'Mad king': Trump baffles observers by suggesting he'll tariff illegal drugs

[Otto_Harper]

President Donald Trump left observers baffled this week when he suggested in a late-night Truth Social rant that his tariffs on Canadian goods would include taxes on illegal drugs.

In the Truth Social post, Trump said that one of his goals with the tariffs was to "penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, but Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy."

Given that fentanyl is an illegal drug, the government collects no taxes from its purchase or sale.

Trump seemingly not understanding this fact led to many puzzled reactions....

From Raw Story: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-tariffs-fentanyl-2671660139/

[jls4561]

1. With an exemption for Don JR's dealer.

[Dave Bowman]

2. Well, if anyone still needed proof that he's insane, there it is.

[Ocelot II]

3. Of course the fentanyl dealers will declare their imports at the border

so Customs can collect the tariff. I'm not sure the amount of Trump's proposed tariff on fentanyl, but we can assume it's pretty high. So the dealers pay the tariff and now the fentanyl they sell on the street will be so much more expensive than US-produced fentanyl and they'll go out of business. Meanwhile the dealers of American-made fentanyl will be able to sell their product without foreign competition so they'll make more money, and the tariffs collected from importers will be paid to the Treasury for the benefit of taxpayers! It's brilliant! American fentanyl dealers will be protected and the Treasury makes money! Yay!

Isn't that how it's supposed to work?

[sop]

4. Mafia Don just wants his cut from the illegal drug trade.

Trump doesn't need much, he just wants to "wet his beak" a little.

[JoseBalow]

5. He's an idiot

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. He's an idiot that doesn't know that he's an idiot.

[JoseBalow]

24. Unfortunately for the rest of us, that's the worst kind

[dutch777]

6. And I never thought he'd have a good idea! Hard to collect on but heck of a concept.

[Aviation Pro]

7. The stupid motherfucker

Was probably briefed on taxing the chemical precursors for fentanyl, but his smooth brain couldn’t process such a complexity and so he went with what was easiest on the gray matter.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Even If You're Correct...

...the two biggest sources of the piperidones in the world are the US & China.
So, those precursors are very unlikely to be coming from Canada.
If someone did brief him about us, said advisor doesn't know what they're talking about.

[TommieMommy]

8. What???? This makes no sense at all

[subterranean]

9. How dumb does he think his base is?

Pretty damn dumb, apparently. Maybe he's not wrong about that.

[allegorical oracle]

25. He absolutely knows how dumb his base is. He plays them like a harp. It's

the rest of us who keep him up at night.

[Qutzupalotl]

11. I don't think he means he's putting tariffs on fentanyl.

He's penalizing Canada by placing tariffs on other things, for allegedly sending us fentanyl.

I think fentanyl is just a convenient excuse and his real goal is to alienate our closest allies at Putin's request.

[Disaffected]

21. That's probably it - Trump's usual garbled rhetoric.

As well, the amount of guns smuggled into Canada from the US greatly exceeds the amount of fentanyl and, the amount of fentanyl is tiny in any case compared to what comes from Mexico. I understand the amount of other drugs, such as heroin and crack, smuggled into Canada from the US also exceeds by a considerable margin the amount of fentanyl going the opposite direction.

So yes, fentanyl is an excuse he needed to declare an "emergency" and imposition of tariffs by EO. Nothing but the usual deceit and BS....

[yardwork]

22. I saw another clip and he definitely said tariffs on fentanyl.

In fact, he was angry that the Democrats in Congress are trying to block him from putting tariffs on fentanyl.

[Wiz Imp]

29. You're giving him way to much credit...

He used the excuse of fentanyl coming in from Canada as an excuse for putting tariffs on Canada over 2 months ago. He made that clear then. This is completely different.

In this case he explicitly said "Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy" Sorry but there's no way to spin that as putting tariffs on other items. He specifically said tariffing the drug to make it more costly to distribute and buy. How would tariffs on other items do that? Nope, he simply has no clue what he's talking about and definitely thinks he can collect money by putting a tariff on the illegal drug.

[Qutzupalotl]

41. The *value*, not the drug itself.

The value of the drug is a dollar figure that they can use to justify imposing tariffs on any other items from that country until it is met. It's a weasel word chosen deliberately, to create a false impression.

Of course, this is Trump, and he either doesn't understand who pays tariffs, or is pretending not to so people will bow and scrape for exemptions.

[Wiz Imp]

42. Nope

https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/district-attorney-hochman-announces-felony-charges-against-trio-major-fentanyl-bust

Less than a month ago, the LA District Attorney filed charges against three individuals accused of possessing a total of more than 50 pounds of fentanyl with an intent to sell.

