COPPER PRICING: Minnesotans know about the Iron Rangers' greed causing their will to poison the water via copper mining where sulfide toxic waters have more or less resulted wherever copper has been mined before. For a stinking handful of short term jobs, in exchange for doing it.
Emmer, not his district, and stauber, his district, pose a few jobs for the spoiled Rangers, as a fit thing for the rest of us in state to suffer undue risk. The risk, the long term poisoning after the ore's been depleted short term, all that mischief can happen. What havoc is possible is in a future nobody can claim to fully predict, but the copper mining industry has a consistent tawdry history elsewhere. And Emmer as whip, and Stauber as a willing vote per a thin passage majority in the House for the Billionaires' Beauty Bill - does that mean the pair are owed a bargained poison payback for pushing that monstrosity over the hump and onto the People?
Or does a strong streak to seek revenge for the slightest thing (e.g., punishing Brazil for seeking redress for excesses while in power by the dude who gave Musk the chainsaw on primetime showtime) now work against Musk, who has had the temerity to criticize the Billionaires' Bill and be exiled and figuratively flogged for speaking out?
It could be both. Trump can multitask his meanness. He has practiced being a mean ass over time, including his reality TV stuff and his honing the retribution promises he campaigned on as somehow deserved by a white male Republican bloc voting faction. He may have just been born mean, and then schooled further by father Fred in collecting rents while consigliore Roy taught NYC business realities. Who knows? Stories have been published.
UPDATE: He could wrongly believe he's doing the right thing, by tariff threats to the world's economy. Who knows for certain, from outside of the space between Trump's two ears? He seems to pick golfing partners and yes men over others, in forming an echo chamber governing team. For better or worse.
FURTHER: Financial Times has reported facts about the copper price intervention intentions, and likely fallout. With golfing partner Lutnick mentioned:
Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary, said in a CNBC interview that he expected the copper tariffs to be put into place as soon as the end of this month or early August.
Copper futures traded in New York soared 13 per cent to $5.69 a pound, marking an all-time closing high and the biggest jump on records stretching to 1969, according to FactSet data. Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange dropped 2 per cent on Wednesday morning, reflecting fears that the tariffs would reduce copper consumption in the US and dent global demand.
FT also published market analyses of the move:
“Our expectation is official confirmation of a 50 per cent rate within weeks and implementation within 30 days,” Citi analysts said.
“We think this is a watershed moment for the copper market in 2025 as imminent flagged tariff implementation should abruptly close the window for further significant US-bound copper shipments — possibly for the rest of 2025,” they added.
There's more to FT's report, and the copper tariff threat has been widely reported.