Althouse: "He starts wiggling and loosening the collar as people disagree with him."

April 27, 2025

"He starts wiggling and loosening the collar as people disagree with him."

He starts wiggling and loosening the collar as people disagree with him. pic.twitter.com/8aqf7iZSVM
— Whatsup - The Purple Whale (@80strolls) April 26, 2025

66 comments:

Leland said...: My 401k had a small decrease, primarily because my options are limited. My other accounts are doing great, and the future for employment looks better. For instance, I got back into TSLA at $221.; 4/27/25, 7:31 AM
Kevin said...: Shorter Luntz: Hey, my preferred answers don’t get no respect.; 4/27/25, 7:32 AM
Iman said...: Luntz belongs in the rearview mirror.

Along with Chippy the Squirrel, his skull merkin.; 4/27/25, 7:37 AM
Wilbur said...: It just shows out of touch the Elites are from normal Americans. Luntz is better than most, but he clearly wasn't expecting this. The responses echo what all of my friends have been saying.
People are FED UP with the state of American society over the last 20+ years. Correction? Hell yes.; 4/27/25, 7:40 AM
Wince said...: Not only the collar tug, what I also noticed when I first saw the video was how courteous the group was with each other and the lack of over talk.

Meanwhile, the market is above where it was a year ago, I believe an all time high at the time.; 4/27/25, 7:41 AM
TaeJohnDo said...: Most Americans understand what Trump is attempting to do to Make America Great Again. MSM and democrats hardest hit.; 4/27/25, 7:48 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I would not want to be anywhere near Eric Daugherty or Frank Luntz.; 4/27/25, 7:49 AM
gilbar said...: i realize that most people aren't overly intelligent..
AND, i realize that most people are clueless and ignorant..

BUT! how BIG was this "crash" he's talking about?
HOW FAR DOWN is the stock market this month?
How much has YOUR 401k made in the last year?
i'll wait, while you go a check.

{my ira is up 7.12% for the year, as of Fri MORNING}
the S&P500 closed Fri at 5525.21,
that's down Almost 2% from Apr 1st's 5533.07

ALMOST TWO PERCENT! Scary! Frightening! Horror!!!; 4/27/25, 8:04 AM
gilbar said...: for the last 12 months, no YTD; 4/27/25, 8:05 AM
Dave Begley said...: You don’t lose money unless you sell. Trade deal with India this week.; 4/27/25, 8:06 AM
Barry Dauphin said...: Luntz sounded like he was working for Gavin Newsom.; 4/27/25, 8:07 AM
Bob B said...: So many blind Trump supporters! I can only open their eyes with one word: EGGS!; 4/27/25, 8:08 AM
gilbar said...: Bob B says:
If ONLY the price of EGGS would come down, everyone would Love Trump!

Serious Question: what are egg prices where you live THIS WEEK?
They were $4.79/doz at fairway 2 seconds ago, when i last checked; 4/27/25, 8:18 AM
gilbar said...: The farm lady i buy my brown eggs from still charges me $2/doz.
but the eggs aren't all the same size (which don't bother me); 4/27/25, 8:19 AM
Cappy said...: Is that Jimmy Kimmel?; 4/27/25, 8:41 AM
Aggie said...: Lutz cannot process two things - faith and trust are concepts that shock him, when he witnesses them. He cannot grasp that the average person could have the intelligence to understand their choices, or to know how to separate BS from direct talk.; 4/27/25, 8:55 AM
Koot Katmandu said...: Lutz has always been a propagandist for the wall street republicans and democrats. He will fight Trumps Main Street policies because that is what he is paid to do.; 4/27/25, 8:59 AM
Gerda Sprinchorn said...: Now that Trump has backed off on tariffs and the market has mostly rebounded, will Luntz have a panel about how Trump has "created $7 billion of wealth" by softening his tariff position?; 4/27/25, 9:07 AM
jaydub said...: The stock market was vastly over inflated by the extra two or three trillion Biden pumped into the economy, and it urgently needed a correction. The S&P dip (not a correction!) is as much a result of that wave passing as anything else. Luntz sounds much like the leftist rabble on this blog, which isn't going to do anything for his reputation.; 4/27/25, 9:08 AM
Kakistocracy said...: "Many of you in the media clearly haven't read The Art of the Deal," WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently told reporters, asTrump announced a pause on tariffs during the market downturn. "You’ve obviously missed what President Trump is doing here." (She was correct on that point.)

