memeorandum: Top Johnson aide pleads not guilty to DUI charge (Politico)

12:35 PM ET, April 3, 2025

Top Items:

President Trump's mindless tariffs will cause economic havoc — But the rest of the world can limit the damage — If you failed to spot America being “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far” or it being cruelly denied a “turn to prosper”, then congratulations …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Bloomberg, Baltimore Sun, Mediaite, 19FortyFive, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Semafor, New York Times, USA Today, The Independent, Wausau, The Atlantic and Breitbart

Paul Krugman:

Will Malignant Stupidity Kill the World Economy? — A quick thank you to my readers. When I struck out on my own, I wasn't sure if anyone would follow. But I just passed 300K subscribers. I'll try to be worthy of your support. — America created the modern world trading system.

Discussion: CNBC, CNN, New York Times, Jared's Substack and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Robin Wigglesworth / Financial Times:

‘Beware a dollar confidence crisis’ — DB — Taking another look at the puzzling greenback puke — There's a lot going on at the moment, but the most interesting might be how the dollar has been absolutely tanked by yesterday's tariff news. — The DXY dollar index has plunged 1.7 per cent today …

Discussion: Reuters, Wausau and Tax Foundation

Alexandra Scaggs / Financial Times:

Reciprocal tariffs: you won't believe how they came up with the numbers — There is some method to the madness — it's just a nonsensical method — Americans were told reciprocal tariffs would be simple. “Reciprocal, that means they do it to us, and we do it to them,” said President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Discussion: The White House, Bloomberg, The Verge, The Atlantic, The Independent, Eschaton, Raw Story and Washington Examiner, more at Techmeme »

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:

Just five months ago, on October 19, 2024, The Economist ran a special report on America's economy. That economy was, the magazine said, “the envy of the world.” Today, stock market futures plummeted after President Donald J. Trump announced that he will impose a 10% tariff on all imports …

Discussion: Fox News, Deadline, New York Post, CBS News, Raw Story and The Atlantic

Jenny Che / Bloomberg:

France's Macron Urges EU Companies to Pause US Investments — French President Emmanuel Macron urged companies to pause investments in the US after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on the European Union and other regions. — It makes little sense for firms to invest there while the US hits …

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Business Insider, Fortune, The Guardian and Wausau, more at Techmeme »

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

Trump Calls It Liberation. It's Destruction. — Guess we're really doing this, huh? Happy Thursday. — ‘Trade Wars Are Good and Easy to Win’ — by Andrew Egger — Have you ever seen a presidential economic address crash the economy in real time? Before yesterday, I hadn't.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, The Economist, Fortune and Associated Press

Victoria Guida / Politico:

‘This Could Get Much Uglier’: The Fatal Flaw In Trump's Trade War — Trump's radical tariff program is aimed at restoring U.S. manufacturing greatness. He's getting in his own way. — President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff regime will completely transform America's economic relationship …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Magazine, OutsideTheBeltway, The Daily Caller, UPI, Fortune, The Lever, 9to5Mac, Breaking Defense, TRADLINX and Semafor, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:
Trump's New Protectionist Age

Discussion: Tangle, NBC News, New York Times, Bloomberg, European Commission, Politico, Al Jazeera, Atlantic Council, DCReport.org, Reason, Metro.co.uk, Wausau, Raw Story, USA Today, Blaze Media, Cafe Hayek, Business Insider and CBS News

David Dayen / American Prospect: They're Not Tariffs, They're Sanctions — Stop trying to place coherence on a policy that's …

Financial Times:
Donald Trump baffles economists with tariff formula

Discussion: Breitbart, Reuters, New Republic, CNN, Wausau, Politico, El País and Bloomberg

Camille Gijs / Politico:
EU ‘prepared’ to retaliate against Trump's 20 percent tariffs

Discussion: The Hill, BBC, Washington Post, CNN, The Guardian, Townhall, NPR, Associated Press, The Daily Signal, ING Think, Politico, Fox News, New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, UPI, Fortune, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, CBS News and Wausau

New York Times:
'It's a Disaster': Global Markets Slide After Trump Unveils Tariffs

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Quartz, CBS News, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, The Independent, The Hill and KTVZ-TV

Stan Choe / Associated Press:
Dow drops 1,400 as US stocks lead worldwide sell-off after Trump's tariffs ignite a COVID-like shock

Discussion: NPR, CBS News, Washington Times, El País, Mercury News, Raw Story, The Independent, Mock Paper Scissors, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Fortune and The Wrap

Paul Krugman:
Trump Goes Crazy on Trade

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog, Blue Virginia, Raw Story, The Japan Times and ABC News

Wired:
Trump Tariffs Hit Antarctic Islands Inhabited by Zero Humans and Many Penguins

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Axios, New Republic, Associated Press, Politico and Crikey

Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Truth still matters

Discussion: New York Post and NJTODAY.NET

Axios:
Trump's tariffs list is missing one big country: Russia

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News, New Republic, Wall Street Journal, Quartz, The Kyiv Independent, Mediaite and Saywhat Politics

Wired: Trump and DOGE Defund Program That Boosted American Manufacturing for Decades

Ashley Carnahan / Fox News:
Treasury Secretary Bessent tells countries not to retaliate after sweeping ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump slaps at least 10% tariffs on almost all imports in ‘Declaration of Economic Independence’: ‘Half of what they are charging us’

James Fallows / Breaking the News:
Launching the Economic Version of the Iraq War.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
Trump's tariffs hit even remote islands. One is mainly home to penguins.

