Welcome to the beat. I'm Ari Melbler, and we are covering this fallout from Trump's ailing trade war.

Markets have tanked, and they did stabilize a bit over the hopes the tariffs would end.

Now they remain low, and the reality is setting in, which is our top story, because we are seeing the MAGA talking points stretched to the breaking point in trying to defend

the ongoing cost of the trade war. There are now comparisons of President Trump to Scrooge himself,

the villain in a Christmas carol, or Scrooge McDuck, if you remember that version, who

infamously opposed any holiday cheer.

Also comparisons to Marie Antoinette,

as the economic newspaper, The Financial Times,

says that Trump has reached the negative Maria Antoinette moment.

Let them eat cake.

As he calls for national sacrifice,

the Times says it's falling flat,

since it's a sacrifice of Trump's own making, his own policies.

Meanwhile, the economy is revealing more and more ominous cracks.

They judge us.

We judge it.

This, I think, fair to say, is worse than the worst case scenario of the tariffs.

Burning down the house to cook a steak.

The Dow, the S&P and the NASDAQ,

all down between three and a half and now five percent.

Economic Armageddon.

Trump's trade war wiping trillions of dollars in value from these markets.

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