The irony is that, if the followers of dealism had examined their "bible" more closely, they might have realized they are taking it far more seriously than intended.

From The Art of the Deal -- a section titled “Have Fun“
"The real excitement is playing the game, I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what I should have done differently, or what’s going to happen next, If you ask me exactly what the deals . . . all add up to in the end, I’m not sure I have a very good answer.” ~ Donald Trump (The Art of the Deal)

I think the "Have Fun" section is the best explanation. He is a narcissist with an addiction to attention. He wants to be able to tune in to Fox News at any time any day and hear people talking about him, speculating about him winning and if he's not, about his next moves that will make him win. The end result or the side effects are not relevant.; 4/27/25, 9:08 AM
Iman said...: kaKAW… kaKAW… kaKAW!!!; 4/27/25, 9:10 AM
Original Mike said...: We HAVE to reshore critical industries. Our security depends on it and I think a lot of people understand that. IF the market tanks, and it certainly hasn't yet, my blame will be directed at those who put us in this precarious position, not those who are trying to get us out of it.

I do know from personal experience that international shipping is a mess right now, which is another symptom of the vulnerability we face if we don't start making our own stuff again. Smaller countries might have to be dependent on foreign trade for their survival but there's no reason the US has to.; 4/27/25, 9:10 AM
Original Mike said...: "The stock market was vastly over inflated by the extra two or three trillion Biden pumped into the economy, and it urgently needed a correction."

It still does.; 4/27/25, 9:13 AM
Peachy said...: If you like lies, hate and BS - watch Maddow and MSNBC.; 4/27/25, 9:14 AM
Breezy said...: Social media teaches us impatience. Most retired people know better.; 4/27/25, 9:18 AM
RNB said...: "Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views." -- William F. Buckley, jr.; 4/27/25, 9:38 AM
Original Mike said...: China controls 90% of rare earth refining capacity.

"Joe Biden read a major speech from his Teleprompter in June, 2021 on this topic. In that speech, Biden promised to mount a “whole of government effort” to speed permitting of mines and processing operations, and to liberate supply chains for imports from China’s control. But his administration made virtually no visible progress in that endeavor across its final 3-1/2 years. Thus, the problem was passed onto President Trump to deal with."

China, a potential hot-war foe, dominates our supply of rare earth elements. That's just fucking brilliant.; 4/27/25, 9:50 AM
Earnest Prole said...: I want to know what fuzzy dark animal is humping the top of Luntz’ head.; 4/27/25, 10:09 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: frank luntz?! What the hell is that fraud doing on TV. Again. He's one of these people, like Karl Rove, who just keep popping on news shows, despite all being wrong and not that intelligent.

These network execs have this group of people they love, and put on their shows despite their lack of brains or talent. why is Jeff "Let me beat my dick in front of you" Toobin still on TV? What, there aren't any other lawyers who can do legal analysis?

Same with Luntz and Rove. And its not just TV its magainzes and Newspapers. Why is nate silver still be quoted as some great expert?; 4/27/25, 10:11 AM
Dunham said...: Is the theme for the posts on Althouse today "removal of brains" because this panel of Trump voters are clueless.; 4/27/25, 10:12 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: I can rememeber when Luntz was connected to the Pat Buchanan campaign. Then he was a "True Conservative". Then he morphed into a "Never Trumper" and next stop was Liberal Democrat. And one point he and Kevin McCarthy were best friends for ever, now they dislike each other.

And through all these changes his political advice and analysis was always wrong. He was the Bill Kristol of political polling.; 4/27/25, 10:15 AM
Kakistocracy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/27/25, 10:39 AM
Big Mike said...: In 1884 they said of Grover Cleveland “We love him for the enemies he has made.” In 2024 people feel the same way about Trump.

