From Rhino Reader Christian Rice
Trump’s “America Alone” strategy, which relies on leveraging US spending power as a ‘bully stick’ negotiation tool, has not delivered the promised results. Recent data actually indicates the opposite outcome.
Trade balances have not been restored; for example, in November 2025, the US trade deficit reached $56.8 billion—a 94.6% increase from October, largely due to pre-tariff stockpiling. Over the first eleven months of 2025, the total deficit grew about 4.1% compared to the same period in 2024.
Tariffs aimed at China seem to have little effect, with China achieving a record global trade surplus of $1.19 trillion, up nearly 20% from 2024. This suggests China is less reliant on US markets than assumed by the administration.
Many long-time allies are rethinking their trade relationships with the United States. For instance, Canada’s Prime Minister announced plans at Davos to seek new independent trade agreements and reduce economic ties with the US. In addition, Canadian tourism to the US dropped by around 30%, representing an $8 billion decrease in spending.
Meanwhile, the US manufacturing sector continues to face difficulties. The Manufacturing PMI was below 50 throughout the year, indicating ongoing contraction, with December’s reading at 47.9%. Between 68,000 and 76,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in 2025. While federal efforts generated almost $400 billion in private investment commitments for advanced technology industries like semiconductors and electric vehicles, actual spending on manufacturing construction fell during much of the year. Additionally, half of all US manufacturers report that tariff changes and trade disputes are making it harder to plan for long-term investments. As a result, prospects for manufacturing in 2026 remain uncertain.
Farm bankruptcies are rising, and Americans continue to struggle with affordability in groceries, housing, and energy. Job growth remains flat, and consumer confidence is decreasing, all of which point to the need for a change in the Trump administration’s economic policies.
As voters prepare for the upcoming federal mid-term elections, it’s important to support candidates who promote balanced and disciplined economic policies, aiming for stability and sustainable growth rather than strategies that distance allies and empower competitors. Effective leadership is needed to return discipline to US trade policy.
Wrote this before the Iran war which of course is making things even worse.
Chris I’m just curious, how far back in years has Iran been a pain in not only America’s history but the rest of the worlds
First you answer the question of what we are gaining by this war? you know, the war started by the president who called is opposition ‘war mongers’ while promoting his America First strategy while begging for the Nobel Peace prize.
But what are we to gain from the billions spent and the now ask for 200 billion to fund the war which implies yet another long open-ended war? What are we to gain for the spike in oil, disruption of trade, and yet more cost pressure making affordability a challenge for Americans? What are we to gain for yet again alienating our allies by making this unilateral decision to use military force against Iran?
Conservatives need to figure out if they are war mongers or champions of peace. They clearly look like war mongers to me. They are happy to spend billions to attack a country that was no imminent threat yet want to cut medical care access and food aid to Americans.
What is the Trump administration about…..lower costs? champion of peace? cheap gas? Nope. What is he about other than hating on immigrants? So far that is the only consistent aspect of his administration’s vison for our future.
Answer those questions Will
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I’m an immigrant and I like Trump.
He doesn’t hate me, not in the least, but then I have always been A LEGAL IMMIGRANT.
Then why has Trump gone after legal immigrants…hmmmm especially if their skin color is different.
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He hasn’t.
Hmmmm….
Classic MAGA denial.
Trump administration has Terminated the CHNV Parole Program (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela), directly impacting over 500,000 people who entered the US lawfully
Trump administration has ended Temporary Protected status for over one million immigrants from countries including Haiti, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Somalia, and cameroon….many who have lived in the US for decades.
He has Stripped Student Visas for at least 8,000 students last year with some student arrested or detained for political (ie free speech)
He wrote an executive order to attempting to revoke birthright citizenship
There have been100s of examples of ICE arresting of individuals during routine immigration check-ins and green-card interview, turning standard compliance into enforcement actions (illegally mind you)
Not to mention numerous arrests (as confirmed by Tom Homan) by ICE of US citizens based solely on their location, physical appearance or occupation.
Guess what all these people have in common……they are not white. Guess who received protection status from Trump? WHITE South Africans.
Go figure. Not surprised you ignore these truths given you racists views Austin (or what ever your real name is….)
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What a load of bollocks…. “Professor” – or whatever your real name is.
