One of the most exasperating aspects of the Trump administration is that it presents an overwhelming amount of absurdity for people to digest.
Recently, it was revealed that the president
doesn’t know
What the Declaration of Independence stands for once dominated national discourse for months. Nowadays, it scarcely gets attention since the Trump White House releases comparable statements two or three times weekly.
When you contrast these tales with the trade dispute with China or President Trump’s statement that he isn’t aware of whether he’s
required
To support the Constitution, it’s tempting to see Trump’s recent musings as
movie tariffs
and
reopening Alcatraz
That would be a mistake. These are not just minor diversions; they are indicative of something far more sinister than Steve Bannon’s rallying cry to “
flood the zone with s—
.”
To start with, we have the ideas themselves. Trump
announced
on TruthSocial that he has decided the federal government is going to reopen a “substantially enlarged” Alcatraz because it needs more prison space.
Imagine, just for a second, how strange this situation is. Normally, within a proper governmental system, when additional prisons are needed, experts would determine the optimal and most economical approach before making an official public statement. This did not occur in this instance. Rather, Trump conceived an idea one Sunday afternoon and promptly gave instructions regarding the reopening of a particular prison, seemingly without consulting anyone from the Bureau of Prisons, much less undergoing any formal review process.
How can we be sure of this? Because it is an utterly dreadful suggestion.
Alcatraz was closed down in 1963 because it was too expensive
to run
and too expensive
to renovate
. Currently, it’s
a museum
run by the National Park Service. Nor can it be “substantially enlarged” because Alcatraz Island is only 22 acres. If you want a new prison for the worst of the worst, Alcatraz would be the last place you would choose.
About 20 minutes later, Trump decided he is going to impose a
100 percent tariff
on foreign movies — apparently, “
Bluey, the Movie”
is expected to become a “national security threat.” Trump appeared to make this decision due to a confused interpretation of
a conversation
He did this alongside Jon Voight without any vetting or discussion. We can deduce this from the fact that his plan is clearly absurd and inherently perilous.
The concept is impractical and shows little comprehension of the filmmaking process. Exactly what qualifies as a “foreign film”? Numerous productions take place across various domestic and international sites. Should this include TV programs and online streamings too? Furthermore, how do you propose applying tariffs—on filming costs abroad, the overall production budget, or perhaps box office revenues?
Aside from all the practical concerns, any attempt to levy a tax on foreign films most likely constitutes an unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment rights. If imposing such a tax is not permissible under the Constitution because it violates
a 2 percent tax
On newspapers, it seems unlikely that taxing movies at 100 percent would be constitutional. Moreover, this becomes even more questionable considering Trump’s directive explicitly states that this tariff is being imposed partly due to content-based restrictions targeting “messaging and propaganda” within foreign films.
However, the concept of a tariff on movies is equally perilous as it could lead to taxing services. This would be an extraordinarily poor precedent for the U.S., considering our significant role.
net exporter
If Trump had spent even five minutes discussing this concept with someone knowledgeable, it likely wouldn’t have been proposed. However, that’s not how his administration operated.
The effects of aging manifest in various ways. Joe Biden started having difficulties with speaking clearly. Trump seems to be shedding any remaining reservations, alongside his decision-making skills. The issues at Alcatraz and the imposition of film taxes are merely recent instances.
Only in the past month has he initiated a trade war through his impulsive attempt to
punish China
for defying him, repeatedly insisted that Abrego Garcia had “MS-13″
actually tattooed
on his knuckles in the Microsoft Office
default font
, and wandered
into a discussion
of how many dolls and pencils people should own. Trump’s decline is only going to get worse over the next three years and eight months.
And there are no guardrails. Trump is surrounded by sycophants — have you seen one of his
Cabinet meetings
? — who care more about holding onto their jobs than they care about the country. Congressional Republicans are
no better
.
Everyone can see that Grandpa Trump has become a menace, but no one is doing anything to limit the damage, much less to take his car keys away. Sooner, rather than later, there’s going to be a terrible accident.
Chris Truax
is an appellate attorney who served as Southern California chair for John McCain’s primary campaign in 2008.
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