The idiot-in-chief’s guide to burning down an empire

There are moments when politics stops being mere governance and becomes a full-blown systemic risk. Donald Trump’s second term is now at that tipping point: each new incident becomes a longer fuse, another barrel of gasoline, the perfect excuse to torch the global economy — and the very principles that hold the world together.

On Friday, May 23, the president was back at it again. Using his platform, Truth Social, he issued about iPhone manufacturing: “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter!” , and shed at market opening.

Anyone remotely familiar with Apple’s supply chain knows that . The logistical complexity, the web of suppliers and labor costs would make it economic suicide. I laid this out in April, breaking down the impossibility of shifting production without doubling or even tripling the final price. This isn’t hyperbole: some analysts…