As Trump threatens to close border, experts warn of billions in economic damage

[DonViejo]

By MOLLY O'TOOLE, NOAH BIERMAN and ELI STOKOLS APR 01, 2019 | 4:15 PM | WASHINGTON

When the Trump administration abruptly shuttered the San Ysidro border crossing for five hours on the Sunday after Thanksgiving following a skirmish with a group of migrants, holiday traffic snarled for hours south of San Diego.

Businesses on the U.S. side of the border lost about $5.3 million in sales, local officials said. Tens of thousands of people were temporarily stuck on both sides of the border, creating chaos in nearby areas.

President Trump now is threatening to exponentially increase the scale of that disruption, vowing to indefinitely close the U.S. border with Mexico to show his resolve — and his pique — as tens of thousands of Central American migrants continue to jam legal entry points and unguarded remote areas.

Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, said Sunday that the president, who has threatened to close the border before, is not bluffing. But White House officials declined to provide details of what, if anything, Trump intends to do.

It is probably impossible to close the entire 2,000-mile-long border. But Trump could shut some or all of the 47 official entry ports, which process more than 1 million people and about $1.7 billion in commerce every day.

more
https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-border-closing-chaos-20190401-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Is he actually *trying* to ruin our economy?

Is he short-selling stock or just being a dick?

[ginnyinWI]

7. That was my first thought, too.

But I think it's really his very short-sighted view that he wants to win reelection and doesn't care how much destruction of our country it takes to get there. He has to win this fight no matter how stupid and no matter who or what it hurts.

[Eyeball_Kid]

8. He's manipulating the political market.

He creates a crisis with threatening to close the border. He won't close the border. We'll discover this very soon. But he'll get accolades for REVERSING HIS DECISION TO CLOSE THE BORDER. This will bring him praise for his practical judgement and will increase his approval ratings. Kabuki, meet Theatre.

[Initech]

2. Trump is treating the border like it's his personal plaything.

And that's scary.

[Mc Mike]

3. Master vlad will be pleased.

[Girard442]

5. Love your sig.

That is exactly what alt-righters do when they defend Trump against charges of antisemitism.

[Mc Mike]

9. Sure. I'd prefer to substitute 'nazi' for 'anti-semite'. Just 'anti-semite' is the

most central part, direct through line, of most all of those whackjob far-righties' nazi ideas and aims.

I didn't want to paraphrase Sartre, though. Mike Brooks, from Sam Seder MR group, broadcast that quote a couple years back.

All Rump's nazi buddies want to say Rump can't be antisemitic, look at Jared/Ivanka and Cohen. All of the nazi righties love Rump, and keep posting Hitler nazi stuff all the time, at the same time.

They love Rump because he's a nazi, they know he's antisemitic, and you know they know. And they know you know. Now let's argue with them about whether he's a nazi antisemite.

It's sure to be an honest open exchange of ideas.

[Girard442]

10. It's like Trump cheating at golf.

It's transparently obvious to everyone what's going on, but he's standing there with that shit-eating grin knowing that no one is going to call him on it.

[Mc Mike]

11. He always was a Bavarian little prince, after all.

His daddy bought him his button.

[Girard442]

4. This is what the Deplorables are seeing in their heads.

[Iliyah]

6. I forget the name of local news channel

yesterday but they basically said that if the boarder is shut down, California can get avocados elsewhere, i.e Florida and other Latin countries. But alas, although Mexico is California largest distributors of avocados, it's not just that, the trade is much larger on both sides and it effects majority of the USA. Therefore, it would hinder our failing economy even more so.