They just know TONS more about building trucks. Secondly, there is nothing a Toyota truck does better than a GM other then burn gas. Do not start on outlast, because GM trucks last longer on the road than ANY truck. Technology is being used too quick in my opinion across all manufacturers, and it is causing problems. And wokeness about climate has hurt, talking about GM's dynamic fuel management system and floating valves, as well as electronics. If you doubt what I am saying here...I challenge you to look what contractor's and others that use their trucks as tools of their jobs. It AINT Toyota's. I will give Toyota and the Japanese the win on cars...not even close on truck. This is from a 40 year car person.

You misspelled keep running without a ton of maintenance. My 03 Tundra has almost 400k miles on it. 😂

 

[LordofallSocks]

I could debate this with you and win easily. First of all, GM has been building trucks for over 100 years. They just know TONS more about building trucks. Secondly, there is nothing a Toyota truck does better than a GM other then burn gas. Do not start on outlast, because GM trucks last longer on the road than ANY truck. Technology is being used too quick in my opinion across all manufacturers, and it is causing problems. And wokeness about climate has hurt, talking about GM's dynamic fuel management system and floating valves, as well as electronics. If you doubt what I am saying here...I challenge you to look what contractor's and others that use their trucks as tools of their jobs. It AINT Toyota's. I will give Toyota and the Japanese the win on cars...not even close on truck. This is from a 40 year car person.

Two words bro:

Toyota Hilux

 

[grandhavendiddy]

Every move Trump makes will be criticized. 'Experts' will be assembled to make as compelling of a case as possible for why THIS TIME Trump has blown it.

Every time that happens, some here fall for it. Trump is overplaying his hand, he didn't think this through, etc etc etc

Every time that happens, some here push back and point out Trump's track record. We are told we cannot find fault with Trump, we refuse to criticize him, etc etc etc.

Here's what I would hope: From this point forward, every time Trump makes a move, let's wait and see what happens before we judge it. Let's let it fail before we say its a failure.

As you said, Trump has earned the benefit of the doubt.

I think this is one of your fairest, best posts yet.

I think he has some of the best instincts I have ever seen. It's like a poker guy who can just put you on a hand, or more accurately know when you are going to fold a better hand.

To that end, he is not (and this is not criticism) an "intellectual", per se. He probably has not thought things all the way through. He is not deductive, he is inductive.

I also think he, privately, makes adjustments and hears the "noise". I think (could be wrong, but media appearances support this) he realized that Navarro was not helping and that Bessent was.

 

[GhostOfMatchesMalone]

I think this is one of your fairest, best posts yet.

I think he has some of the best instincts I have ever seen. It's like a poker guy who can just put you on a hand, or more accurately know when you are going to fold a better hand.

To that end, he is not (and this is not criticism) an "intellectual", per se. He probably has not thought things all the way through. He is not deductive, he is inductive.

I also think he, privately, makes adjustments and hears the "noise". I think (could be wrong, but media appearances support this) he realized that Navarro was not helping and that Bessent was.

I really don't hear anything about Navarro. Never have. It's obvious that he's liked Bessent all along, he passed over Lutnick to make him Treasury Sec. Then he sent Bessent early on to finalize the REM deal with Zelensky.

He's done a great job. I was initially concerned about his former ties to soros, but as was explained to me, anyone who has done well in finance for as long as Bessent has, will have likely crossed paths with soros at some point.

Trump is going to be swinging for the fences from now on. Media is gonna have a panic attack with every move.

Have you seen that meme image of the two old people riding the roller coaster? Both are screaming, one is scared out of her mind, the other is having the time of her life.

We are all on the same roller coaster for the next 4 years. You can either choose to enjoy the ride, or piss yourself the whole way.

 

[fatman76]

I bought the 2005 GMC in 2010 used with only 20,200 miles on it,,, not even fully broken-in yet, all original including the 20" Goodyear Eagles on the Chrome GMC Mag wheels. All leather 6-way adjustable heated seats. Full Bose System. On Star. Heavy duty towing package. Spray in bed liner and I couldn't tell it from a brand new truck, not a scratch on it anywhere. Garage kept by an old man in St. Augustine. I paid $17,800.00 cash out the door for what was a Lay-O-Ded $50,000.00+ truck new.

If,,, IF I ever ran across another one in that shape and at that price, I'd do it again with a huge smile on my face. Now 15 years and 200,000 miles later, it's still the best deal (after finding my wife anyway) in my long life. It's the best riding, hotest running, and most problem free vehicle that I've ever owned... (maybe I just got lucky again)

As to your Jeep comment, I concur, new ones are junk. Wife's Grandmother had an ole WWII beat up Jeep on the farm that she learned to drive on. We used to drive it around the farm and the adjoining woods when were were dating in the early 1970's. You couldn't kill that thing if you tried and it may still be running somewhere for all I know, lost track of it since then.

Post WWII back in the day, you could buy a Mil-jeep for $100, or an old Mil-harley for $20.
Those were the days, back in the late 1940's and early 1950's...

You got a good one for a song, must be that clean living 😉

I’m guessing if you haven’t changed your spark plugs you haven’t serviced the transmission, which is amazing. I’ve had 3 Chevy trucks (suburbans) and 2 of them the trans started slipping and shifting weird at about 130-150k (and I maintained them). Caused me to sell the truck vs see it totaled. Had a torque converter go out and all sorts of A/C issues on all of them. And I’ve owned Ranger Rovers, BMW’s and Volkswagens…so I know a thing or two about unreliable cars.

