A director from Italy shoots a movie in Africa with a script written by a German for a US studio, owned by a London-based hedge fund. And Trump wants to tax — with a 100% tariff — the non-US parts.
When I saw the news about Trump's desire to tariff foreign films to protect the American movie biz, my first thought was that someone had hacked Truth Social. Surely, Our President must know that most American movies suck anymore. Indeed, and for all the money which paves the golden streets of Hollywood -- as evidenced by all the fancy cars and lucrative cocaine budgets -- the place has descended into intellectual poverty and bankruptcy of thought and message.
In my moviegoing experience of recent decades, American movies tend towards awful. Scripts are shallow, plots are formulaic, storylines are miserable and emblematic of the juvenile brainiacs who somehow have come to dominate the industry. Worse, other (and presumably older, wiser) people actually write checks to fund this dreck and drivel.
If you want a momument to cinematic failure, look no further than Disney. Not only has the collective Disney C-Suite crashed the Star Wars franchise, they even hamburgered a remake of Snow White, aka Snow Woke. Pinnocchio would roll in his grave, if only his nose wasn't so long.
Exactly Byron, the old communist Hollywood guard passed the torch to the new woke communist regime. It all adds up to a really bad ending…seems like Bill watched too many movies instead of documentaries. Fairytales over reality, depending on the producer🤔
I am happy with my subscription to BPR, but would be thrilled if it was just Dan Denning and Tom Dyson, as their writings offer investment wisdom. BPR’s namesake is such an articulate writer, that articulately droning on and on in every article about the person in the White House has become more important than articulating sage investment advice.
Fiat money is broken. Check.
The Federal Reserve should be abolished. Check.
Gold is real money. Check.
The swamp remains swampy. Check.
Write something articulate about how we should invest in this climate or give it a rest, Bill.
The big picture has been laid out by Bill long ago. So, for a daily write-up, musings on shorter timescales are what it is. Not everyone might agree with detailed characterizations, but chances are that Bill will be right a few years down the road.
If you are not enjoying his contributions, just don’t bother and concentrate on Wed and Fri…
Frankly, offering solutions is no man's land. There are no solutions. Congress is bought, the US$ is going in the tank, and the Empire is crumbling. There is no stopping it - telling our Government to cut out the corruption, reduce spending and balance the budget while stopping inferring all over the globe. Seriously - that is going to do what????????? Sorry...just an ol' man's rantings.......
While I agree with you. Trump is doing things much more different than other administrations. We may be doomed but ‘maybe’ he’s on a good track in at least prolonging the disaster.
Yes old man, the only solution is selling everything here in the States, buying Bitcoin and escaping to Argentina. Gold is just too heavy and the extra weight cost for luggage will break you…
Bill does provide solutions. Cut government spending balance the budget pay off the debt and stop wasting money on the military industrial complex fighying those who have no intention of invading the USA. We all know this.
Mr. Louw, But does Bill provide practical solutions? Let's say Joe Smith's preteen daughter, Laura, comes to him complaining about being called Tubby or KFC by kids at school. If Mr. Smith was like Bill, he would simply reply: "Well, lose some weight!" A responsible parent would work with Laura on a plan to lose weight and provide a reasonable timeline in which to accomplish it.
Bill writes (unless he sometimes uses a ghost writer) about 240 essays each year, yet during the previous few years, in particular, he has droned on and on about cutting back Pentagon spending, but has provided few details about how to do this or provided a timeline in which to do so. I think he's afraid to do this because many of his readers would be critical of his plan, providing alternative analyses, which might embarrass him. And his ego is too big for him to take the blowback.
This the latest is a perfect example. Tom and Dan do the necessary investment advice Bill does well in his articulation of why we should be concerned.
One may argue that we all are aware of DJT's apparently thoughtless decisions, however imho there are number who follow our leader blindly no matter what he does
The trifecta of US politics is a rare privilege (or the more one leans to extreme in a party, one would say mandate). Everyone knows that the party in the White House loses seats in mid-term elections almost every time. This time, with a cultural shift and the Democratic Party’s sticking to their HIGHLY liberal agenda, it could be different, IMHO. Republicans blowing that rare opportunity seems more likely, the longer this tariff stuff continues.
I’m as libertarian as it gets … free trade all the way. I hope Trump’s tactics work, but not at the cost of the trifecta. It’s so good to have common sense replacing DEI, LGBTQ+, transgender guys in girls sports, social justice, wokeness, etc.
