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THE FIRST TO FOLD: VIETNAM

“So many people in the United States are drama whores….” — DML

Sometimes I wonder if America’s lost its damn mind. How did we even get great? Yesterday, I’m staring at the TV, watching Jim Cramer on CNBC whining about a “Black Monday”—a Wall Street crash like ’87 when stocks tanked 22%. Then I see liberals jamming city streets, howling for Trump’s head over tariffs. Paid protesters, most of them. The rest? Can’t pay their student loans but somehow they’re tariff experts, trade war gurus, and stock speculators. Spare me. Smart people are an endangered species in this country—thank goodness for people like Trump, me, and you, the brilliant souls reading and sharing this newsletter!

FOOLS WHO KNOW NOTHING

LITTLE BEN
I burned an hour of my life on X yesterday, digging into what the self-proclaimed “experts” and podcast bigshots say about Trump’s tariffs. What I learned is that stupidity is a virus. Leading the pack: Ben Shapiro, history’s most overrated podcaster. No clue how he’s chart-topping, but he’s out there yelling Trump’s tariffs are a giant consumer tax—one of the biggest ever. He is wrong. Dead wrong.

Shapiro’s a Trump hater playing coy. Back in 2016, he trashed him—called Trump a liar, a spoiled brat — Ben swore he’d never vote for him. When his podcast started fading and Daily Wire hit the skids, he flipped, faking Trump love to save his ass. Then 2024 rolls around, he’s all in for DeSantis—until that flopped, and he crawled back to Trump. Guy’s a wreck—mention Israel, he spazzes out. Reportedly, Daily Wire appears to be tanking these days — money problems they say; and don’t forget Ben shilled hard for the COVID jab. Listen to Ben at your own peril. 

LUCKY CUBAN
Next up: the most overrated entrepreneur of all time, Mark Cuban, a.k.a. the disgraced billionaire and luckiest man alive. Most people don’t know this, but Mark struck fools gold thanks to the train-wreck known as Yahoo!, and its sheer idiocy during the dot-com bubble.

Cuban ran a failing, barely grabbing revenue online audio platform targeting college basketball — or something to that extent. Reportedly, it was bleeding cash at the time — but it was a dot com, so Yahoo! didn’t care. The Yahoo! executives — who I’d say couldn’t find their ass with both hands — went on the delusion that “everything online wins”. Thus, they dropped billions on Cuban’s company that was barely scraping by. It’s the equivalent of you buying your neighbor’s broken 2018 Honda Accord for a billion bucks. Now Cuban’s on X rambling away — trashing Trump’s tariffs. Never forget, this is the same genius backed Hillary and Kamala. Tune him out.

DINGBAT YANG
Recall the brainless Democrat, Andrew Yang? Born in NY to Taiwanese parents who allegedly came here on student visas — did anyone check their status; gotta love that 14th Amendment. 

Regardless, the all-over-the-place messenger ran for president in 2020 with a lapel clipped “MATH” pin like some nerd savior. Clearly, Yang can’t calculate a trade deficit. Time to call in the border czar, lets do some research.

SEN. TED CRUZ
It is time for a Republican to primary Ted Cruz in Texas. First, he barely scrapes by in elections. Second, what’s he done besides yapping on Hannity and pumping out his podcast? Texas is bleeding red, turning purple faster than any state, and this guy’s playing radio host. Cruz whines Trump’s tariffs will hammer Americans on car prices—pure ignorance. He’s got no clue. Never forget that Cruz called Trump supporters “low information voters.” He also handed out teddy bears to illegals as they crossed the border during Obama’s presidency. Never forget he lobbied for more work visas for foreign workers. Ted’s made-for-TV fight for the American worker is total BS. It still burns me how he swiped my 2012 argument directing the GOP to reject Obama’s amnesty-Obamacare link — Ted tried making it his own discovery. Bottom line: ignore his tariff drivel, skip his podcast.

SOME LIB NAMED SETH
Seth Abramson peddles anti-Trump books, propped up by the NY Times bestseller list. This dimwit hyped last week’s stock dip as a historic disaster, tying it to the Great Depression and other crashes. Conveniently, he skipped the massive wealth that roared back after each one.

I can do this all day. But I won’t.
I could list the endless media and DC clowns bashing Trump because it’s trendy. “Fear the tariffs, dark days loom!” Even CNBC’s Jim Cramer—practically 120 years old —screams “BLACK MONDAY” ahead. Hosting a stock show’s dull as dirt; he’s got to yell “market’s collapsing, run!” to matter. Drama whores infest everything.

