Can’t We All Get Along? No
Author: Greg Valliere
January 16, 2025
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERLOOK the bitter relations that dominate this city. There will be calls for compromise as the Inauguration and Martin Luther King Day approach — can’t we all get along? We’re not buying it. Feuds already are dominant and will intensify.
HERE, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, are feuds that won’t go away:
MARCO RUBIO AND CHINA: It got obscured yesterday, but the angry, threatening testimony by Marco Rubio made it clear that U.S. relations with Beijing will worsen; steep new tariffs are virtually certain. Relations between the two countries are in a deep freeze, and China’s incessant spying won’t help.
THE U.S. VS. CANADA: Donald Trump apparently is determined to hike tariffs on Ottawa, which will prompt major retaliation from Justin Trudeau. This morning’s New York Times lists several goods that may face tariffs, including energy products.
THE REPUBLICANS FIGHT OVER FISCAL POLICIES: House Speaker Mike Johnson will have his hands full this winter as Republican fiscal hawks will demand spending reductions. Getting a debt ceiling deal by the next deadline, March 14, looks very unlikely. The very real threat of a shutdown will divide Republicans further.
MIKE JOHNSON VS. MIKE TURNER: The latter was ousted yesterday as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. His sin? He’s a defense hawk, eager to aid Ukraine. The GOP’s young hawks wanted Turner out, and Trump agreed — not a positive development for Kyiv.
SILICON VALLEY VS. MAGA REPUBLICANS: Grass roots Republicans are leery of Elon Musk and other GOP billionaires, and they worry that the uber-rich tech gurus could define the party, not MAGA populists. This has produced a very visible feud, Steve Bannon vs. Musk.
THE FEDERAL RESERVE VS. DONALD TRUMP: We have little doubt that a ferocious battle is shaping up between Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and Trump, who have never gotten along well. No rate cuts for several months? Trump was expecting accommodative monetary policies, and he will howl if the Fed doesn’t cooperate.
GAVIN NEWSOM AGAINST CALIFORNIA VOTERS: Reeling Californians are scathing in their criticism of Newsom’s failure to prepare for a catastrophe; he and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass may face recall petitions.
THE BIDENS VS. NANCY PELOSI: Jill Biden broke the family’s silence this week — Pelosi is blamed for knifing Biden, driving him from office and costing him a second term. The Democrats have a very faint pulse rate, and they need fresh blood, not a bitter feud.
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