'Finally, the Trump regime has met its match' Robert Reich

[Joinfortmill]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/17/trump-china-harvard-supreme-court

'The administration dared China, Harvard and the supreme court to blink. They haven’t'

'...Encouraged by the ease with which many big US institutions caved in to their demands, the Trump regime...the small cadre of bottom-feeding fanatics around Donald Trump (JD Vance, Elon Musk, Russell Vought, Stephen Miller and RFK Jr)...have overreached. They’ve dared China, Harvard and the supreme court to blink. But guess what? They’ve met their matches. None of them has blinked – and they won’t.

China not only refused to back down when the Trump regime threatened it with huge tariffs, but also retaliated with huge tariffs of its own, plus a freeze on the export of rare-earth elements that the US’s high-tech and defense industries depend on.

Harvard also pointedly defied the regime, issuing a clear rebuke to its attempt to interfere with academic freedom...The supreme court – in a rare unanimous decision – ordered Trump to facilitate the return of a legal US resident wrongly deported to a dangerous prison in El Salvador, without any criminal charges.

But the White House was defiant. On Monday, both Trump officials and El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, said they could not return Kilmar Ábrego García....“Of course, I’m not going to do it,” Bukele said when asked. Trump sat by his side with a smile on his face. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, joined in the cruel imitation of justice: “That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him.”

What’s next?..I suspect the testosterone-poisoned lackeys around King Trump are urging him to hit back even harder, escalating their confrontations with China, Harvard and the supreme court. They view these showdowns as ultimate tests of the regime’s strength.

Think of it – they must be telling themselves and their boss – what prizes! If they defeat China, they have brought the world’s other economic powerhouse to its knees!

If they defeat Harvard University, they have been victorious over the world’s intellectual powerhouse!...Win these battles and no one will ever again doubt the power and resolve of the Trump regime!

Hopefully, Trump is smarter than this. He knows these three institutions will not back down. They are rich and powerful enough to defy Trump’s escalating threats and demands. They cannot and will not cower....If Trump escalates his wars against them, they’ll become even stronger in the eyes of their supporters and constituents, and much of the world...

[Best_man23]

1. China is the master at playing "the long game"

They know the Convicted Felon does NOT have the upper hand on them. As the gentleman in the one video clip from a couple days ago said "China has existed for 5,000 years".

Harvard (as the TLP's Stuart Stevens described it) is "a hedge fund that offers classes". Harvard University has an endowment fund approaching a value equal to some large corporations. Additionally, it has a law school alumni base whose graduates sit at nearly every level of the legal system from state courts up to the SCOTUS and at law firms whose attorneys charge four figures an hour for their legal services. I'm pretty certain an extremely robust legal defense of the university is or in the process of being formed.

As for SCOTUS, I think Roberts and the conservative justices NOT named Thomas or Alito are likely coming to the realization their relevance as a co-equal branch of the US government is now in jeopardy. Pretty certain that is why they went 9-0 on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia decision and stating that anyone coming into DHS/ICE custody must be afforded due process before they can be expelled from the US.

[louis-t]

26. I agree with your last paragraph and have been saying for months

It's time Roberts realizes that if he gives trmp all the power he craves, SC will be expendable.

[SayItLoud]

30. Yea, but he's defying them. NT

[PortTack]

32. Agree too! We may not like Roberts, but he's not dumb. They want to hang on to their power and tsf has no

Intention of keeping them if he were to gain total control.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. China and the Harvard types I trust - SCOTUS, not so much.

[JT45242]

3. Not so sure about the sinister six of the supreme court

China could essentially do to mango Mussolini economically what the Russians did to Napoleon and Hitler and go scorched earth knowing that they can outlast our supply chains.

Counting on Mango Mussolini and his e to be smart is a fool's errand. They are dumb, arrogant, and working under the orders of foreign influence like Putin and Bone saw.

But...at what point will the military industrial complex say they have had enough and step up as well.