A 50-pound seizure of fentanyl is greater than all the fentanyl seized at the U.S.-Canadian border in 2024, which was 43 pounds.

The approximate street value of the seized fentanyl if sold by the gram would be between $453,000 to $1,360,000.

The expected revenue through the rest of 2025 of Trump's proposed tariffs on Canada & Mexico is 110 billion (Billion with a "B&quot . That is 81,000 times the maximum value of the Fentanyl seized at the Canadian border.

The idea that he was talking about using tariffs to raise just the value of fentanyl from Canada is ludicrous. That would be accomplished in probably less than 1 day.

[Qutzupalotl]

44. It's just a cover story.

It doesn't have to be accurate in Trumpworld.

[Ping Tung]

12. Trump is now speaking in his native language: Imbecilish.

[sop]

14. "Imbecilish" needs to be designated as the officiial language of MAGA.

[Ping Tung]

15. For the common MAGAs it will be limited to words with no more than 5 letters.

[delisen]

13. Trump operates like mob boss. He wants a cut from traffickers

[Aristus]

16. "Are you bringing any valuable items into the United States

for sale or re-sale?”

“Yes.”

“Please declare these items.”

“A metric ton of fentanyl.”

“Thank you for declaring your items. You are approved for admittance. Welcome to the United States.”

[yellowcanine]

17. Maybe he can collect tariffs from the coyotes who bring

people across the border! Win win!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. Trump is showing more signs of his senility

[Cirsium]

19. The method to the madness

Of course it is ridiculous, but so what? Everything the man says is ridiculous one way or the other. The question is, will it be effective? Keep in mind that "they're eating the cats and dogs" was effective. It doesn't need to be true, it doesn't need to be logical to be effective.

By associating Fentanyl with his tariffs he is framing it as a battle against evil with himself as savior, and logic and the truth be damned. It will be effective. I am dead certain that I will hear "tariffs are good, because they are stopping drugs" from local MAGAs, along with the usual "at least he is trying to do something" if you try to point out the absurdity of it.

He is not losing it, he is not senile, he does not have dementia. He is malevolent, and there is a method to the madness.

[yardwork]

23. I agree. This is all scripted.

[Cirsium]

31. Thanks

Much appreciated.

[Wiz Imp]

30. Sorry, but there are numerous prominent psychologists and psychiatrists who

believe 100% that he has dementia. I believe them.

[yardwork]

33. Both can be true.

Trump is crazy, and he has dementia, and most of what he says is scripted by others.

But we underestimate him at our peril. A lot of what he says makes sense to his base. It's designed to fool and confuse.

[Cirsium]

35. Who cares?

Who cares? And what difference does it make? News outlets love this dementia stuff, people who are in denial and are hoping that somehow MAGA will just magically fade away without a fight love this.

I don't look to "prominent psychologists and psychiatrists" for political analysis. The prominent this that and the other people have been AWOL, asleep at the wheel, or we would not be dealing with MAGA.

To get a doctor’s take on the issue, MDLinx reached out to multiple neurologists and other doctors for their insights. Many of HCPs, however, replied saying that they felt uncomfortable or unequipped to comment on Trump’s health.

What do we find when we ask doctors?

"Trump’s actions in Philly are being described as impulsive and abrupt, which some experts suggest is a sign of cognitive decline."

"Some have been hinting that Trump has been experiencing mental or physical alarm for the last few months."

The first thing one notices about the text itself is the title The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. It is ambiguous but not innocent. When a doctor speaks of a case, the term references a clinical case in which a person becomes a patient, with a history, symptoms, laboratory findings, medical conditions, and a life lived in a community, but here in the title of the book sits one of the key disputed points: the psychiatrist has to deny that Mr. Trump's case is one of a patient while simultaneously providing a diagnosis that is claimed not to be a diagnosis; otherwise, all the Hippocratic and legal, medical, and ethics-related problems arise: confidentiality, privacy, respect, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and some sort of mutual contract. So, if he is not a patient, which he is not, in what sense is he a “case,” and why is the term used in the title of the book? It is left unclear, purposely, I assume. If there was any doubt that convening a conference that assesses the mental health of a president and publishing a book of the papers given at the conference sticks a finger in the eye of the APA leadership, then the labeling of President Trump as a case throws down the gauntlet.

There are three sections to this book. The first, entitled “The Trump Phenomenon,” takes up questions of diagnoses. The second section, entitled “The Trump Dilemma,” should really be titled “The Psychiatrists' Dilemma.” Trump has no dilemma; psychiatry does. This section discusses the problem that psychiatry has in deciding what stance to take about his dangerousness, especially in light of the Goldwater Rule. The third section, “The Trump Effect,” examines the impact of his personality and policies on various segments of the population (often white middle-class citizens in therapy) and on the psychiatric profession.