It seems we are stuck with swampy, but common sense in social stuff is a huge win.
That said, I pay for this subscription for investment ideas, not for political commentary 5 of 7 days a week. It sucks sorting through drivel (without offering solutions) 70% of the week.
I know I’m not alone, as I’ve seen many others express similar perspectives. I guess Bill’s on output only mode, and accepts no constructive criticism.
I’m not as sure as you are in Trump making ‘thoughtless’ decisions. For all we know, he may be a genius. As many people have said only time will tell. How about giving him a chance. It couldn’t be worse than most previous administrations, democrat or republican.
And Trump is a pro at getting out of bankruptcy, always a winner. Let’s see how he does with this bigger corporation of America. Just waiting for the past upper management to be Fired…
Abe, I am just as anxious as you to give him a chance. I fully agree with his sorting out the border invasion and DEI, but when he does silly things one should be able to challenge and call him out, as in this case.
Got Me! I have tired of Bill’s comments so I’ve only been looking at info related to the financial aspects of this newsletter, maybe so many others have as well that now Bill is pushed on us by putting Dan’s name as the headline author but sneaking Bill’s name in at the bottom…
Update: My NEW comment was pushed down into the body of comments, perhaps to hide it? So I deleted it and put it here as a reply to Gary instead, as it seems appropriate. I’m now a heretic, I guess, unofficially so far. Will see if the headline author’s name is replaced with Bill’s.
Okay, Bill, we get it - you made your point. Tariff on movies seems pretty silly.
Now, for you next assignment: write a completely positive column about Trump's presidency/administration to this date. You have plenty of good things to choose from as Trump is a pro-production, pro-energy, pro-deregulation president. Do any of these work for you or maybe the investments in the USA in various manufacturing sectors that Trump has worked on. I don't want to give you an assignment that will wind up shorting out your brain for good, but what the heck - couldn't get any worse than it is.
One movie will assuredly be made only in the US: the tragic-comedy featuring our current president.
There's already plenty of material in his first 100 days in office for Hollywood writers to draw from.
I suspect they will feature foremost his use of tariffs to usher in high prices for all, including those now struggling on the edge to survive.
And the rapidly collapsing approval of his presidency will also be featured, no doubt unkindly. But the mid-term elections unkind results will also get top billing
I’m not sure where to begin but I will just disagree with you. You will see a prospering America by the end of his first term. His first 100 days have been excellent except for some bumps on the road caused by Demo-rats. Not a typo error.
I acknowledge your opinion. It's one I don't share. Nor, according to recent opinion polls, do most people share it, a disapproval first for any president this early in their term.
With 98% negative coverage from our "media", a 15% Approval Rating would be a successful number.
I keep hearing you toddlers bitching about the "worst first 100 days." What freaking Country are you living in? Turn off your tv, swallow your TDS and consider the Reality of how your life is BETTER under Trump...
i find it very hard to believe that this man has become POTUS.
What is he thinking or does he ever? He shoots from the hip and to hell with the results. His sensitivity is that of a lavatory seat which stands him in good stead in ignoring any criticism of his actions.
The elephant in the room is the $36+ trillion debt and budget deficits which apparently concerns no-one.
God help America and its people because DJT can't..
Andre, what is amazin' is the choices provided. Harris or Trump. I voted Trump and would again even knowing the first 100 days. Harris was a for sure ultimate disaster. Time will tell on the Trumpster.
Certainly DRT was the better of a bad choice. The question one may ask is why the world's leading country was left with having to make a choice between such poor candidates. I too voted Trump This does however not prevent my criticism of the man when he does silly things
Trump does not always suck as you so vehemently put it. As I have said before his positive action on putting Woke back in its box and stopping illegal border crossings is admirable, but when without thought or consultation he takes this silly decision regarding the film industry one needs to open one's eyes and take fingers out of ears and recognise it for what it is; Stupid
Every proud American does not want their president look foolish, which sadly DRT happens to do without care for the consequences. Grow up.... Sure
One man's well-considered, out-of-the-box tactics to reach a desired goal are another man's "silly actions." If y'all would be willing to learn anything about Trump, it should be that he doesn't act rashly and doesn't do things by the book - but he still gets WAY more done than any politician we've had in my lifetime. He's far, FAR from perfect - but he has earned the Benefit of the Doubt in most situations IMO, and TIME to see if his schemes work - particularly if they have yet to cause any harm.