[newdeal2]

4. It's a house of cards

They are projecting strength because of the weakness of their ideas. People needed to wisen up and resist - they are not all powerful and this regime can fall pretty quickly. It won’t be easy but it’s better than the alternative.

[Javaman]

6. yup build on the fever dream rants of an adderall addict.

once he crumbles or goes away, everything they believed they have built, will collapse.

[PortTack]

33. Speak it!!

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I would add Jerome Powell

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143442135

And from the above, this got me to

The Fed closely guards its independence from politics so it can make decisions with the long-term health of the economy in mind. Trump has repeatedly called for the Fed to lower rates and signaled that he does not want Powell to continue as Fed chair. During his first term, Trump’s lawyers concluded that the president could not fire the Fed chief without cause, although a federal court recently gave Trump a partial win in his efforts to remove the leaders of two other independent agencies.

And so he is whining on the sidelines and hasn't touched Powell, but that didn't stop him from illegally firing a pile of IGs as well as various Board & Commission members (like those in NLRB, MSPB, FTC, & FCC, etc).

Back in March, this happened -

Jerome Powell Says Trump Can’t Fire Him. That Might Change

Leah Nylen, Catarina Saraiva and Greg Stohr
21 March 2025


(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been crystal clear about whether President Donald Trump can fire him. “Not permitted under the law,” he said — twice — when asked in November. Powell, who’s had the job since 2018, may soon find out if he was right.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s two Democratic commissioners, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. The firings are the most direct challenge yet to a 1935 Supreme Court decision that paved the way for the independent agencies that now populate the US government. The ruling, known as Humphrey’s Executor, let Congress give FTC commissioners job protections that shield them from dismissal except for neglect or malfeasance.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Slaughter, who plans to sue, said her dismissal has ramifications beyond the antitrust and consumer protection agency. “There is no legal difference between Jerome Powell and me,” she said. “If the president can legally remove me, he can legally remove Jerome Powell.”

Trump has a long record of criticizing Powell, but the FTC firings are ramping up concern among Wall Street investors and economists that the Fed’s independence may now be in true jeopardy.

(snip)

[Ocelot II]

28. Also Christopher Krebs and Miles Taylor.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. And ironically

The DOJ OIG Michael Horowitz, who was spared (so far) - Michael Horowitz approaches stormy path in Trump administration

[Gordcanuck]

7. You're missing something,

mainly that this regime, masquerading as a presidency, has teeth. They are ICE (the Gestapo’ thought police) and in the wings, a quietly building army of storm troopers headed by one Eric Prince, the mercenary master.
Your great nation has never been in more danger over your passivity. Rise up or be rolled over by the fascists.

[Fiendish Thingy]

8. This is an important reminder that Trump is not omnipotent

For all the evil he has done, for all the evil we could imagine him doing, there is the hard cold reality that there are things he cannot control.

[PortTack]

27. Absolutely! We all have to say NO....not now, not tomorrow....not EVER!

[Paladin]

9. "...the small cadre of bottom-feeding fanatics..."

Count on the Brits for a perfectly-constructed description.

[Dan]

10. And the institutions and Countries

That took a knee, appear even weaker.

[calimary]

36. ...and more pathetic.

[azureblue]

11. Hopefully, Trump is smarter than this

No, he is not. He has lost his mind, and reacts to push back with more bullying. And never stops to think if his push back will work. See China, that simply escalated. He will never accept defeat or compromise, so he is headed off the cliff, by his own actions..

[IronLionZion]

12. Ironically the third reich's downfall was fighting on too many fronts at the same time

Way to antagonize everyone quickly

[Martin68]

14. Not many fronts within their own country, however. We are in a better position than Germany to avoid a dictatorship by

fascists.

[IronLionZion]

15. We'll see if they invade Greenland or Canada.

it would be comparable to invading Poland maybe.

