Commentary by K.E. Bell

The inflammatory rhetoric should indeed be turned down, and it has to start at the top. 

That won’t happen. 

Trump knows only one play: Attack, attack, attack. He regularly refers to Democrats as the radical left. There is no radical left, at least not one that has a sniff of power. 

Today’s Democratic leaders are centrists at best or even center right based on both history and accepted norms across the world. 

Trump suggests violence in his rhetoric (“Just knock the hell [out of ‘em], I will pay for the legal fees, I promise”), his actions (pardoning the January 6^thers), and his unrelenting barrage of Truth Social posts (see: Chipocalypse Now: “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”) He is a 79-year-old with the mindset of a sixth-grade playground bully. He’s far beyond learning from his mistakes at this point. 

Perhaps this growth in political violence was inevitable. It seems to me it’s the natural result of 30 years of Fox News propaganda and demonization of the left, and it’s only getting worse. Brian Kilmeade wasn’t cancelled for saying the homeless should be killed, but Jimmy Kimmel was put on suspension for pointing out what Trump said when asked how he is doing with the death of his friend, Charlie Kirk. Trump’s response? Look at the construction underway for the White House ballroom. I don’t know if a more sociopathic response was possible. 

Fox News is an echo chamber that traps its viewers into a distorted point of view. 

According to a 2012 Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind survey, Fox News viewers know less about what’s going on in the world than people who watch no news at all, but they are quite certain the left is to blame for everything. Do we think Fox has become more informative in the age of Trump? Heck no. Will Fox News change? It’s not in the company’s best financial interest, so no. 

And now we can build echo chambers of our own through social media platforms with algorithms designed to incite outrage. That leads to more and more radical influencers who make the public discourse more and more radical — people like Laura Loomer and Nick Fuentes, both of whom have or have had Trump’s ear. 

Fuentes’ to-the-right-of Turning Point Groyper movement placed him at odds with Kirk, fueling some speculation about suspect Tyler Robinson’s politics. 

Violence is never the right answer to political disagreements. But let’s not pretend the rhetoric is as bad on the left as it is on the right. “Both sides” arguments are appropriate when there is a balance between parties. There is no such balance today. 

The extremism on the right starts at the top, gets reinforced by the number one media outlet in the country, and metastasizes in our own curated social media feeds.

Does it need to stop? Absolutely. Will it? I don’t see how.

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Bell is a contributing pundit for The Hustings.

On Rich Corbett's right-column call for responsible political discourse -- Mr. Corbett is absolutely correct that Mr. Kirk's murder demonstrates the deep need for reform and improvement in political discourse. I do not have robust hope that it will in fact serve as the catalyst for such improvement; however, I am grateful that Mr. Corbett expressed his views as he did. --Hugh Hansen

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Email your COMMENTS on the murder of Charlie Kirk, threats on free speech and/or any other current political issues to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

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THURSDAY 9/18/25

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Anyone who has tried to organize anything that involves other people — whether it is a school bake sale or an organization that has grown to have some 250,000 student members — knows there are people who want them to fail. This is predicated on everything from taste (“We should have a fruit sale!”) to ideology (“You are a bunch of cranks!”).

In order to get it done, the leaders need to be resilient and strong. They need to overcome the resistance and stick to the mission.

And if they do, they can be successful.

Charlie Kirk was clearly an individual who overcame pushback and built Turning Point USA into something that is far greater than he, which is probably one of the things he set out to do.

It is sad that he died for his mission.

But Kirk succeeded because he lived in a country where freedom of expression is explicitly written into the Constitution’s very First Amendment.

Without it, organizations like Turning Point USA would have had to be an underground operation rather than the public-facing one that it is.

For many years, conversative complained about the “Cancel Culture” that they saw as a de facto push back against their ideas by liberals, whether this was in Hollywood or in the media.

The objective of Cancel Culture is to work to make sure that the ideas that they find distasteful are ridiculed or outright eliminated.

It operates against freedom of expression.

I have never liked Jimmy Kimmel. I have always found him to be smarmy. But now I wonder whether I may run into big trouble for describing him as such.

Kimmel reportedly said on his ABC late-night variety show Monday night (as I don’t like him, I certainly didn’t watch):

“We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

And then Conservative Cancel Culture kicked in. To quote Dick Cheney, “Big time.”

Nexstar, an outfit that has 32 ABC stations, said it was pulling Kimmel’s show. This is non-trivial. Nexstar Media Group owns the largest group of local television stations in the US, reaching some 220 million people. While not all of these stations are ABC affiliates, Nexstar has a massive reach and its company has more ABC-affiliated stations than any other company.