But you won't. It's easier to give in to the Conditioned Hatred, over and over until you become irrational and impossible to find any common ground with - which is where the left is now...
Talk about hollering before you're hurt, WOW! These I'd like just one of the haters to give me just one substantive example of how their lives have been changed for the worse since January 20, 2025.
Like when the Supreme Court told them they could not forgive student loans and they on forgiving them any way.
When they allowed 20 some-odd million illegal invaders to saunter across our Southern (and Northern) borders in total disdain of their Constitutional duty to protect the homeland.
I could go on, but one is enough and two are plenty.
Actually if you will read Article 2 of the Constitution and the Federalist Papers you will discover Trump is acting well within the scope of his authority.
As for the 100% tariffs on foreign made movies, I don't care. I can't remember a single movie coming out of Hollywood or wherever in the last 15 years that was worth watching. A 200% tariff would suit me just fine because they are all that bad and anybody paying good money to watch them should get soaked.
You embody the see no evil, hear no evil of excuse-makers of our current president, a man intoxicated with power who has demonstrated a skill of ready-fire-aim
And you embody the same attitude when it comes to acknowledging any accomplishments or beneficial actions, so you have ZERO room to comment on that aspect....
The border has always been closed. But desperate people have found a way to cross it. Trump is looking for them now. When he finds them, he deports them. Now, he's looking for countries to take them. Libya, Rwanda and Ukraine have been approached
No so fast, Mikey. Time will tell. Time will surely tell. There is no way anyone knows for certain what lays ahead. To blindly put all your faith in the Trumpster without numerous questions and ponders.........
Blindly putting "all your faith in Trump" is almost as bad as ignoring and lying about what he is doing that is positive and ignoring the beneficial results we are already seeing. But leftardes gonna tard...
One comes to mind when Obama lied about keeping your doctor on Obamacare and Biden going above the Supreme Court to forgive student loans and using the dept of justice as a weapon im sure many more
Tariffs, basically they are a tool to protect a way of doing something; be it to benefit someone, some process, a standard of living, etc. I’m not an economist, but I’m against tariffs. Some argue that they protect us (doubt if that includes me), or that the Chinese government unfairly supports their industries and have even stooped to stealing intellectual property by requiring they include Chinese nationals in company ownership. For the latter item, US companies sold their soul, not my problem if their greed got the better of them. For the former, our governments (federal, state, local), have made doing business in this country virtually impossible. I sought employment of a manufacturer in southern Arizona back in the late 1980’s, but they were just in the process of moving 5 miles south across the border. Why? Because the million square foot manufacturing plant they were building cost $200 / sf versus the US side of the border at $900 a sf; among many other hurdles. Yea, they saved on labor (which took several years for quality to develop), but that was not the deciding factor, it was regulation choking business. We need to be careful here, give you an example. The US is supposed to have open borders from state to state, with more or less free trade and commerce; but it is not that simple. A friend sends me two photos today, one of a Chevron in California showing regular unleaded priced a $5.29 a gallon and another of a Marathon gas satiation back east, I think Virginia, reg unl at $2.79 a gallon. Crazy! There are no tariffs here, it is all government regulation and tax. Two refineries are on the verge of closing right now in the state of California over regulations (a Valero and a Phillips 66). I hope all of you are looking forward to $10 a gallon! As far as I’m concerned the government has no business limiting my choice of products, and don’t say they are in the national interest. As for Trump, we all hope he’s the smart guy on the block and this is his way of negotiating, but when looking back on the last 70 years the Republicans have been screwing us as bad as the Democrats and as of yet I don’t see much in the way of changes coming from either the House of Representatives nor the Senate.
It would be interesting to see Bill Bonner and Victor Davis Hanson discuss their contrasting outlooks on current events. VDH's book "The Case For Trump" helped me to understand why DJT rubs people like BB raw while still having some possible, if temporary, "redeeming social value". The current conversation resembles a group of passengers on the Titanic after the collision with the iceberg complaining about the captain and wondering how 'someone' less reprehensible will fix this fine mess for them. The passengers don't realize that their Ship of.State will soon be unable to carry them anywhere no matter who is at the helm, and the adequacy of the lifeboat supply should be their main concern (or their preparations for their impending Angel Band Airlines flight).
Yes, Trump is sui generis. VDH does a good preliminary assessment of DJT's unique set of gifts and deficiencies and his fitness for the current period of national transformation at a time when the existing order has become so dysfunctional that its replacement with "something" quite different seems unavoidable.
