Theatre and politics converge in more than one way, be it stage fright, the art of riveting public speeches from the pulpit to the thrilling final denouement. Both are tales retold in many acts. Any similarity with the US tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, though, is purely coincidental.
Donald Trump, who has enacted many side hustles throughout his life – casino manager, boxing promoter, beauty pageant organizer, hotelier, reality TV star, to cameos in Home Alone and WWE – may not get the Golden Globe but his Golden Dome is apparently the next best thing since Noah’s Ark.
Though ever the dealmaker you can’t take for a ride, the umbrella of this arc won’t be extended as per ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ credo. The subscription plans for Golden Dome can range from freemium to pay-as-you-go.
Of Domes and Deals
To Canada, the northern neighbour always in the Don’s mind, akin to Lindsay Lohan’s first pop song ‘Can’t stop, won’t stop thinking about you’, he’s trying for a barter or a full swap in lieu of Ottawa writing off its sovereignty, or suzerainty if you may.
Before the O’ Canada fever starts getting too hot, like Napoleon’s obsession for Egypt, leading to a failed military campaign, and minting coins proclaiming himself Emperor, a sort of lend-lease in Newfoundland, in front of an assembly of polar bears, walruses, and truant but ambitious members of the Eskimo Union, can be looked into.
Trump’s Grand Continent North America, including Greenland, is a non-starter, even though the primacy of Latin America and the Caribbean being America’s exclusive backyard and zones of influence, known as the Monroe Doctrine, has been re-affirmed.
It ain’t over until it is!
Many say that the TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) trade, a term coined by the Financial Times journalist Rob Armstrong, denoting tariff flip-flops and their sudden impact on the market dips and rallies, has increased uncertainty, diminishing confidence in America.
While it’s not the twilight of Pax Americana by any stretch, the late Soviet-late Roman malady of Washington, as diagnosed by the historian Niall Fergusson, seems to have no solution in sight.
If only Beijing understood the Trump version of Tianxia (Kingdom under Heaven), which stresses on the rigidly hierarchical overlord-vassal relationship and tribute system – gifts of jumbo jets, prime real estate etc – there can be a superpower mutual appreciation club.
The two luscious reds – Red MAGA, whose baseball cap ironically is made in China’s Yiwu, the world’s biggest wholesale commodity market, and the red hammer & sickle CPC, can then start a new detente.
The Don’s avatar as a Peacemaker, unlike the action-packed George Clooney and Nicole Kidman movie, has not worked anywhere, except to an extent in restoring Arab-Israeli relations.
Ronald Reagan used to collect and retell Soviet Jokes, mostly on the inept political apparatus, looming social distrust, cynicism, and the deepening crisis of legitimacy.
Years later, the jokes may feel at home to a future generation over a pint or two of Uncle Haddock’s stale beer ( his Yankee derision for English pale ale).
Deficits are soaring, with no end in sight. Japan, the largest holder of US Treasury Bonds, is no longer the world’s biggest creditor after three decades. Eight other countries, including Germany, Switzerland, and New Zealand, now have a yield higher than the US. The USDs correlation with treasury yields has ended, which means even despite increasing yields, the dollar falls.
De-dollarization is not on the horizon, but China catch-up may happen faster than anticipated. In other news, Dark Knight MAGA Musk has dodged the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) bullet. Much ado about nothing?
What does the future hold? As an old opium seller told Hunter S. Thompson in Kowloon, Hong Kong during the Vietnam War, ‘May we Live in Interesting Times’. This is an ancient Chinese curse.
