What Trump actually means by a ‘bloodbath’ if he’s not elected

[Note: This one was published at The Telegraph on Monday.]

New polling data from Rasmussen shows that just 30 per cent of Americans trust the political information they receive from the US legacy news media, and a strong majority, 59 per cent, agree with Donald Trump that the media is indeed an “enemy of the people.” This past weekend provided a textbook example why. 

While making a speech on Saturday in Ohio, Trump veered off in his classically disjointed way into a discussion about ongoing efforts of Chinese auto companies to find a means of avoiding US tariffs of up to 27.5 per cent on their products and enter into America’s enormous market. In discussing the matter, Trump noted that China is building “a couple of massive plants in Mexico” and warned Chinese leader Xi Jinping that, if elected, he would invoke “a 100 per cent tariff on every single car” those companies attempt to export into the US.

After setting that clear and unambiguous context, Trump then said, “You’re not going to be able to sell those cars, if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole … that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars.”

In all, the relevant part of Trump’s speech lasted about 17 seconds. But, in a clear effort to turn this pretty standard Trumpian message into a controversy, most all legacy media outlets based in the US have aired or quoted from a carefully edited 8-second clip that removes all the context related to China’s attempt to enter the US market with its EVs.