Interesting that Trump and Cleveland both won an upset election, lost their reelection bid, then won a second, nonconsecutive, term.; 4/27/25, 10:42 AM
Kakistocracy said...: This is nonsense.

/When Tariffs cut in, many people’s Income Taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated. Focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year. Also, massive numbers of jobs are already being created, with new plants and factories currently being built or planned. It will be a BONANZA FOR AMERICA!!! THE EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS HAPPENING!!! ~ Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump/; 4/27/25, 10:46 AM
Kakistocracy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/27/25, 11:02 AM
Kakistocracy said...: The current stock market downturn stems from President Trump's trade policies, particularly his tariffs, including those on China. Unless these tariffs are repealed, there's little reason to expect a market recovery. These policies reduce U.S. companies' future profits, thereby decreasing their valuations. Until the trade approach changes, the market is likely to remain depressed.

The advice to "buy the dip" assumes the market's decline is a temporary fluctuation within a long-term upward trend. However, Trump and Vice President Vance aim to overhaul the global trading system on which U.S. companies' business models depend. If they succeed, the fundamental value of current stocks, measured by discounted future free cash flows, may not exceed pre-administration levels three years from now.; 4/27/25, 11:03 AM
Jupiter said...: "This is nonsense."
Kaki, you should preface all of your comments with that helpful disclaimer.; 4/27/25, 11:05 AM
Original Mike said...: "However, Trump and Vice President Vance aim to overhaul the global trading system on which U.S. companies' business models depend. If they succeed, the fundamental value of current stocks, measured by discounted future free cash flows, may not exceed pre-administration levels three years from now."

By all means, let's sell our security to boost our stock portfolios.; 4/27/25, 11:08 AM
Original Mike said...: You know what I like about Rich? When President Biden said something nonsensical he was all over it. Because that's what an intellectually honest life-long conservative does.; 4/27/25, 11:10 AM
Jupiter said...: Pretty funny, that jackass Frank Luntz sitting there in his studio with a huge American flag behind his lying Commie ass. Sure, Frank, I'll bet there's one in every room in your house. How much do they cost, Frank? Where were they made?; 4/27/25, 11:10 AM
Darkisland said...: What kakistocracy said

Read Art of the Deal. I just read it last week. Now gonna read his other books.

Fantastic book on several levels.

All props to the writer wh *now* says Trump contributed nothing at all to the book. The writer manages to make this reader fell like he was having a one on one sit down conversation with trump. I don't think Trump wrote the book but it feels like he did.

That is a hell of a talent whoever wrote it.

John Henry; 4/27/25, 11:13 AM
Darkisland said...: Big Mike, re Grover C

"Love Trump's Hate"

To borrow a favorite fascist/progressive cliche

John Henry; 4/27/25, 11:16 AM
West TX Intermediate Crude said...: 1. We need an equity downturn to get lower interest rates- there is ~$10 trillion in treasury debt that will need to be turned over in the next couple of years. Most of this was at ~1%; if it's turned over at >4%, our interest payments will become even more of a problem than they currently are.
2. A smart guy on the internet pointed out that in mid-May, the full effect of the China "boycott" will be felt in our economy. Even stuff that is "Made in USA" often has Chinese-made components, and between that and the completely Chinese-sourced stuff that we once got on the cheap, there will be a lot of things that are either far more costly due to tariffs and short supply, or completely unavailable, like during the "supply chain" crisis during the pandemic. It will be rough for a while.

There are a lot of moving parts in our economy. Nobody knows everything, but some people now some things. Trump and his team are smart enough to know about the points I made, and know the political effects of the Volker recession in 1980-82, during the early parts of the Reagan presidency.
We'll be ok if we stay the course.; 4/27/25, 11:22 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Trump followers are discovering that it’s not so much about any particular policy as having blind faith in the man himself.

Trump's "Dealism" works in real estate because you have to make a profit so to go in with an extreme figure then negotiate back down from that to a figure that will enable you to cut a profit makes sense. But there are two big differences with trade negotiations with individual nations.