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, CNBC, WAGA-TV, Wired, New Jersey Online, Wausau and Raw Story

Charlie Nash / Mediaite:
Whoops! Trump Slaps Tariffs on Uninhabited Islands

Discussion: Forbes, IJR, Townhall, Washington Examiner and Wausau

The Budget Lab at Yale:
Where We Stand: The Fiscal, Economic, and Distributional Effects of All U.S. Tariffs Enacted in 2025 Through April 2

Discussion: USA Today, Forbes and Marketplace

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Two Thoughts on Trump's Inferno Tariffs

Discussion: The Hill

CNN:

White House fires three NSC staffers after president meets with far-right activist Laura Loomer — The White House has fired at least three National Security Council staffers, three sources familiar with the move told CNN. — The firings came after Laura Loomer, the far-right activist …

Discussion: al.com, Raw Story and RedState

Axios:

Scoop: Multiple firings on Trump's National Security Council after Loomer visit — Several members of President Trump's embattled National Security Council have been fired, a U.S. official and a second source familiar told Axios on Thursday. — Why it matters: The firings come …

Discussion: The Hill, CBS News, Scripps News and Mock Paper Scissors

New York Times:

In Oval Office Meeting, Far-Right Activist Pushes Trump to Fire National Security Staff — During the 30-minute meeting, Laura Loomer excoriated National Security Council officials in front of the president and Michael Waltz, the national security adviser. — Laura Loomer, the far-right activist …

Discussion: NBC News, The Guardian, Mediaite, Raw Story and Daily Mail

Michael C. Bender / New York Times: Trump Administration Live Updates: Security Officials Said to Be Fired at Conspiracy Theorist's Urging

Bloomberg:

Trump Tariffs Set to Wipe Out Nearly $2 Trillion From US Stocks … Roughly $1.7 trillion is set to be erased from the S&P 500 Index when trading opens Thursday amid worries that President Donald Trump's sweeping new round of tariffs could plunge the economy into a recession.

CNBC:
Dow futures tumble 900 points, S&P 500 futures lose 3% on Trump's tariff rollout: Live updates

Discussion: The Hill, Rolling Stone, Public Notice, Mediaite, UPI, Bloomberg, New York Post, USA Today, The Wrap, Business Insider, Wausau, Raw Story and Sportico

NBC News:
Investors flee U.S. stocks as markets react sharply to Trump's tariff plan

Discussion: CNN, Today's Edition Newsletter, Quartz, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Noahpinion, Wausau, Daily Mail, Axios, Raw Story, The Independent, NewsNation, Associated Press and Mediaite

Danielle Wallace / Fox News:

Senate approves resolution against Trump's Canada tariffs hours after ‘Liberation Day’ event — 4 Republicans side with Democratic resolution against Trump's Canada tariffs — Join Fox News for access to this content — The Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution opposing President …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Newsmax, Associated Press, IJR, Townhall, The Independent, Washington Times, Washington Post, New York Post, UPI, Roll Call, The Daily Wire, Reason, NPR, Business Insider, Plain Dealer and Fox Business

Michael Stratford / Politico:
Senate panel advances Trump's picks for Wall Street and banking regulators

Discussion: The Block and Wausau

Robert Jimison / New York Times:
Senate Votes to Rescind Some Trump Tariffs, With G.O.P. Support

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Fox News, CNN, The Daily Wire, masslive.com, NBC News, Daily Kos, Reuters, Kyodo News+, Off the Kuff, El País, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller and CBS News

Sally Goldenberg / Politico:

Adams to skip New York City's Democratic primary, run for reelection on nonpartisan line — The mayor has been at odds with his party and wants time to recover from now-dismissed federal charges. — NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams is opting out of New York City's Democratic primary and running …

Michael Wayland / CNBC:

Stellantis idles plants in Mexico and Canada due to tariffs … DETROIT — Stellantis is pausing production at two assembly plants in Canada and Mexico as the company attempts to navigate President Donald Trump's new round of 25% automotive tariffs that took effect Thursday.

Discussion: WDIV-TV, The Detroit News, Reuters, Washington Examiner, MeidasTouch News, Raw Story, Fox Business and Portal

Michael C. Bender / New York Times:

Trump Administration Threatens to Withhold Funds From Public Schools — State education officials will be required to verify that they have eliminated all programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion that the administration deems unlawful, according to a new memo.

April Rubin / Axios:

What to know about Saturday's nationwide “Hands Off!” anti-Trump protests — A nationwide anti-President Trump movement on Saturday, “Hands Off!,” is expected to be the largest single-day protest since he entered office. — Why it matters: The Trump administration's wide-reaching …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Plain Dealer, masslive.com and The Big Bend Sentinel

Amanda Marcotte / Salon:

Mike Johnson melts down after House proxy vote failure exposes MAGA's “pro-family” lie — The House speaker's latest tantrum shows how the “pro-family” MAGA GOP just wants women back in the kitchen — Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., once famously said that, to understand his …

Discussion: ABC News, Daily Mail, New York Times, Politico, The Hill and Slate

Politico:

Top Johnson aide pleads not guilty to DUI charge — Speaker Mike Johnson's chief of staff pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he drove under the influence and operated a vehicle while impaired on the night of President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress.

Discussion: Raw Story

Avery Lotz / Axios:

Musk will stay on as an adviser post-DOGE, Vance says — Elon Musk will remain a “friend and an adviser” to the White House after his time directing DOGE's reordering of the federal government is through, Vice President JD Vance said in a Thursday interview.