Sometimes Trump says something that provides insight into his knowledge of the economy.

In response to a question from a journalist who pointed out that the ports are starting to empty, Trump replied: "That means we are losing less money."

That answer is the baby level of knowledge about the economy.

Import is loss and export is profit, that's essentially what that answer boils down to.

That's a shocking answer because it makes it clear to anyone with a bit of understanding of the economy that Trump really has no idea how the economy works.

But... I realize that not everyone is an economist, so below is an explanation of why the answer is so wrong.

In the US, a lot of products are conceived. Think of Apple, which creates all the designs for its products in the US. However, the actual product, like the iPhone, is largely made in China. The profits mainly go to American companies, because the biggest margin is on the final product. The final product goes back to the US so that Apple can package it and sell it as an American product. This also provides some work for employees in the US, as well as for the printer who gets to make the box.

So, the products for the American market also come in through the ports, but a significant amount also arrives via American ports that will ultimately end up in Canada and Mexico, and sometimes elsewhere in the world.

So, that container ship that arrives in the American port is profit for American companies, but it's also work for the port, for freight transport, for importers, etc. It's also work for the chain around Apple.

No ship in the port therefore means no work in the chain. It also means for the government: no tax revenue.

In short, the economy shrinks if that ship no longer comes.

So, "We are losing less money" because there are no ships is utter nonsense. It shows a shocking lack of knowledge about how the economy works. The Republicans continue to follow that economically blind, or as I recently pointed out, 'intellectually naked' emperor of the US, the president. That can only lead to an enormous disaster.

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