Instead of highlighting more flaming losers, let’s speak the truth: Here’s a headline that torched the NY Times to print today.

TRUMP’S FIRST CUSTOMER

Trump’s tariff strategy will force countries to swim into his net. I’ve hammered this weekly since the 47 Report and DML Report kicked off. Trump’s not taxing you; he’s saving America. Trump’s tariffs will work. Gotta give it time. And his first fish has bit the bait. VIETNAM.

Vietnam’s top guy, To Lam, is sweating bullets. 
On April 6, he fired off a desperate plea to President Donald Trump: give us 45 days before you drop the tariff hammer. Why? Because Trump’s about to slam a 46% duty on Vietnamese imports, a move that’ll gut their economy faster than a chainsaw through bamboo. This isn’t some limp-wristed negotiation—it’s a reckoning. Vietnam’s been cozying up to the U.S. for years, playing the “former foe turned friend” card, only to get blindsided by a tariff rate that makes China’s look like a love tap. And you know what? It’s about damn time.

Trump’s not here to coddle freeloaders. Vietnam’s been raking in billions, shipping 30% of its exports—think cheap shoes and knockoff electronics—straight to American shores. Last year, their trade surplus with us hit $123 billion. That’s not a partnership; that’s a heist. Trump sees it clear as day: they sell us their junk, we get nothing back, and our workers get screwed. His tariffs are a steel-toed boot to the gut of that scam, forcing Hanoi to face the music. To Lam’s letter begged for a face-to-face in Washington by May’s end, promising talks to “benefit both our peoples” and stabilize the region. Translation: he’s terrified of the economic bloodbath coming Wednesday if Trump doesn’t blink.

And why should he? Vietnam’s GDP’s got a 5.5% chunk dangling over the abyss, according to ING’s number-crunchers. One swift tariff swipe, and it’s gone. That’s leverage, baby—the kind Trump wields like a maestro. He’s not just punishing Vietnam; he’s sending a message to every trade cheat from Cambodia to Laos: pay up or get out. The U.S. isn’t your piggy bank anymore. Hanoi’s Foreign Ministry clammed up when asked for comment—probably too busy scrambling for a Plan B. Good luck with that.

This tariff blitz is pure Trump genius. Vietnam thought it could ride the anti-China wave, snagging American apparel brands like Nike and Adidas as they ditched Beijing. For years, they’ve been a manufacturing darling, a cheap-labor haven for companies too spineless to build in the USA. Now, with a 46% wall about to crash down, those same brands are watching their stock prices tank—Nike, Adidas, Puma, all bleeding red since Trump’s announcement. Cry me a river. They had decades to bring jobs home. Instead, they bet on Vietnam’s low-wage grift. Trump’s tariffs are the wake-up call: America First means America builds, not Vietnam.

To Lam’s not wrong about one thing—the whiplash is real. Vietnam’s been strutting around as Washington’s new bestie, a counterweight to China’s bully tactics. Strategic ties? Check. Economic deals? Check. Then bam—Trump drops the tariff bomb, and Hanoi’s left clutching its pearls. But don’t buy the sob story. This isn’t betrayal; it’s justice. Vietnam’s been dumping goods on us while barely buying a dime of ours. Trump’s not here to play nice with one-way leeches. He’s here to win.

The fallout’s already seismic. Economists say Vietnam’s the hardest-hit in Asia, bar none. That 46% rate isn’t just a tax—it’s a sledgehammer to their export-driven mirage. American consumers might see prices tick up, sure, but that’s the cost of breaking the addiction to foreign handouts. Trump’s betting we’ll pay a little more to bring jobs back, and he’s right. Vietnam’s benchmark stock index cratered 8.1% in two days—proof they’re not ready for a fair fight. Meanwhile, U.S. and Vietnamese businesses are begging for a delay, and Hanoi’s dangling a Boeing plane deal like a carrot. Too late. Trump’s not swayed by shiny bribes; he’s locked in.

This is the Trump doctrine: hit hard, hit fast, and force the table. Vietnam’s pleading for 45 days, but they’re missing the point. Tariffs aren’t a negotiation tactic—they’re the endgame. Trump’s rewriting the rules, making America the priority again. Vietnam can adapt or collapse. Their choice. Either way, the days of riding our coattails are over. More countries will swim into the net this week — just watch.

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