Axios this morning reported that trump told FOX he won't work on tax reform until Trumpcare is passed. He also said he is open to a border tax. "Let's call it an import tax, a reciprocal tax... I love the idea of reciprocal, or a mirror tax... when you say reciprocal nobody fights you." If Trump's pledge holds, we could have many months of acrimonious health care debate. The only alternative might be a draconian one that is almost unmentionable. That would be

The only alternative might be a draconian one that is almost unmentionable. That would be passage of the Trump health bill in the House and then the application of the nuclear option in the US Senate.

This would be unprecedented and could lead to a serious crisis.

Would Trump nuke healthcare?

One would guess that this draconian course is on the table, at least in the mind of the president. But there are at least 26 million Americans who might have none of it. These are the ones who would be bumped from the insurance rolls under the GOP legislation.

100 days

In the first 100 days, Trump did not keep many promises. He did not label china a currency manipulator. He has imposed no promised tariffs. No tax cuts have taken place. Sweeping NAFTA promises are unfulfilled. The President has not "stayed the hell" out of Syria. The Wall has not. ISIS is still around. The proposal for term limits on Congress has not been mentioned.

Here is what Trump did. He reduced environmental regulations, gave coal carte blanche, and withdrew from TPP. Axios did not mention the Muslim ban or the failed healthcare initiative which Trump now wants to see resurrected.

China

Axios says China has responded to Trump's tweet for help. Trump said: "North Korea is looking for trouble.

If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A." To which China President Xi Jinping is said to have phoned that he would work with the US for peace on the Korean peninsula. His aim is denuclearization.

Trump's Syria boast

Trump said on FOX, "What I did should've been done by the Obama administration along time before I did it." This is like saying, if I had been around John Wilkes Booth never would have gotten into Lincoln's box.

Bannon future ominous

In a NY Post interview, Trump was not effusive about his far right-wing sometime alter-ego, Steve Bannon. Gary Cohn of Goldman Sachs who advises Trump on finances would like to see Bannon gone. If Donald is going uptown, he will decide that his new alter-ego is no longer the former Breitbart chief but Mr. Cohn. The backfire potential for cutting Bannon off is huge so it may not happen immediately, if ever.

United still apologizing

United keeps apologizing but there are no fundamental ways at present of changing the growing chasm between the wealthy and the rest of America.
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