Yet again, facts force Austin to resort to a childish outburst response.
professor,
I have heard others use that same phrase “…no imminent threat…” time and time again, so I ask you given the history of Iran, please enlighten us as to how long we should wait. What would be the trigger? Let me guess…the Iranians complete nuclear weapons and/or even (God forbid) use one on Israel or even threaten us with one.
Seems to me I remember a British PM who went hat in hand to a dictator asking that he control himself. How did that go over? How many millions of human beings died before we brought that particular piece of wasted flesh to answer for his actions?
I don’t claim to be a religious scholar but having spent a bit of time in that area I studied and learned a few things. One of those was it’s acceptable to lie to an infidel.
Also, I notice you use the same smokescreen, that being “What is he about other than hating on immigrants?” other whiny, mindless liberals use when talking about the illegal alien problem plaguing our country, They are ILLEGAL immigrants. By your line of argument why are we jailing rapists, child molesters, murders, drug dealers, etc. A lawbreaker is a lawbreaker.
To paraphrase you, “answer those questions professor”
My thoughts exactly Patrick Henry! In addition to being the major funding source for terror (murder) around the world (including Americans and US soldiers) Iran is desperate to join the “nuclear club”. Not that it matters to isolationists, but Iran is particularly cruel as recent events trigger the murder of tens of thousands of Iranian citizens. The hardliners in control are truly evil. And the US has been affected going back to 1979, when our embassy was taken over by the radicals: an act of war. Back then Carter refused to treat it as an act of war. Fast forward to 2026 and Iran is still at it. We are right to confront Iran.
Before we go into another country and disrupt and destroy the lives of millions of people, the UN Charter under Article 51 notes that force is only justified in response to an armed attack, often interpreted to include immediate, anticipatory threats. THIS is why the topic of imminent threat is brought. But we know conservatives have no concern for laws as long as THEY get their way. Know what we call leaders who start wars without legal justification? War Mongers. With Trump, every accusation is an admission.
But even more, you are missing the point. The belief that military will change a nation and make it a ‘friendly’ is a failed idea in the middle east where hate, distrust and division go back centuries. Containment has been a highly effective strategy for countries like IRAN. They have been ‘trying’ for nuclear bomb for decades to no avail. So why the urgency now?
Really, why now? We can’t afford the war. We likely won’t accomplish real change with the war. What will really be gained that makes this worth more debt to the US, yet another way for Trump to alienate us from our allies? What happened to Mr Peace President and his America first strategy? Amazing how quickly you accept his flip flop from Trump. Guess the think for yourself crowd prefers to just accept whatever their cult leader demands?
Hope that helps.
Love the pearl clutching leftist democrats inane blabbering out of their chronic TDS. Great cover for the rip off of the county by their ridiculous property appraisal and tax grab. And how much did the re appraisal etc. cost the taxpayer?
Why don’t you answer my question first Chris. I don’t think you can. What was Irans name before it became Iran. And don’t use AI to answer. BET YOU CAN’T
Sure, they have been a pain since they became an Islamic state in the late 70s?
Now answer my questions. Bet you won’t.
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Will, “Professor Chris” thinks Sri Lanka is in Africa!
Asking him the historic name for Iran is way beyond his ignorant little head.
Of course Will doesn’t answer my questions. Not shocked
You are living in a bubble
47 LONG Years. Every president since 1979 has failed to do anything about Iran. About time we took action.
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So tell us, are you spouting your crap under “Chris” or various fake names now?
I love that you have adopted “Professor” since it was me who gave you that handle! And you’ve been hiding behind other fake names lately, haven’t you?
C’mon buddy, fess up.
Al Hare,
Now, now, now…Chris needs to use those names (among others) since he doesn’t live in Skip the Omnipotence’s fiefdom and is not subject to his edicts so folks would disregard him even more.
A psychologist friend of mine gave me a two hour missive on people like this and I simply boiled it down to a line from the movie History of the World Part 1…”Oh, you’re a bulls**t artist”.
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Got it in one !
Thank you…thank you…no applause necessary, just throw money LOL
Christian, nice piece, well done.
“Effective leadership is needed to return discipline to US trade policy.“
I’m sorry Christian, that ship has sailed. Common Sense was thrown out with the bath water decades ago. We’re circling the drain and no one in any Government is listening.
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The supporter of the senile previous President sees no irony in demanding “effective leadership”!