But whatever you do DON’T change that 200k mile old trans fluid. The material in that fluid is what’s making your valve bodies actually function.

 

[fatman76]

I think this is one of your fairest, best posts yet.

I think he has some of the best instincts I have ever seen. It's like a poker guy who can just put you on a hand, or more accurately know when you are going to fold a better hand.

To that end, he is not (and this is not criticism) an "intellectual", per se. He probably has not thought things all the way through. He is not deductive, he is inductive.

I also think he, privately, makes adjustments and hears the "noise". I think (could be wrong, but media appearances support this) he realized that Navarro was not helping and that Bessent was.

Trump didn’t just stumble into this. His businesses were big enough he’s had geopolitical issues front of mind for decades.

I’m not saying he is or is not some sort of genius, but when he triangulates issues in a negotiation it’s because he has a knack for understanding where he has leverage and exploiting it.

He’s even better at manipulating the media, which is a pretty rare combo. He can make them focus on anything he wants, anytime he wants.

 

[fatman76]

Two words bro:

Toyota Hilux

Never heard of these, but in 2012 they sold 775k units!!!

Crazy

 

[LordofallSocks]

Never heard of these, but in 2012 they sold 775k units!!!

Crazy

Seriously?

Its the favorite truck of freedom fighters, tribal militia, and terrorists.

Theyre damn near indestructible too.

 

[Capt Ron 1]

You misspelled keep running without a ton of maintenance. My 03 Tundra has almost 400k miles on it. 😂

More Chevy s on the road for longer than any truck on the planet. Again, watch what the people drive that use them in their jobs as tools. Toyota has been building trucks for a little over 3 decades. They are WAY, WAY behind.

 

[Capt Ron 1]

Two words bro:

Toyota Hilux

Have not seen many people towing boats with them or contractors using them, and there is a very good reason for it. And I have an outlook on this you never will. I do this at a very high level for a living. I order new Chevys, I appraise used cars, and teach people how to sell them. I cannot tell you how many Toyota trucks get traded in with 1000 or so miles on them because they just ride horrible, and are so incapable compared to Chevy and Ford. Ram is straight garbage also. 2 trucks people use as tools. GM and Ford. The end.

 

[SwampRock]

Trump didn’t just stumble into this. His businesses were big enough he’s had geopolitical issues front of mind for decades.

I’m not saying he is or is not some sort of genius, but when he triangulates issues in a negotiation it’s because he has a knack for understanding where he has leverage and exploiting it.

He’s even better at manipulating the media, which is a pretty rare combo. He can make them focus on anything he wants, anytime he wants.

We’ve always had leverage, others just didn’t use it because they were making tons of money looking the other way at our country’s fiscal expense. This really isn’t bluffing or high stakes poker on this, and he’s toying with the left media daily. I’m also glad he’s learned how to toy and bait the legacy media on this whole renegotiation. They’re actually making him look even better by trying to question every move, which I assure you is calculated and deliberate. He’s a master of distraction and a consummate salesman. He simply makes deals, and knows how to work them to best the position of his true end game objectives. Any trade concession or foreign investment here is a win for the USA and it’s uncanny how quickly it is all coming together. More Global peace will only result in better commercial activity as well. Fun to watch!

 

[grandhavendiddy]

I really don't hear anything about Navarro. Never have. It's obvious that he's liked Bessent all along, he passed over Lutnick to make him Treasury Sec. Then he sent Bessent early on to finalize the REM deal with Zelensky.

He's done a great job. I was initially concerned about his former ties to soros, but as was explained to me, anyone who has done well in finance for as long as Bessent has, will have likely crossed paths with soros at some point.

Trump is going to be swinging for the fences from now on. Media is gonna have a panic attack with every move.

Have you seen that meme image of the two old people riding the roller coaster? Both are screaming, one is scared out of her mind, the other is having the time of her life.

We are all on the same roller coaster for the next 4 years. You can either choose to enjoy the ride, or piss yourself the whole way.

On Navarro - that was the core of my initial posts.

There was a good piece on CNBC Squawk box with the CEO of Altimeter Capital and Ted Cruz on the two camps within the Trump administration - the "fair trade" side which is focused on letting companies compete, fairly and then protecting critical industries (not all) and then the Navarro side which would have tariffs be essentially the "External Revenue Service" and potentially sink the economy and the markets.

The markets are thrilled because the first camp is progressing. Now, the interesting thing with Trump, is that having Navarro around does present the "threat" that Trump could go "nuclear". He is like an unspoken anchoring position in negotiations.

Right now, I look at results and they are really strong. To Captain's earlier point, and yours, no one should care about month to month variability - if anything it gave me an amazing opportunity to buy the dip. Made $100,000s on it.

 

[fatman76]

We’ve always had leverage, others just didn’t use it because they were making tons of money looking the other way at our country’s fiscal expense. This really isn’t bluffing or high stakes poker on this, and he’s toying with the left media daily. I’m also glad he’s learned how to toy and bait the legacy media on this whole renegotiation. They’re actually making him look even better by trying to question every move, which I assure you is calculated and deliberate. He’s a master of distraction and a consummate salesman. He simply makes deals, and knows how to work them to best the position of his true end game objectives. Any trade concession or foreign investment here is a win for the USA and it’s uncanny how quickly it is all coming together. More Global peace will only result in better commercial activity as well. Fun to watch!

Excellent point on the kickbacks and corruption that have led us into so many forever wars and terrible trade imbalances.

All of the sudden Hunter's paintings aren't worth $500k? I wonder why.