"Liberation Day" surprise: Trump gets outmatched

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"Liberation Day" surprise: Trump gets outmatched
Sen. Cory Booker steals Trump’s tariff limelight with a historic marathon speech

By Brian Karem
White House columnist
Published April 3, 2025 9:17AM (EDT)


(Salon) Donald Trump strode into the Rose Garden Wednesday with the elegance and subtlety of a sledgehammer. He was there to enact a variety of “reciprocal tariffs” on a host of nations, friends and foes, on what he called “Liberation Day.” Within a minute of smiling and walking to the podium, he talked about “punishing” our allies and told us “in many cases the friend is worse than the foe” in trade. He pointed at the Oval Office about 60 feet away from where he stood, and as the brisk April breeze danced through his thinning hair, he said he blamed former presidents and past leaders for destroying the manufacturing base of the U.S. “To an extent no one can even believe.”

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On day 72 of the new Donald Trump regime, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker took it. But to Donald’s credit, Booker had to stand up for 25 hours straight, without a bathroom break, without eating, without resting and had to hold the floor of the U.S. Senate to accomplish the task.

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To them, Trump’s revenge tour (i.e. his new administration) is “Liberation Day,” above and beyond what Trump did in the Rose Garden Wednesday. “He liberated us the moment he walked into the White House,” his followers continue to preach. So, if Trump says domestic production will increase exponentially “overnight,” then they believe it.

That is diametrically opposed to what Booker said in his opening remarks before he stood up to oppose Trump in the Senate. “In just 71 days, the president has inflicted harm after harm on Americans' safety, financial stability, the foundations of our democracy, and any sense of common decency," Booker said in his introductory remarks. "These are not normal times in our nation. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate." ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/04/03/liberation-day-surprise-gets-outmatched/