[Martin68]

16. I really doubt that will happen.

[Justice matters.]

21. Or, closer to today, like Russia invading Ukraine for the resources.

And to have direct access to the northern passage (entirely) as the polar ice melts and polar bears die.

[DENVERPOPS]

22. Know this

PUTIN wants Iceland, Greenland, and Canada......big time and will use Trump and Republicans to get it for him.
Putin wants to create a northern passage for shipping, which would necessitate him having those countries. He is already building a large number of Heavy Duty Nuclear Powered Ice Breakers. He also wants Russia to stake claim to the un-fathomable amount of Oil and minerals located in and under Canada......

[Martin68]

13. They are being challenges on many, many fronts. I encourage those who keep insisting "no one is doing anything"

to start paying attention, and then start helping in whatever small way they can. We WILL WIN this fight.

[Haru]

17. Trump economics

He cannot will good economic conditions. He will crash all around him and us.

[AKwannabe]

18. Hopefully, Trump is smarter than this....

Hahaha!
Hahahahahaha!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

[Kali999]

19. Good

Good post and comments.

[LizVerite]

20. Who knows what Trump will do?

Does he create chaos and deep uncertainty on purpose? Is that just the way his mind works?

I do not and have never understood his appeal. He literally makes me feel ill.

I think he'll do whatever he wants in the moment. It seems that the consequences have to harm him before he'll change.

[blubunyip]

24. His mind works like a disturbed sociopath

Mary Trump predicted that a second Donald term would likely destroy American Democracy. Was she ever correct...

[maxsolomon]

23. "Hopefully, Trump is smarter than this."

He's not.

[Godot51]

25. Sadly

Sadly, trump is not "smarter than this".

His cadre of handlers and sycophants are not "smarter than this".

They are simply lights on, nobody home types whose latest "thoughts" are their latest "policies".

[PortTack]

31. This Coming from Robert Reich who is usually sounding alarm bells .....well, it is great to read!

That he actually feels we are far from underwater.

We all need to keep up our resistance, no matter how seemingly small!

[Jack Valentino]

34. Trump is NOT "smarter than this"---- he's a freaking lunatic,

and he has dementia

[Skittles]

35. Trump is a tiny man

EVERYONE should be standing up to him, he is a fucking BUFFOON

[Meowmee]

37. "Hopefully, Trump is smarter than this."

Time to stop talking about this psychopath as if he is normal in any way imo.

So far he ignored sc, is doing nothing about bringing back Abrego Garcia and will now build more prisons for US citizens. As for Harvard, more attacks are on the way, they will try to get rid of their tax exempt status, lets see what happens. They have a huge endowment. China, nothing they do is going to be good imo, do not forget that CCP is the enemy not a friend.

The best thing imo, although I am certainly not happy about it is he has damaged the market and world finances, so money people and others are worried now. But I don't think it will be enough for R to get rid of him.

[returnee]

38. For the moment I will settle for glimmers of hope.

But not holding my breath. I worry about the “Trump” card of violence via the military, National Guard, and militias. I put nothing past these Putinites, especially if cornered.

[Cosmocat]

39. He won't beat China / the Supreme Court will cave

China beat him the last time, he just bailed out our famers, retreated and everyone forgot about it.

This time he went WAY too far, and as a second and bigger cut at it put them in the position to dig deeper. The are smarter, tougher and have more on us than we have on the them - our debt, our reliance on them for these types of vital elements. But, more than that, he has alienated the rest of the entire planet and destroyed all the good will and soft power that we had banked. Heck, Japan is cutting us loose and siding with China, and Canada and the EU are aligning against him/us.

To use a hold um term, he/we are drawing dead after the flop. Can't win it.

Its all fine and well that the Supreme Court has unified on this one particular core issue, but with 6 right wingers, they are mostly in league with him on most of his other horrible intentions. This does not signal some kind of overall break, just one matter that somehow the light cuts through to their craven souls.