It is amazing how Bill Bonner can change the narrative to make Trump look or appear to be bad for the country. I’m not sure who is more full of shit Bill Bonner or politicians (from all over the world. Including the U.S.). There are many reasons for our deficit. 1. Money printing 2. Overspending. 3. Fraud and theft. 4. Tariffs and excessive taxes charged by other countries. Plus many other things which I can’t remember. As for movies made outside the U.S. maybe the main reason has more to do with cost effectiveness. I.e. in California it’s becoming very expensive to make a movie. If I remember correctly most films are made with private investors. I would like Bonner to explain how the many parts making a film by many different investors from different countries is taxed. AP
Bonner is just scraping the bottom of the barrel. He's got to find something negative to write about Trump because he sure isn't going to write anything positive.
Mr. Porter, I believe it was Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick (I could be wrong) who indicated months back that the Trump Admin. was thinking about doing this to help the many regular workers/contractors in the U.S. entertainment industry. I think what he was implying is that the actors, directors, producers, execs, etc. at the top are few compared to the armies of folks who work behind the scenes.
Bill, thanks again for showing me the world in films: V & Metro. Two of my favorites. Didn't start watching movies untill 80's. Great stuff! Your books are also my favorites! Ali
i'm not sure why trump would want to save an industry where most of the stars hate him and his closed border policies and they don't even make a movie i would go to watch anyway they would have to pay me to see them and it wouldn't be cheap for them to do that because i would charge plenty to see there crap. also i am beginning to think bill would rather have the corrupt open borders mummy in the white house than the closed border hack but maybe like the rest of the billionaire dems he will miss the cheap labor the hell with the rest of us peons who have to live amongst them while he can just live in his many mansions all over the world
Bill, I don’t even have to read it! Give the guy a chance for the love of all things! Ease up for a bit before you end up looking like the ass you continue to call Trump.
Mr. Abbott, Bill has looked hypocritical a great deal ever since he became obsessed with Pres. Trump. There are many examples, but one recently I noticed is with the military. Bill almost constantly wants the U.S. military to be scaled back, but rarely if ever demands that China should scale back its enormous military buildup. And as conservative cartoonist, A.F. Branco, pointed out in a recent cartoon, "free" trade has provided the ChiComs with hundreds of billions or even a few trillion to do this---via the globalists handing over much of U.S. manufacturing to the ChiComs in the name of free trade.
When I saw the news about Trump's desire to tariff foreign films to protect the American movie biz, my first thought was that someone had hacked Truth Social. Surely, Our President must know that most American movies suck anymore. Indeed, and for all the money which paves the golden streets of Hollywood -- as evidenced by all the fancy cars and lucrative cocaine budgets -- the place has descended into intellectual poverty and bankruptcy of thought and message.
In my moviegoing experience of recent decades, American movies tend towards awful. Scripts are shallow, plots are formulaic, storylines are miserable and emblematic of the juvenile brainiacs who somehow have come to dominate the industry. Worse, other (and presumably older, wiser) people actually write checks to fund this dreck and drivel.
If you want a momument to cinematic failure, look no further than Disney. Not only has the collective Disney C-Suite crashed the Star Wars franchise, they even hamburgered a remake of Snow White, aka Snow Woke. Pinnocchio would roll in his grave, if only his nose wasn't so long.
Who controls HollyWeird? There’s your answer
Exactly Byron, the old communist Hollywood guard passed the torch to the new woke communist regime. It all adds up to a really bad ending…seems like Bill watched too many movies instead of documentaries. Fairytales over reality, depending on the producer🤔
The “advancement” of modern Hollywood films is like the “advancement” of the debt ceiling.
My thoughts exactly.
Every time Trump does something I like, he turns right around and does something incredibly stupid like this.
Save Hollywood??? While I haven't watched a movie in over 20 years, from what I've read there isn't anything in Hollywood worth saving!
Let the industry die a slow, painful, self-inflicted death. The USA would be better off for it.
A-MEN! Could not give a rat’s ASS about Hollywood and that bunch of leftwingnuts…hell, that goes for the entire Left coast.
I am happy with my subscription to BPR, but would be thrilled if it was just Dan Denning and Tom Dyson, as their writings offer investment wisdom. BPR’s namesake is such an articulate writer, that articulately droning on and on in every article about the person in the White House has become more important than articulating sage investment advice.
Fiat money is broken. Check.