Some of y’all have been watching/listening to way too much FAKE NEWS ! Trump knows what he’s doing— and he’s accomplishing what several past presidents from both parties said they would do, then didn’t. It’s increasingly obvious that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, they will start WW 3. Trump didn’t become a billionaire by being stupid!
You are not wrong.
I’m with Trump till death
That would make you a member of a cult.
Best wishes
which person’s death ends your contract?
The U.S. has reached the “Munich Moment”. I understand that Iran was within weeks of producing weapons grade uranium, and subsequent nuclear bombs, which they will use on you-know-who. Aided by Russia, China, & N. Korea. This is a Doomsday clock.
For many years, Iran has supported international terrorism (some of which was funded by our govt), and continues to do so. Think of Adolph.
This is not a quick fix, it will take time. Just like Venezuela & Cuba. The President does not want us involved in another Iraq or VietNam ground war.
The DSP WANTS the President to fail in everything, including this. All the DSP wants is power (money). How can anyone be wrong, or right, on everything, all the time?
BS. This is as much as lie as the WMD in Iraq. Iran was nowhere near the ability to make a nuclear bomb. At best they had refined uranium to 60% yet a bomb requires 95%. And did you forget when Trump claimed a few months ago that Iran’s ability to manufacture nuclear weapons was ‘obliterated’? Amazing how quick the conservatives support ‘American First’ Trump flip flop on war/peace and his lies about Iran. What a joke.
He just asked congress for $200 billion for this war the claims we already ‘won’. LOL sounds just like Bush when he claimed victory in Iraq and Afghanistan. The MAGA morons seem to be falling for this yet again.
Not shocked
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New readers should know that the individual commenting under the name “Professor” is really “Chris”, or Christian Rice – the person who actually wrote the Letter.
It’s just one of his many sly deceptions.
You morons gave me the name and I liked it. I have commented on this a number of times already. Now you are upset I use it. LMAO
Why do I like it? The username represents all the MAGA nutters hate. Education, Facts, Logic, and that some Sources are more qualified and valid than others. Especially the ‘I thunk it so it mus be troo’ MAGA commenters who hate any reference that proves their biased views wrong regardless of qualification of the source, data or science.
BTW, what is your real name ‘Austin’?
last week you ignored my argument by criticizing my use of theword yall because it represents “identity politics.” i dont know about you, but intentionally mispelling a quote you attribute to maga as “i thunk it so it mus be troo” seems a lot like identity politics to you. how can you claim i am generalizing when you do it yourself? you claim to be a professor and yet you contradict yourself everywhere you go. i have never met a more hypocritical and backwards person.
LOL, my using the misspelling is to highlight the willful ignorance it takes to ignore science because it makes you uncomfortable or counter to your emotional need for belonging to a group that doesn’t value independent thought or ideas but require 100% loyalty and adherence to the group think.
But to be clear, making fun of the MAGA subgroup of the conservative republican party isn’t a sign of identity politics. I don’t personally identify as a loyal democrat. I tend to vote democrat these days but I don’t agree with all Democrat’s policies. Heck even the elected Democrat’s don’t agree with all Democrat’s policies…..they don’t have a single voice the republicans have allowed Trump to dictate and enforce. Democrats actually value diversified thought and ideas.
Hope that helps.
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So do Republicans.
There’s MAGA…. there’s Moderates… there’s RINOs.
Last I checked, if anyone in the House or Senate go against Trump, they are labeled a RINO and primary’d out of the party as Trump controls the majority of RNC funding access. So please don’t act like the Republicans are a single minded cult. LOL
to me*
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He has confessed that what I said is true.
He operates under several fake names. He’s a bullshitter with no balls.
You really aren’t bright are you. I just noted I changed my name. But I get that reading comprehension isn’t your thing.
What is your real name Austin?
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I’ll put my reading comprehension, composition, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, eloquence, and fluency up against yours any day, Einstein.
Your language skills are those of a rather slow fifth grader. And we can all see it.
So spare us the childish insults… IF, IF you can rise above your pitiful puerile pettiness.
what is the point of using multiple aliases? did he think one had a tarnished reputation and the other didnt? he is completely oblivious.
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Good point, but you have to understand that the person we’re dealing with is an emotionally arrested adolescent who’s acutely aware that he’s inadequate. Maybe he has a small penis. Maybe he’s a nerd who was chronically bullied in school. Maybe he’s henpecked by his wife who works in the government schools, which explains his strange anxiety to leap to their defence.
