Author: craigcrawford

Trail Mixers are welcome to join me live on YouTube interacting with commenters 10am ET (will go live at 9am to see if it’s working).

I’m just going to talk about breakfast, stuff like which is best: crispy or soft hash browns? Maybe other hot button issues like pancakes or waffles. Denny’s or IHOP?

Might only be a curious dog or two online, but I’m just playing. And dogs are the ideal live audience — engaged, nonjudgmental, and always interested when bacon is involved.

We really didn’t need further proof of Trump’s weird alliance with Putin, but here it is: Yesterday he imposed new tariffs on Ukraine — but not Russia.

The White House tried to explain it away by claiming that we have no “meaningful” trade with Russia since the sanctions were imposed. But the U.S. still trades more with Russia (worth $3.5 billion) than with countries like Mauritius or Brunei that did make Trump’s tariffs list.

Rolling Stone: “Trump announced the imposition of a significant tariff on the uninhabited Australian territory Heard and McDonald Islands — a remote outpost populated only by penguins and other Antarctic wildlife”.

AXIO: What to know about the wartime authority Trump invoked for mass deportations

“but he sure plays one on TV” — Tom Friedman

Trump revealed some spooky stuff yesterday in his Oval Office ambush of Zelensky. He seems to think he and Putin are in a buddy movie:

“Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt, where they used him and Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia, you ever hear of that deal? … It was a phony Democrat scam. He had to go through it. And he did go through it.”

He was even more wistful about Putin during a meeting with the UK prime minister: “I’ve known him for a long time now, we had to go through the Russian hoax together.”

Is that all there is to explain Trump’s affinity for Putin? He thinks they’re co-martyrs facing unfair attacks.

If so, then he really is Russia’s useful idiot.

• Consumer confidence in Feb posted its biggest drop since 2021
• Pending home sales dropped to the lowest level on record
• Weekly jobless claims jumped 26%, much higher than expected
• Egg prices hit an all-time high: $4.95 per dozen
• S&P 500 and NASDAQ both entered negative territory for the year
• S&P 500 has fallen 2.5% in the past month, NASDAQ down 4.1% in past month

Consumer Strike Today
USA TODAY: Consumers are planning a one-day economic blackout on Feb. 28. Here’s what to know.