The Federal Reserve should be abolished. Check.
Gold is real money. Check.
The swamp remains swampy. Check.
Write something articulate about how we should invest in this climate or give it a rest, Bill.
The big picture has been laid out by Bill long ago. So, for a daily write-up, musings on shorter timescales are what it is. Not everyone might agree with detailed characterizations, but chances are that Bill will be right a few years down the road.
If you are not enjoying his contributions, just don’t bother and concentrate on Wed and Fri…
It’s not that I don’t agree… it’s that Bill just complains without offering solutions.
Frankly, offering solutions is no man's land. There are no solutions. Congress is bought, the US$ is going in the tank, and the Empire is crumbling. There is no stopping it - telling our Government to cut out the corruption, reduce spending and balance the budget while stopping inferring all over the globe. Seriously - that is going to do what????????? Sorry...just an ol' man's rantings.......
While I agree with you. Trump is doing things much more different than other administrations. We may be doomed but ‘maybe’ he’s on a good track in at least prolonging the disaster.
Yep - best choice and now we cross our fingers and toes and wait.
Yes old man, the only solution is selling everything here in the States, buying Bitcoin and escaping to Argentina. Gold is just too heavy and the extra weight cost for luggage will break you…
Lesser of two evils
LSO. I am with you. If you have prepared accordingly, sit back and try to keep you and your people alive.
So this justifies the lame, ignorant, constant "Trump Sucks" whining?
Porque no!
Bill does provide solutions. Cut government spending balance the budget pay off the debt and stop wasting money on the military industrial complex fighying those who have no intention of invading the USA. We all know this.
Mr. Louw, But does Bill provide practical solutions? Let's say Joe Smith's preteen daughter, Laura, comes to him complaining about being called Tubby or KFC by kids at school. If Mr. Smith was like Bill, he would simply reply: "Well, lose some weight!" A responsible parent would work with Laura on a plan to lose weight and provide a reasonable timeline in which to accomplish it.
Bill writes (unless he sometimes uses a ghost writer) about 240 essays each year, yet during the previous few years, in particular, he has droned on and on about cutting back Pentagon spending, but has provided few details about how to do this or provided a timeline in which to do so. I think he's afraid to do this because many of his readers would be critical of his plan, providing alternative analyses, which might embarrass him. And his ego is too big for him to take the blowback.
DJT has made a few very reckless decisions, check
This the latest is a perfect example. Tom and Dan do the necessary investment advice Bill does well in his articulation of why we should be concerned.
One may argue that we all are aware of DJT's apparently thoughtless decisions, however imho there are number who follow our leader blindly no matter what he does
The trifecta of US politics is a rare privilege (or the more one leans to extreme in a party, one would say mandate). Everyone knows that the party in the White House loses seats in mid-term elections almost every time. This time, with a cultural shift and the Democratic Party’s sticking to their HIGHLY liberal agenda, it could be different, IMHO. Republicans blowing that rare opportunity seems more likely, the longer this tariff stuff continues.
I’m as libertarian as it gets … free trade all the way. I hope Trump’s tactics work, but not at the cost of the trifecta. It’s so good to have common sense replacing DEI, LGBTQ+, transgender guys in girls sports, social justice, wokeness, etc.
It seems we are stuck with swampy, but common sense in social stuff is a huge win.
That said, I pay for this subscription for investment ideas, not for political commentary 5 of 7 days a week. It sucks sorting through drivel (without offering solutions) 70% of the week.
I know I’m not alone, as I’ve seen many others express similar perspectives. I guess Bill’s on output only mode, and accepts no constructive criticism.
I’m not as sure as you are in Trump making ‘thoughtless’ decisions. For all we know, he may be a genius. As many people have said only time will tell. How about giving him a chance. It couldn’t be worse than most previous administrations, democrat or republican.
And Trump is a pro at getting out of bankruptcy, always a winner. Let’s see how he does with this bigger corporation of America. Just waiting for the past upper management to be Fired…
Abe, I am just as anxious as you to give him a chance. I fully agree with his sorting out the border invasion and DEI, but when he does silly things one should be able to challenge and call him out, as in this case.
Genius.... hmm?
I grew up under Peron in Argentina
Of course we should question and criticize ALL politicians
Amen Gary I couldn't have said it better.....Bill as I've said before I really do enjoy your writing
As to Hollywood .... who cares.