Who knows?
Who cares?
He’s just a pitiful little tosser who’s only here to grandstand, so he can tamp down his insecurities. In his own little mind he’s winning victories and scoring points. It’s part of his – admitted – mental illness that he can’t accept that he’s loathed by everyone here.
Nobody likes him. And it has nothing to do with him being a liberal.
He’s just an asshole.
Say the guy spewing personal insults like a child. LOL self-awareness has never been Austin’s (or whatever his real name is) jam.
i wonder how many friends he has…my money is on none. hes probably already estranged anyone who used to be his friend
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Yes Captain, he displays many types of anti-social behaviour. If I were a psychiatrist I’d be able to diagnose his personality disorder, but I’m not, so I’ll just have to settle for labeling him an asshole.
Hey, it’s really pretty accurate.
Lol I even have Trumper friends. Politics don’t define my life. But what ever fiction makes you sleep at night. Lmao
I don’t use multiple aliases. I just changed from using my real name to a name given to me by my haters as a way to annoy them.
Plus more than once people have used my real name to try and DOX me outside of the Rhino times. One nutter even sent an email to my pastor where I am the Church Treasurer with some weird claim that my letter to the editor meant I wasn’t a “real Christian”. This guy got my Church role from my LinkedIn profile I assume as I listed my volunteer roles on my page. FYI, my pastor doesn’t mix politics with religion as politics is a worldly concept and his role is to share God’s message, not a particular politician’s message.
Why do you not use your real name?
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For that exact same reason.
So stop being upset I have stopped using mine. Weird.
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Liar.
There have been several unusual comments in these columns lately under new names, and names that then disappear without trace, never to be seen again. All of them share your writing characteristics and sentiments. I guess I could ask Scott to check the email addresses and see if they trace back to you.
Would you like me to do that… “Rich ellison” (sic)?
I once use the name ‘Conservative Translator’ or something like that….but other than my attempt at humor I have only used Two usernames. I will use Professor going forward as I like the name you all gave me.
Given you don’t use your real name ‘Austin’, you have no leg to stand on now that I have stopped using mine.
Best wishes.
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Oh yes I do. Everyone knows my pseudonym and that I stand behind what I say. I do not attempt to deceive with other names. I do not praise myself by using one fake name to applaud a Letter I wrote under another name.
That’s fraudulent and deceitful.
Then again, fraud and deceit are “kinda your jam”, aren’t they?
You’re disgusting.
We all see right through you.
I have never used a fake name to praise a letter I wrote. LOL here is a truth you need to accept….not everyone agrees with your point of view. Duh
But I get you…you love a good conspiracy theory and will spew it as truth even though it is nothing more an ‘i thunk it so it mus be troo’ in your head.
Best wishes
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Just the other day “Professor” said “Chris is a great guy”. That is you, patting yourself on the back while pretending to be somebody else.
Do you want me to find it, and quote the exact date & time, or are you going to admit to it?
*****
Now you’re even lying about your lies.
My apologies, I forget hateful people such as yourself have no sense of humor. That string already pointed out my old user name so not my problem if you can’t understand humor.
But you be you Austin (or what ever your real names is)
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Whatever you say, “Rich Ellison” [ one of your fake names ].
LMAO, never used that name. Again, there are many people who agree with line of thinking. Maybe you should widen your circle of friends. I have a few Trumper friends.
How pompous do you have to be to think that I am the only person who doesn’t think like you here in the comment section of the Rhino Times. You really are full of yourself.
Best wishes
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You lie.
You deceive.
You dissemble.
I guess conspiracy nutters have to nut.
I only post as either Chris or Professor with the only exception being once or twice I posted in humor as Conservative Translator (or something like that….)
I’m personally very pleased with President Trump’s performance with tariffs and the war with China, Oops, I meant Venezuela and Iran…
As is typical with conservatives in office, job growth is down, stocks are down, value of the dollar is down, prices are up, interest rates are climbing,and gdp is slowing. But if that makes you happy…..as I say…you be you.
I just came to read the excuses the cult members made for this failed administration, and president. Once the Chinese Yuan (CNY) becomes the preferred currency of the world our nation is done!
Careful, people here don’t believe anyone here is anti-trump so they will accuse you of being me.