Tariffs and Toys Sinking Our Future

The cargo cranes are stalling. Ships are bypassing the San Pedro Bay. And in homes across America, back-to-school budgets are about to buckle under the weight of Donald Trump’s latest political stunt.

The Port of Long Beach, one of the busiest gateways to the American economy, is projecting a 34% drop in cargo this quarter. That’s worse than the supply chain collapse of the COVID pandemic – and it’s no accident. It’s the direct result of Trump’s 125–145% tariffs on Chinese goods, a self-inflicted economic wound that’s already forced the cancellation of more than 70 sailings to Southern California ports.

Port CEO Mario Cordero put it plainly: “It doesn’t look good.”

No, it doesn’t. Not for the longshore workers facing layoffs. Not for truckers watching hours disappear. And not for the families heading into July – peak season for back-to-school and holiday shopping – who are about to find the prices of clothes, sneakers and school supplies skyrocket.

But if you ask Trump, the answer is simple: “They don’t need 30 dolls,” he said. “They can have three.”

That’s not policy – it’s aristocratic indifference dressed up in a flag pin. It’s the 21st-century version of “let them eat cake.” Only this time, it’s not flour and famine. It’s tariffs and inflation. And the children doing with less aren’t royal subjects – they’re American citizens.

While he lectures struggling families on sacrifice, Trump’s own business empire is feasting offshore. He’s building hotels and licensing deals in Vietnam, India, Qatar and the UAE – not here at home. There are no new Trump projects creating jobs in the rust belt or rebuilding ports in California. Just global expansion for personal profit – wrapped in the rhetoric of economic nationalism.

And it gets worse. His family-linked crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, is quietly brokering a $2 billion deal with the government of Abu Dhabi using a Trump-branded stablecoin. This isn’t about transparency or national interest. It’s about influence, access and old-school enrichment behind a digital curtain.

Meanwhile, the working class is told to tighten their belts and shop smarter – as if inflation is a moral failing and empty ports are just a blip.

This is not how you build a nation. This is how you bleed one dry.

The Port of Long Beach is more than a statistic – it’s a bellwether. And right now, it’s warning us loud and clear: Trump’s economic grift isn’t aimed at prosperity. It’s aimed at control. It’s theater for his base and austerity for everyone else.

Tariffs, toys, crypto deals and collapsing cargo – they all tell the same story.

This isn’t America First. This is Trump First. And it’s the rest of us who pay the price.

Stephen Downing is a Long Beach resident and a retired LAPD deputy chief of police