However, our appreciation for the courage and effort to take on the APA ethics police and the Trump lobby should not cause us to overlook some of the weaknesses in arguments, logic, perspective, and evidence. I recognize the pressures to get this book out in a timely fashion, but an index would have been helpful. It is difficult to go back and forth and see what several of the authors had to say about narcissism or dangerousness or the Goldwater Rule. On a more substantial note, there is too often a lack of critical thinking about concepts and causality, which seriously weakens the credibility of what the authors wish to get across. For example, there are too many outdated and simplistic assumptions about the psychodynamics of narcissism. The reader is told that persons are narcissistic to hide their shame or overcompensate for their inadequacies; they stifle their conscience and their compassion. I do not know if any of these generalizations are true of Mr. Trump, nor do I have confidence that if I asked him directly, I would get a trustworthy answer. It does not help the advancement of our field to proffer rote explanations, and it certainly does not help to use such arguments in trying to persuade anyone to view the situation differently.

Moving on, the lack of critical thinking and the presence of inexact comparisons are distressing. Is it helpful to call Presidents Clinton and Kennedy narcissists, because they are said by some to be womanizers? How many women does one have to be casually involved with to be a womanizer? Is it the number or quality of relationships that supports such a label? Would the APA come down on psychiatrists as heavily if they called a political figure they had not personally examined a womanizer rather than a narcissist? Are there reasons, other than narcissism, to consider why an individual might be a womanizer?

https://jaapl.org/content/46/2/267

As you know, it can be challenging to diagnose a patient with a health condition when they are not, in fact, your patient, and when they haven’t visited you in your office or talked to you during a telehealth or face-to-face appointment. It can be even harder to make a medical evaluation based on secondhand information, social media feeds, or news reports.

https://www.mdlinx.com/article/doctors-react-to-claims-that-trump-is-sundowning/4rPDR0lIEHfW8euPL4EZNS

[Raven123]

26. What's baffling is that anyone believes Trump is sane

[Cirsium]

36. Why?

His thinking and behavior work. One must either admit that his judgement is good - the definition of sanity - or that our basis for judging winners and losers is irrational. Trump is difficult to stop because people are unwilling to consider the possibility that the latter could be true. People are wishing for the impossible, that Trump is insane, but that the society is otherwise sound and rational. That wish is itself irrational.

Trump is not an aberration. Close to half of the population supports him, and people in the various power centers - Wall Street, academia, business leaders, the media - are mostly all onboard, or at least acquiescent.

MAGA is quintessentially American - the bigotry, the violence, the ignorance, the environmental destruction, the exploitation, the wealth equality, the deeply held anti-intellectual and anti-social attitudes and beliefs.

Trump is the logical and inevitable expression, the product, the symbol, the personification of an insane society.

[C_U_L8R]

27. Just put a toll booth up at Elon's house.

Might solve the debt problem right there.

[Norrrm]

28. Donald, go directly to the smugglers and dealers.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016348442

White Supremacist network busted with enough fentanyl to kill over a million people.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

32. he is our buffoon

why do people think he is tough again or smart or interesting


Mary Trump knows what tool this man really is

[GreenWave]

34. CIA rumored to generate $ through dope. Enjoy your stay trump.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

38. Well, Afghanistan got more favourable treatment on his big chart than any other country

It was the only country with purported over 20% "tariffs" against US products that got less than half. It is purported to tax with tariffs at a rate of 49%, but it got only 10% tariff tax in US retaliation for it.

[Meowmee]

39. I guess he forgot that it's an illegal market

but then he and his father were involved with mobsters though so maybe they were in that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. That does actually fit the way he's decide tariffs - the more imports from a country, the higher the tariffs

The claimed "tariffs charged to the U.S.A. including Currency Manipulation and Trade Barriers" figure is nothing of the sort; it is the US trade deficit with a country, divided by the imports from that country. And if that's under 10% (eg if the US has a trade surplus with a country, it would be a negative number), Trump just says "10%".

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220200887

They've admitted this:

https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/reciprocal-tariff-calculations

but tried to make it look "scientific" and called it "reciprocal".. In fact, they admit they've got no clue on whether there are any trade barriers, so they've just stuck this figure in:

"While individually computing the trade deficit effects of tens of thousands of tariff, regulatory, tax and other policies in each country is complex, if not impossible, their combined effects can be proxied by computing the tariff level consistent with driving bilateral trade deficits to zero."

And there's no attempt to justify the minimum 10% tariff, so they've just lied about "trade barriers" from dozens of countries, when, by their "logic", the US government should be paying people to import from them.

So, yeah, the US imports lots of illegal drugs. By Trump's logic, these should be subject to tariffs.

[Hekate]

43. Not the Onion