I’m picking up more details about Trump’s trade war with Canada. One bit I didn’t notice right away is that Trump’s 50 percent tariffs don’t go into effect until January 1. He’s hoping for another shot at subjugating Canada, I take it. But the retaliatory tariffs Canada is putting on U.S. imports begin September 8. Prime Minister Carney is looking to mess with the midterms, obviously. Trump can’t think more than a half step ahead of anything and no doubt never anticipated Canada could mess with the midterms.

In recent days, Trump has announced plans for tariff relief on some ground beef imports, enraging cattle producers in states such as Iowa and Nebraska, and launched a new trade war with Canada, rattling manufacturers and businesses in border states including Maine, Michigan, Alaska and Ohio. Those states are all Senate battlegrounds crucial to Democrats’ strategy to retake the chamber.

The Guardian is reporting that the U.S. is about to face surging toilet paper prices, but of course that’s just the beginning. The economies of the U.S. and Canada are intertwined in multiple ways, and I’m not sure where the damage is going to show up first. I understand auto parts manufacturing in particular is integrated between the two countries and will likely get messed up. Very likely Trump doesn’t comprehend this.

And I’m not sure Trump’s cabinet is much brighter than Trump is. The Guardian is reporting that the administration is certain that U.S. consumers won’t be affected by the trade war. That means we’re doomed, folks.

The New York Times has put together a long article about the negotiations that places a lot of the blame on Utterly Useless Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — UUCS is his full, official title, IMO —  but of course it’s Trump’s vision of totally dominating North America that is the basic theme here.

See also Josh Marshall, Trump’s Idiotic Trade War Is a Bigger Political Opening Than You Think at TPM and Zack Beauchamp, The bizarre roots of Trump’s trade war on Canada at Vox.

Speaking of the midterms, Trump has decided that the best way to help Republicans win is to make the midterms all about him. See Trump Plans to Buy Midterm Ads About His Own Record at The Atlantic. Yes, he’s going to make ads touting his accomplishments in office and run them all over the country to help Republican candidates. The candidates are not entirely thrilled.

Trump’s lawyers are also threatening to tear down the Kennedy Center if courts don’t let Trump go ahead with a massive renovation of the building that would include having his name engraved on the building. I’m waiting for the Kennedy family to get involved here.

See also Paul Krugman, Der Untergang. Basically Krugman is saying that as it sinks into Trump that he is losing his grip on power, he will try to destroy as much as possible before he leaves.