First, his real estate hypothesis - that many deals will just not proceed and you let them fall down - cannot apply because you have to reach a final position with a nation.

Second, his tariff policy seems to be based on looking at the deficit between the two nations, and if it disfavours the US it is "unfair" and needs to be reset. But this is based on total ignorance of how trade balances between nations work. There are very good reasons why they will be somewhat random outcomes of one nation being good at producing certain things - say fruit and cheap T shirts - and another one being good at high tech goods like software and AI programs.

So to take that deficit balance as the starting basis for your extreme bid is crazy - it ignores the actual balance of national economic specialisms that each country has. This comes about for sound reasons of geography, educational advancement, climate, investment, access to resources etc etc.; 4/27/25, 11:38 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: “First, his real estate hypothesis - that many deals will just not proceed and you let them fall down - cannot apply because you have to reach a final position with a nation.”

Utterly bizarre and weirdly childlike. You absolutely do not and, in fact, never really do.; 4/27/25, 11:58 AM
Original Mike said...: The problem with free trade is it assumes all nations, or at least the big, important ones, are benevolent actors. In point of fact, they most certainly are not. And even if they were, a pandemic comes along and BAM!, you can't get medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. I've completely changed my view on this over the course of my life. We need to protect ourselves.; 4/27/25, 12:21 PM
loudogblog said...: A 401K is a long term investment and as you get older, you're supposed to shift over from stocks to bonds. It's financial Russian roulette for a senior citizen to be heavily invested in stocks in their 401K.; 4/27/25, 1:02 PM
Mason G said...: "The problem with free trade is..."

Well, if Grok is to be believed, one problem is that free trade doesn't exist. In response to "Which countries do not have any tariffs?", Grok says "No country has completely eliminated all tariffs on all goods."

So I guess free trade is kind of like socialism in that it's never really been tried.; 4/27/25, 1:03 PM
Hassayamper said...: First, his real estate hypothesis - that many deals will just not proceed and you let them fall down - cannot apply because you have to reach a final position with a nation.”

Calvin Coolidge, who gets my vote for one of the top three Presidents in our history, said that if you were walking down the road and saw ten problems coming at you, nine of them would roll into the ditch before they ever reached you.; 4/27/25, 1:17 PM
Hassayamper said...: China controls 90% of rare earth refining capacity.

Rare earths are really not that rare, except by comparison to the more common elements in the Earth's crust. If we need them, we'll get plenty of them here at home, unless Democrats and other NIMBYs cripple our mining interests.; 4/27/25, 1:21 PM
Original Mike said...: "Well, if Grok is to be believed, one problem is that free trade doesn't exist."

Well, that's another problem. My impression is that the countries squawking about Trump's tariffs all have tariffs on us. "Free-traders" will claim that's a benefit to us, but not at the expense of decimating (I know, I know) our industrial capacity, IMO. Cheap goods is not the highest virtue.; 4/27/25, 1:25 PM
Original Mike said...: "Rare earths are really not that rare, "

They're not rare, but they are "dilute", so you have to process a lot of ore. That's why it's (currently) done in China. NIMBY, as you say. I read recently that coal ash is a potential source. It has the benefit that the mining had basically already been done, but you have to build up a processing industry.; 4/27/25, 1:31 PM
bagoh20 said...: "...nine of them would roll into the ditch before they ever reached you."
And thank God for that. It's how the majority of my To Do gets crossed off.; 4/27/25, 2:20 PM
Mason G said...: "Free-traders" will claim that's a benefit to us..."

I think that depends on who "us" is. When you get laid off because your company can't compete on price due to other countries' tariffs on the things you make, that's not a benefit.; 4/27/25, 2:32 PM
Original Mike said...: "And thank God for that. It's how the majority of my To Do gets crossed off."