Got Me! I have tired of Bill’s comments so I’ve only been looking at info related to the financial aspects of this newsletter, maybe so many others have as well that now Bill is pushed on us by putting Dan’s name as the headline author but sneaking Bill’s name in at the bottom…
Update: My NEW comment was pushed down into the body of comments, perhaps to hide it? So I deleted it and put it here as a reply to Gary instead, as it seems appropriate. I’m now a heretic, I guess, unofficially so far. Will see if the headline author’s name is replaced with Bill’s.
(Bill’s name has now been added as the headliner and not Dan’s).
Welcome aboard, Mr. Korn...
Thanks SE, my pleasure.
Okay, Bill, we get it - you made your point. Tariff on movies seems pretty silly.
Now, for you next assignment: write a completely positive column about Trump's presidency/administration to this date. You have plenty of good things to choose from as Trump is a pro-production, pro-energy, pro-deregulation president. Do any of these work for you or maybe the investments in the USA in various manufacturing sectors that Trump has worked on. I don't want to give you an assignment that will wind up shorting out your brain for good, but what the heck - couldn't get any worse than it is.
One movie will assuredly be made only in the US: the tragic-comedy featuring our current president.
There's already plenty of material in his first 100 days in office for Hollywood writers to draw from.
I suspect they will feature foremost his use of tariffs to usher in high prices for all, including those now struggling on the edge to survive.
And the rapidly collapsing approval of his presidency will also be featured, no doubt unkindly. But the mid-term elections unkind results will also get top billing
I’m not sure where to begin but I will just disagree with you. You will see a prospering America by the end of his first term. His first 100 days have been excellent except for some bumps on the road caused by Demo-rats. Not a typo error.
I acknowledge your opinion. It's one I don't share. Nor, according to recent opinion polls, do most people share it, a disapproval first for any president this early in their term.
With 98% negative coverage from our "media", a 15% Approval Rating would be a successful number.
I keep hearing you toddlers bitching about the "worst first 100 days." What freaking Country are you living in? Turn off your tv, swallow your TDS and consider the Reality of how your life is BETTER under Trump...
AP: Hope you are right about his first term...so far he leaves a lot to be desired.
i find it very hard to believe that this man has become POTUS.
What is he thinking or does he ever? He shoots from the hip and to hell with the results. His sensitivity is that of a lavatory seat which stands him in good stead in ignoring any criticism of his actions.
The elephant in the room is the $36+ trillion debt and budget deficits which apparently concerns no-one.
God help America and its people because DJT can't..
Andre, what is amazin' is the choices provided. Harris or Trump. I voted Trump and would again even knowing the first 100 days. Harris was a for sure ultimate disaster. Time will tell on the Trumpster.
Certainly DRT was the better of a bad choice. The question one may ask is why the world's leading country was left with having to make a choice between such poor candidates. I too voted Trump This does however not prevent my criticism of the man when he does silly things
OL"Exactly, the Dems automatically got Trump elected by running an ignorant black female for POTUS
PN: Shame Shame Shame.Ignorant black female. She maybe smarter than Trump!
“To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant.”
Amos Bronson Alcott
K: There's a lot of that going around. That includes both parties, esp.,DT.
A moron backed up by Tim would have been a wonderful leader for the US.
Ist a mindless vegetable, then a laughing hyenas helped by a man who thinks boys need tampons.
"Those the gods want to destroy they 1st send mad", from the ancient Greeks sums up recent Democrate leadership.
No doubt !
Lotsa Doubt!
I agree with you. Time will tell.
(Fingers in Ears, Eyes Shut)...LaLaLa, Trump Sucks, Trump Sucks, Trump Sucks.
Grow up....
Trump does not always suck as you so vehemently put it. As I have said before his positive action on putting Woke back in its box and stopping illegal border crossings is admirable, but when without thought or consultation he takes this silly decision regarding the film industry one needs to open one's eyes and take fingers out of ears and recognise it for what it is; Stupid
Every proud American does not want their president look foolish, which sadly DRT happens to do without care for the consequences. Grow up.... Sure
One man's well-considered, out-of-the-box tactics to reach a desired goal are another man's "silly actions." If y'all would be willing to learn anything about Trump, it should be that he doesn't act rashly and doesn't do things by the book - but he still gets WAY more done than any politician we've had in my lifetime. He's far, FAR from perfect - but he has earned the Benefit of the Doubt in most situations IMO, and TIME to see if his schemes work - particularly if they have yet to cause any harm.
