Tariffs, Tyranny, and the Theater of the Absurd

As China dumps dollars and ICE arrests mayors, Trump sells gold-plated deportation apps and economic gaslighting on Capitol Hill

This weekend’s much-hyped U.S.-China trade summit in Geneva has so far produced exactly what most analysts expected: optics. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer arrived with bold talk and stiff suits. China sent Vice Premier He Lifeng, and, pointedly, its top public-security official, to signal that the fentanyl crisis, not fair trade, may dominate the headlines. Trump, not one to let a crisis go to waste, teased a possible reduction in his sky-high tariffs, from 145% to a still-punitive 80%, while spinning it as a negotiating triumph.

But the real negotiation is already over. China has moved, not with press releases, but with precision: dumping U.S. assets, stockpiling gold, tightening financial controls, and strengthening its critical mineral alliances. What’s Trump doing? Reenacting Brexit cosplay with Keir Starmer and selling the illusion of a “breakthrough” U.S.-UK trade deal that, in reality, fixes nothing and fools no one, least of all Europe, where headlines read more like punchlines.

And speaking of fools, let’s check in on Scott Bessent, who spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday this week being politely bludgeoned in Congress.

Rep. Ritchie Torres carved through the tariff propaganda with surgical precision:

“You’re telling me trade deficits are a national emergency? Then why weren’t they for the last four decades? Do you know how many products we tariff now that we don’t even produce? How does that help American manufacturing?”

Rep. Brad Sherman, fresh off wildfire tours in California, grilled Bessent over a Trump policy that charges fire victims an extra $11,000 to rebuild their homes, thanks to blanket tariffs on construction materials. Sherman also exposed the administration’s refusal to implement the IRS Direct File program, because, heaven forbid, Americans save money and skip TurboTax. And just for fun, he closed by torching a $2B Trump-linked stablecoin deal blessed by Abu Dhabi.

“So that’s an $80 million annual freebie for World Liberty Financial. Remind me again, who benefits from this ‘America First’ plan?”

Torres returned for a second round, pressing Bessent on compounded taxation of goods like Intel CPUs, taxed when imported, taxed when manufactured, and taxed again when re-exported.

“Do you even acknowledge that taxing Boeing’s 6 million foreign-sourced parts makes it harder to build planes here? Or are we pretending again?”

Bessent’s answers ranged from delays and deflections to full-on incoherence. And yet, somehow, he’s sent abroad to assure foreign powers that the United States has a trade strategy. It's all the more striking given how fundamentally unserious Trump’s trade policy has become, sloganeering, retaliation, and fantasy economics all packaged in gold foil.

And while Congress was tearing the mask off that particular circus act, another mask, this one literal, was being worn by ICE officers in Newark.

Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday outside the Delaney Hall ICE facility, which had recently reopened under a billion-dollar contract with private prison giant GEO Group. Baraka was trying to inspect the site. That’s it. That’s the story. He tried to observe conditions inside a publicly funded detention center in his city and was arrested. His crime? Standing on the public side of the fence and asking questions.

He wasn’t alone. At least three members of Congress were also allegedly assaulted in the scuffle, leading Rep. Rob Menendez to call it an act of intimidation “not just to the mayor, not just to us, but to everyone watching.”

ICE agents, masked up like an anti-democracy SWAT team, reportedly shoved lawmakers, blocked entry without explanation, and operated with the same arrogance and opacity that’s become the hallmark of this administration’s immigration policy. Baraka was released a few hours later, but not before federal agents made their point loud and clear: Oversight is now trespassing. Democracy is optional.

This brings us to the most Black Mirror-esque development of the week: Trump’s new “CBP Home” app, promoted in a government-funded ad that looks like it was rendered by a drunk AI and written by Stephen Miller on ketamine. In it, Trump announces the launch of the first-ever self-deportation program. Just show up at the airport, book your free flight, and we’ll even give you a thousand-dollar “exit bonus” on your way out. Think of it as “GoFundMe for fascism.”

The app, of course, collects your biometric data, geolocation, contacts, and possibly your blood type. Critics have already likened it to an entrapment tool masquerading as a concierge service. Legal experts aren’t sure whether the app is real, a threat, or a psyop. But the vibe is unmistakable: Download it and you’re volunteering to be a target.

And finally, a moment of clarity from the judiciary.

Late Friday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston temporarily blocked Trump’s sweeping executive order to dismantle the federal government. Her ruling applies to 20 agencies, including the Departments of State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and, notably, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Illston accused the administration of bypassing Congress and attempting to impose massive structural changes through secret memos and unauthorized reductions in force.

“To make large-scale overhauls of federal agencies,” she wrote, “any president must enlist the help of his co-equal branch and partner, the Congress.”

The ruling halts all existing and future RIF (reduction-in-force) notices and forces the Trump administration to disclose previously hidden restructuring plans. In court, government lawyers claimed Congress had no jurisdiction, argued the case was too late, and insisted Trump’s executive order was merely a suggestion, a hilarious argument given that people were already being fired.

Illston wasn’t buying it. Her temporary restraining order is in place through May 23, but the larger legal fight is just beginning. And for now, at least, someone with a gavel reminded the White House that Article I still exists.