On Tuesday this week, the U.S. president said he would never bend from his tariff strategy. “Don’t be weak. Don’t be stupid,” he told his lemming-like faithful on Truth Social. “Instead be strong, courageous and patient,” adding he would never back down.

The next day, Trump caved, and left his newly formed party of Panicans — the truly ‘weak and stupid people’ who believed him, dangling.

Trump backed off his misguided tariff plan because the markets crashed. Pure and simple. Even Elon Musk called Trump’s tariff plan idiotic, and Trump’s tariff guru, Peter Navarro, a “moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

What’s scary, however, is Trump can’t admit he was wrong, and he’s surrounded himself with “yes” men who won’t challenge him.

But Diane Swonk, the chief economist at KPMG, put it to the American people straight. “This is nuts. Damage done. Market relief is a headfake, unless the administration makes a major course correction,” she said, adding, “Uncertainty is its own tax on the economy.”

Nor is that uncertainly likely to change. Trump’s very unreliability, and the fact that he assaulted our closest allies in such unseemly ways, will likely erode the strong economy he inherited, along with America’s reputation as a reliable, well-intentioned ally. And over the next four years, what country will believe anything Trump says going forward?

Only MAGA Republicans will fall for the foolishness that backing down was Trump’s strategy all along.

Angelo Lynn