But you won't. It's easier to give in to the Conditioned Hatred, over and over until you become irrational and impossible to find any common ground with - which is where the left is now...
Talk about hollering before you're hurt, WOW! These I'd like just one of the haters to give me just one substantive example of how their lives have been changed for the worse since January 20, 2025.
Tut... tut Jimm; have some confidence in the future & be not so negative!.
I was until our current president recently doubted he had an obligation to protect our Constitution despite having swore an oath to do so.
He must have crossed his fingers behind his back when he pledged to do so.
He's made clear the Judiciary and the Congress are nuisances to his daily plans to MAGA.
I fear it will be a cringe-worthy movie. Hope I'm wrong
Sorry. You’re wrong. The democrats make a mockery of the constitution under Obama and Biden. Where was your remarks then?
I was never an admirer of the last administration. Its last mistake was its nominee for president, a historic error
AP: What mockery of the Constitution did they make?
Like when the Supreme Court told them they could not forgive student loans and they on forgiving them any way.
When they allowed 20 some-odd million illegal invaders to saunter across our Southern (and Northern) borders in total disdain of their Constitutional duty to protect the homeland.
I could go on, but one is enough and two are plenty.
Actually if you will read Article 2 of the Constitution and the Federalist Papers you will discover Trump is acting well within the scope of his authority.
As for the 100% tariffs on foreign made movies, I don't care. I can't remember a single movie coming out of Hollywood or wherever in the last 15 years that was worth watching. A 200% tariff would suit me just fine because they are all that bad and anybody paying good money to watch them should get soaked.
You embody the see no evil, hear no evil of excuse-makers of our current president, a man intoxicated with power who has demonstrated a skill of ready-fire-aim
Awwww, isn't that sweet?
And you embody the same attitude when it comes to acknowledging any accomplishments or beneficial actions, so you have ZERO room to comment on that aspect....
so closing the border was a bad thing?
The border has always been closed. But desperate people have found a way to cross it. Trump is looking for them now. When he finds them, he deports them. Now, he's looking for countries to take them. Libya, Rwanda and Ukraine have been approached
there hasn't been any good movies since they quit making westerns in 50's and 60's
You are
No so fast, Mikey. Time will tell. Time will surely tell. There is no way anyone knows for certain what lays ahead. To blindly put all your faith in the Trumpster without numerous questions and ponders.........
I don’t blindly put my faith in anyone. President or otherwise
Time will tell, shit will smell, water will seek its level. Just an old one for you Ol'.
Blindly putting "all your faith in Trump" is almost as bad as ignoring and lying about what he is doing that is positive and ignoring the beneficial results we are already seeing. But leftardes gonna tard...
"doubted he had an obligation to protect our Constitution despite having swore an oath to do so."
Cool story, bro. Now do ANY of the "leaders" in the party you support....
One comes to mind when Obama lied about keeping your doctor on Obamacare and Biden going above the Supreme Court to forgive student loans and using the dept of justice as a weapon im sure many more
Tariffs, basically they are a tool to protect a way of doing something; be it to benefit someone, some process, a standard of living, etc. I’m not an economist, but I’m against tariffs. Some argue that they protect us (doubt if that includes me), or that the Chinese government unfairly supports their industries and have even stooped to stealing intellectual property by requiring they include Chinese nationals in company ownership. For the latter item, US companies sold their soul, not my problem if their greed got the better of them. For the former, our governments (federal, state, local), have made doing business in this country virtually impossible. I sought employment of a manufacturer in southern Arizona back in the late 1980’s, but they were just in the process of moving 5 miles south across the border. Why? Because the million square foot manufacturing plant they were building cost $200 / sf versus the US side of the border at $900 a sf; among many other hurdles. Yea, they saved on labor (which took several years for quality to develop), but that was not the deciding factor, it was regulation choking business. We need to be careful here, give you an example. The US is supposed to have open borders from state to state, with more or less free trade and commerce; but it is not that simple. A friend sends me two photos today, one of a Chevron in California showing regular unleaded priced a $5.29 a gallon and another of a Marathon gas satiation back east, I think Virginia, reg unl at $2.79 a gallon. Crazy! There are no tariffs here, it is all government regulation and tax. Two refineries are on the verge of closing right now in the state of California over regulations (a Valero and a Phillips 66). I hope all of you are looking forward to $10 a gallon! As far as I’m concerned the government has no business limiting my choice of products, and don’t say they are in the national interest. As for Trump, we all hope he’s the smart guy on the block and this is his way of negotiating, but when looking back on the last 70 years the Republicans have been screwing us as bad as the Democrats and as of yet I don’t see much in the way of changes coming from either the House of Representatives nor the Senate.
