Blain’s Morning Porridge Feb 19th, 2026 – Tariffs hoist Trump on his own Petard

“And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for these pesky kids...”

Sometimes you have to laugh. Tariffs have been the cornerstone of Trump’s economic miracle, allowing him to deflect, discombobulate and distract voters from economic truths. Now the NY Fed says tariffs are a consumption tax – even MAGA voters will be worried as the Mid-Terms approach.

I reckon a fair number of Porridge Readers will remember Scooby-Do….

Donald Trump is the evil financial-economic genius planning the ultimate political heist. His cunning plan to ensure a MAGA landslide in the Mid-Terms, just 8 months away, was utterly brilliant. Slap tariffs on everything and tell the American the people the economy was booming because of them. Keep telling them that till they believed it. The bigger the lie, the better it sounds. Brag about big foreign investments. Boast about new factories – as yet unbuilt. I particularly admired the brazen promise to increase US defence spending by 50% on the back of the unlimited bounty off tariff income.

Then wait. And in March, just as the political campaign season kicks into high gear, he’s going to tell the people tariffs have been so successful and so biggly restored global respect for the USA that he’s able to cancel them. By removing what is a massive consumption tax on the US economy he will generate a deflationary spike and an economic boom that will peak around election day. Foreign leaders will praise his munificence.

As I said – genius of the highest order… If it wasn’t for the pesky kids at the New York Fed…

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