Remember that old saying, "never do today that which you might not have to do at all." (That is how that old saying goes, isn't it?); 4/27/25, 2:40 PM
bagoh20 said...: "He is a narcissist with an addiction to attention."
If you are the most powerful and famous person in the world loved by millions and discussed 24/7 by the media and by more people than anyone else, is narcissism even a thing to you? Do you have a choice? How can you avoid looking any other way, whether you like it or not? If he likes it, he's going to try and be successful and a hero. That's good motivation, especially when you see him doing tough things that piss off corrupt people. It's far superior to someone who still needs money and fame, and so does things to that aim. Trump wants most to go down as a great President, maybe the greatest. I hope that happens. If you don't, you might need to check your own motivations.; 4/27/25, 2:43 PM
Rusty said...: Hassayamper @ 1:21
Last year they found a huge deposit of lithium in Nevada. They are mining Lanthanum ore in California and Nickle and Boron in Michigans Upper Peninsula.; 4/27/25, 4:05 PM
rehajm said...: It's how the majority of my To Do gets crossed off

Mine too…; 4/27/25, 4:32 PM
Lazarus said...: "I think the "Have Fun" section is the best explanation."

"Have fun" is pretty close to one or two of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy. ... A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." If everything that you're doing is a chore for you, you won't be that good at it and you won't last long. Look at the Democrats having fun in stupid ways: all wearing white or pink, holding up little paddles, etc. Trump at least is working on something substantive for the country and not little partisan games.

One thing presidents learn is that if they don't feed the press, the press feeds on them. If they don't set the agenda, the press will set it for them. That's not a problem for Democrats, but it can be disastrous for Republicans. The president will be at the center of national attention whether he wants to be or not, so he'd better try to influence perceptions rather than let others to it. We'll find out soon enough if Trump's tariff gambit works out for the country. That's what matters, not the continual quibbling along the way.; 4/27/25, 5:37 PM
Michael said...: Why do they stick with Trump? Because no one else has ever done sh!t for them over the past three decades. They're willing to take a chance because the status quo is not acceptable.; 4/27/25, 6:04 PM
Iman said...: ‘The advice to "buy the dip" ‘

I wouldn’t give six bits for your sorry butt, dipshit.

Go sell crazy elsewhere…; 4/27/25, 6:41 PM
Kakistocracy said...: The US exports $150B to China at 20% margin ($30B profit) and imports $450B at 5% Chinese margin ($22.5B). That’s a win. High-margin exports beat low-margin junk.

The trade deficit? Overhyped. The real issue is Americans spend too much and save too little. Tariffs won’t fix that. Slashing education like Tump did just guts US competitiveness. Tariffs are just political theater.

The main news reports like a disaster has been avoided but nothing really fundamentally changed: The US attacks China financially while not holding the best cards and it has betrayed its friends so that they can and will not come to the help like they always did.

You do not know how this ends. But staying on this course will likely result in Americans have too pay considerable more for their products without a source to pay for them, while American products will become more expensive as material loans and so on will go up. Resulting in a downward spiral.; 4/27/25, 6:58 PM
Christopher B said...: "final position with a nation"

A guy with a lot more foreign policy chops than you once remarked "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”; 4/27/25, 7:14 PM
effinayright said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/27/25, 9:25 PM
effinayright said...: Kakistocracy said...
"The US exports $150B to China at 20% margin ($30B profit) and imports $450B at 5% Chinese margin ($22.5B). That’s a win. High-margin exports beat low-margin junk."
************

Where did you get this bullshit.?

"Margin" means nothing. "Gross margin" means *gross* profits on products sold. It does NOT mean NET profits, which are profits net of all other overheads, and are almost always less than "gross". (aside from royalties on IP, e.g.) What's more, "gross margins" vary tremendously from market sector, e.g. pharma high, agrricultural low.

DERP.

So where, one asks, does Kaka get his bogus info? What Chinese statistics does he actually believe reveal **their real**situation?

If they are actually selling their products at a 5% gross margin, that most certainly means their entire export economy is operating at a LOSS.

How, one asks, can a gigantic economy grow, if it has been doing that for years?; 4/27/25, 9:36 PM
catter said...: He's trying to tell fifteen confident, competent, middle-aged people how to feel about something. That always works.; 4/27/25, 9:37 PM