It would be interesting to see Bill Bonner and Victor Davis Hanson discuss their contrasting outlooks on current events. VDH's book "The Case For Trump" helped me to understand why DJT rubs people like BB raw while still having some possible, if temporary, "redeeming social value". The current conversation resembles a group of passengers on the Titanic after the collision with the iceberg complaining about the captain and wondering how 'someone' less reprehensible will fix this fine mess for them. The passengers don't realize that their Ship of.State will soon be unable to carry them anywhere no matter who is at the helm, and the adequacy of the lifeboat supply should be their main concern (or their preparations for their impending Angel Band Airlines flight).
Bonner is not even remotely in the same league as VDH.
True. Few are. It would still be an interesting conversation.
Nor in the same league as Trump either....
Yes, Trump is sui generis. VDH does a good preliminary assessment of DJT's unique set of gifts and deficiencies and his fitness for the current period of national transformation at a time when the existing order has become so dysfunctional that its replacement with "something" quite different seems unavoidable.
Never give it a rest Bill.
It is amazing how Bill Bonner can change the narrative to make Trump look or appear to be bad for the country. I’m not sure who is more full of shit Bill Bonner or politicians (from all over the world. Including the U.S.). There are many reasons for our deficit. 1. Money printing 2. Overspending. 3. Fraud and theft. 4. Tariffs and excessive taxes charged by other countries. Plus many other things which I can’t remember. As for movies made outside the U.S. maybe the main reason has more to do with cost effectiveness. I.e. in California it’s becoming very expensive to make a movie. If I remember correctly most films are made with private investors. I would like Bonner to explain how the many parts making a film by many different investors from different countries is taxed. AP
Bonner is just scraping the bottom of the barrel. He's got to find something negative to write about Trump because he sure isn't going to write anything positive.
Mr. Porter, I believe it was Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick (I could be wrong) who indicated months back that the Trump Admin. was thinking about doing this to help the many regular workers/contractors in the U.S. entertainment industry. I think what he was implying is that the actors, directors, producers, execs, etc. at the top are few compared to the armies of folks who work behind the scenes.
It is the individual investors that are taxed on their profits if any and the film companies pay corporate taxes.
I have wasted a lot of 5-minute segments of my 42 million minutes on this earth, but this read ranks with the best of the worst wasted 5-minutes.
Can you charge tariffs on movies created entirely with AI?
Meanwhile:
"The ‘Holodomor’ resulted in as many as five million deaths."
x 10, and mostly Christians.
"Mostly Christians" is the reason leftist sh*t-slingers like Bill Bonner consistently low-ball the number whenever the subject comes up...
Bill, thanks again for showing me the world in films: V & Metro. Two of my favorites. Didn't start watching movies untill 80's. Great stuff! Your books are also my favorites! Ali
i'm not sure why trump would want to save an industry where most of the stars hate him and his closed border policies and they don't even make a movie i would go to watch anyway they would have to pay me to see them and it wouldn't be cheap for them to do that because i would charge plenty to see there crap. also i am beginning to think bill would rather have the corrupt open borders mummy in the white house than the closed border hack but maybe like the rest of the billionaire dems he will miss the cheap labor the hell with the rest of us peons who have to live amongst them while he can just live in his many mansions all over the world
Bill, I don’t even have to read it! Give the guy a chance for the love of all things! Ease up for a bit before you end up looking like the ass you continue to call Trump.
He passed that mark long ago.
Mr. Abbott, Bill has looked hypocritical a great deal ever since he became obsessed with Pres. Trump. There are many examples, but one recently I noticed is with the military. Bill almost constantly wants the U.S. military to be scaled back, but rarely if ever demands that China should scale back its enormous military buildup. And as conservative cartoonist, A.F. Branco, pointed out in a recent cartoon, "free" trade has provided the ChiComs with hundreds of billions or even a few trillion to do this---via the globalists handing over much of U.S. manufacturing to the ChiComs in the name of free trade.
Too Late - Mission Accomplished.
It's just embarrassing at this point...
Yep, I guess so but he’s a smart guy and I still hope he’ll see the light.
Thanks for highlighting The Lives of Others, a great film that never received a proper appreciation. Highly recommended....