this post was submitted on 26 May 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday his tariff policy was aimed at promoting the domestic manufacturing of tanks and technology products, not sneakers and T-shirts.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey, Trump said he agreed with comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 29 that the U.S. does not necessarily need a "booming textile industry" - comments that drew criticism from the National Council of Textile Organizations.

"We're not looking to make sneakers and T-shirts. We want to make military equipment. We want to make big things. We want to make, do the AI thing," Trump said.

"I'm not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I'm not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of other things, and tanks and ships," Trump said.

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[–] salacious_coaster 73 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

JFC, the US was already doing that. How does anyone, let alone 150 million Americans, take this idiot seriously?

[–] Devadander@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well, it’s only about 70 million Americans that support this shit.

[–] Velypso@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 weeks ago

And another 30 million that didn't take him seriously and didn't vote like a bunch of fucking idiots.

[–] MrMakabar@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 weeks ago

How does anyone, let alone 150 million Americans, take this idiot seriously?

[–] MuskyMelon@lemmy.world 52 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Who you gonna sell tanks and ships to when no one trusts you to shut it off if you've filled your diaper?

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 28 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

No one. They're not planning to sell them, they're planning to use them.

Nazi Germany made a lot of tanks too, and they weren't exactly looking to be the world's arms dealer.

[–] MuskyMelon@lemmy.world -4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes but building tanks and ships for ones own use doesn't help to improve the economy.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 2 weeks ago

Trump and his accomplices never wanted to improve the economy.

Enriching themselves and stroking their fragile egos while taking away the rights and often lives of groups of people they don't like is all they ever wanted.

Unchecked corruption, cruelty, and subjugation, that's what it's all about.

[–] desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 weeks ago

the American people (hopefully)

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 40 points 2 weeks ago

Well then why are you slapping tariffs on shoes and t-shirts Donnie? You fucking knob

[–] Burninator05@lemmy.world 27 points 2 weeks ago

So why are there tariffs on clothes? Why have you shown the US to be an unreliable military partner and spurred other countries to invest in their own domestic (or semi-domestic in case of EU partnerships) arms industry?

[–] shiroininja@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ah yes a tank for every home and a technology in every pot.

[–] Ithral@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago

I don't want to pay to maintain an Abrams, but am quite happy with my insulated electric kettle that has a temperature readout. Can we just skip the tank?

[–] ExtantHuman@lemm.ee 23 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Then why the fuck did he put tariffs on the t-shirts? What a fucking dumbass. How is this country so full of stupid that this man was elected twice?!?

[–] Jiggle_Physics@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I couldn't possibly tell you where it started, or every factor, but in the 90s there was a BIG push, in the msm, to have "both sides" opinions on everything. This was pushed by everyone, but championed by Fox. This is when I started to see people with brain dead takes, being taken as seriously, on msm, as people who have been working/studying the topic for decades. I always associated the start of this bullshit with this movement. This is where I first really started to see the "my ignorant opinion is as legitimate as your professional expertise" garbage being mainstreamed.

[–] aceshigh@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Someone nee got into his ear and just like that his direction changed…

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

So if you put crazy tariffs on clothing and don't want to have clothing made in the US, do you expect people to run around naked on the long run?

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

That works better in Florida than it does in Minnesota.

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

That's fine because the tanks are heated.

[–] BilboBargains@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I love confident people explaining how a supply chain works in an advanced economy, especially when they have no clue how any of this stuff is made.

[–] cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Can't read a book, but are experts on everything from medicine to macroeconomics.

[–] wiLD0@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Does the US import military hardware? I thought it was one of the largest arms manufacturers in the world.

I do know it doesn’t produce as much steel as other countries these days.

[–] Carmakazi@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Western MIC is a collaborative effort, though the US has enough sway to either demand that American companies get the licenses to make foreign weapons, or for foreign companies to open factories (if not whole subsidiary companies) in the US. More for strategic reasons than economic ones.

The main gun on the Abrams tank is a German Rheinmetall design. The AT4 rocket we use is Swedish. We buy a lot of H&K (Germany) and FN (Belgium) small arms, in fact the latter is the main supplier of the M4 these days.

[–] MrMakabar@slrpnk.net 8 points 2 weeks ago

Mostly international cooperation on developing weapon systems. F-35, NASAMS, naval strike missile, RIM-116 and some Abrams parts fall under that. It gurantees international customers and lowers US development costs. Sometimes the US likes a foreign weapon systems and buys some. That is rarer though.

Still the US exports a lot more then it imports.

[–] frog_brawler@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

God damn… we’re back to being on about obsolete tanks again? Fuck. Stop.

[–] crozilla@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I remember seeing a lot of new tanks sitting unused and unwanted in some flyover state. The governor kept people making tanks because it would’ve killed jobs in his state.

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

"Bro we need just one more Abrams I promise" -> Not something US generals say as far I know.

[–] DickFiasco@lemm.ee 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

But can a tank "do the AI thing", as it were?

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

AI tanks. What could go wrong?

[–] medgremlin@midwest.social 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well, if we're talking about the Tachikomas from Ghost in the Shell, it wouldn't be all bad. They were capable of enlightenment and self-sacrifice.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 5 points 2 weeks ago

those are japanese tanks, which are more advanced.

[–] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 5 points 2 weeks ago

Tesler makes tanks, the inside of the tank is all computors, xonputors do AI. Get it together man

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Please give him back his pacifier, and for christ sake stop taking it away from him!

[–] Flemmy@lemm.ee 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If Baby Trump wants to make more big military things and ships why not invest in natural disaster response equipment the whole fire department and make modular frames that can be multipurposed... We really need more climate protection.

[–] not_that_guy05@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

See, you already fucked up with having climate in your post.

A for effort

C for execution

[–] Jimmycakes@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Didn't the military specifically ask for no more tanks

[–] Luouth@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

Always knew he was a tankie. Fucking wankie

[–] Hobbes_Dent@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

…so please shut up about it and be happy subsidizing the tanks by paying the tariffs on shirts and sneakers. You pay, we play. Be happy about this.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Tanks.

How very Russian.