Then Federal Communications chairman Brendan Carr said on the Benny Johnson podcast that stations needed to “take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Cancel work, perhaps.

So ABC, not surprisingly, has canceled his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!

While it actually said that it was being preempted “indefinitely,” that’s fooling no one. Kimmel was probably handed a cardboard box for his things.

This was a business decision. ABC’s existence depends on commercials. Commercials are sold on audience size and demographics.

By taking Kimmel off its stations, Nexstar minimized the audience size, so that means advertisers would be less interested in advertising, or if they were interested, they would pay a fraction of what they otherwise had been. Less money for ABC.

But the funny thing is, terrestrial outlets like ABC have not only been losing audience due to cord-cutting — ABC has lost about half of its audience in primetime over the past 10 years — but younger people, including the key Millennial and Gen Z demographics that advertisers so desire, have foregone television sets for their phones.

Presumably if they bother to read or see a video about Kimmel being let go they might think that ABC is really lame. Even though they’re probably unlikely to tune into The Golden Bachelor (a clue about ABC’s audience?), they certainly won’t feel particularly positive about the network given this move (assuming they have any idea who Kimmel is).

Kirk didn’t build his organization via TV.

Funny thing how so many, especially those on the right who are not members of the demographics that ABC would so much like to present to advertisers, are exercised by criticism by TV performers.

As Charlie Kirk said earlier this year at the Oxford Union, according to Washington Monthly, “You should be allowed to say outrageous things.”

Seems some of his supporters don’t think so.

His memory is more well served by allowing even smarmy TV performers to say stupid things.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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A Call for Responsible Political Discourse

Commentary by Rich Corbett

The tragic death of Charlie Kirk on September 10 marks not just the loss of a passionate conservative voice, but a sobering moment for American political discourse. At just 31 years old, Kirk had built Turning Point USA into a formidable force in campus conservative activism, inspiring countless young Americans to engage with political ideas and defend their faith and principles.

The circumstances of Kirk's death — shot while speaking at Utah Valley University — represent a troubling escalation in political violence that should alarm every American who values democratic discourse. This tragedy follows a disturbing pattern of increasingly heated rhetoric that has moved from the realm of words into the realm of violence.

When public figures consistently describe political opponents as "threats to democracy," “fascists,” or “Hitler,” we must ask ourselves: what impact do such words have on those already predisposed to violence? While the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum condemn violence, inflammatory language can serve as kindling for those few individuals willing to act on extremist impulses.

Political discourse has always been robust in America, but there's a meaningful difference between passionate disagreement and rhetoric that dehumanizes opponents or suggests they pose existential threats. When media personalities and political leaders frame routine policy disagreements as battles for the soul of America, they risk normalizing the idea that extreme measures might be justified. The hypothetical question is often asked in philosophical discussions: “Knowing history, if you could eliminate Hitler prior to his rise to power, would you kill him?” It may not take much for those who are radicalized by the rhetoric.

Recent years have seen an alarming trend of political violence, with the recent targeting of conservative figures and assassination attempts on President Trump suggesting a particularly concerning pattern that warrants honest examination. We must acknowledge that words matter and those with platforms have a responsibility to choose them carefully.

Charlie Kirk believed deeply in the power of ideas and debate. He built his career on the premise that conservative principles could win in the marketplace of ideas if given a fair hearing. His death should serve as a catalyst for all Americans to recommit to civil discourse and peaceful political engagement.

Media organizations must examine whether their coverage contributes to political hostility or encourages democratic participation. Political leaders must model responsible rhetoric that acknowledges the humanity of opponents. Citizens must resist echo chambers that reinforce the worst assumptions about those who disagree with them.

The best way to honor Kirk's memory is to recommit ourselves to the vigorous but civil discourse he championed. America has always been at its best when we've maintained passionate political debate within bounds of mutual respect. The death of Charlie Kirk should serve as a wake-up call that we've drifted too far from that ideal. In a democracy, words have power—it's time we all used that power more responsibly.

Corbett writes about myriad subjects at My Desultory Blog.

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THURSDAY 9/18/25

President Trump spoke for nearly an hour, in person Friday, on Fox & Friends where he spoke out against political violence following last Wednesday’s assassination of right-wing influencer, absolute free-speech advocate and Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. 

However.

“The radicals on the right are often radicals because they don’t want to see crime,” Trump said. “The radicals on the left are the problem.”

By Saturday evening on All Things Considered, analysis by NPR reporters had counted more than 30 people across the US who have been “fired, put on leave, investigated or faced calls to resign because of social media posts criticizing Charlie Kirk, or expressing schadenfreude” about his assassination. 

MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd, for one, was fired last Wednesday night for saying of Kirk, “He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures, in this, who’s constantly pushing this hate speech aimed at certain groups. I always go back to hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which lead to hateful actions.” [Transcript via Entertainment Weekly.]

Dowd went on to say, “that’s the environment we’re in.”

Social media, The Hustings believes, is largely to blame for the environment we are in, with anger from the left and right heating up the echo chambers to compound hate for the other side.

We believe civil media is the antidote. We use traditional good journalism standards to assure that comments on both sides of the center column are civil and respectful and based on facts. Think of a traditional newspaper’s letters to the editor column. As in a good newspaper, reader comments from across the political spectrum are all on one page for all readers to see. 

To become a citizen pundit and join in this fight against social media blight, submit your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings (left or right, liberal or conservative, etc.) in the subject line. –Editors

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MONDAY 9/15/25

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

While there is a tremendous amount of misdirection, there are things that cannot be avoided: Like grocery prices.

Despite the fact that Donald Trump has, on numerous occasions, gone on and on at how he causes prices to be reduced for those who need things like, oh, eggs and beef, the facts are quite the contrary.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), it is expected that the 2025 full-year retail price of eggs will increase 24.4%.

Have you ever gotten a 24.4% raise at your job? Me neither.

The USDA anticipates a less-severe situation for beef prices, going up 9.9%.

What happened to the price reductions?

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins may want to update her resume.

Then there have been the multitudinous claims Trump has made about gasoline prices being below $2 per gallon in some states. A state of mind, perhaps, because when he’s made those claims, gasoline was solidly well above the $2 per gallon price point.

(Perhaps a few station owners decided to have a temporary sale on the price of gas, taking a hit on earnings to get SUVs and pickups lined up around the block, hoping they’d become customers after the numbers on the sign were reset to what the actual price is.)

According to GasBuddy.com, the last time US gas prices were less than $2 per gallon was in January 2021 — because of COVID, a whole lot of people weren’t doing a whole lot of driving, so prices were cut.

(Perhaps the Trump administration’s efforts to minimize the availability of COVID vaccines takes that into account. According to the Centers for Disease Control, COVID-19 was indicated as the underlying or contributing cause of death of 384,536 people in the US in 2020 and another 460,513 people in 2021. Presumably none pumped gas. (Although this may seem cruel, it isn’t going to be nearly as cruel as things will be when the next pandemic hits and the country is woefully unprepared to address it with things like what are generally described as “medicine.”))

The federal Energy Information Agency shows that the least-expensive average cost of a gallon of gas so far this year in the US was in January, when the average was $3.196. Given that the first three weeks of that month were under Joe Biden, the bragging rights for that can’t be claimed.

And if you’re curious about the subsequent months: February, $3.247; March, $3.223; April, $3.299; May, $3.278; June, $3.276; July, $3.250; August, $3.258.

You may note that while the price of gas in August was less than the price of a gallon in April, that August gallon cost more than a February gallon: Where’s the price reduction?

It is worth knowing that the difference between a fictitious $2 gallon and a real $3.25 gallon is 63% -- which makes the 24.4% hike in the price of eggs seem like chump change.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is clearly doing a great job for the American people.

Most people probably don’t care a whole lot about the whole Jeffery Epstein-Trump association. When they learn what Epstein was convicted of doing they are undoubtedly angered, annoyed or upset. But then they get on with their lives.

And while it is a horrible thing that Charlie Kirk was murdered, if someone just came home from the orthodontist with an estimate for putting braces on their kids’ teeth — up an average 10% to 20% this year — they’ve got more personally immediate things to think about.

Unless they live in one of the cities where the troops have been called out (or where they are threatened to be called out), they are probably looking at their utility bills and wondering about how to divert some money in that direction: According to the latest Consumer Price Index, in the last 12 months through August, the price of electricity is up 6.2% and natural gas up 13.8%.

The president can bloviate. He can weave. He can say all manner of things fantastical.

But when people stand at the supermarket register or when they watch the digits on the gas pump repeatedly rise in the blink of an eye, none of that hot air and spin matter.

The question is a simple one: When the price of eggs and hamburger, gas and electricity are rising, are you better off today than on January 19?

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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MONDAY 9/15/25

Commentary by Jerry Lanson

The Supreme Court majority on Monday in essence decided that Americans are guilty unless and until they can prove themselves innocent.

The court split 6-3 in a decision that at least temporarily allows ICE agents to conduct massive immigration sweeps that round up suspects not on the basis of evidence but on the basis of their skin color, their accent and the places they work.

“The decision lifted a federal judge’s restraining order that barred agents from making indiscriminate stops relying on factors like a person’s ethnicity or that they speak Spanish,” The New York Times reported.

In a blistering dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor condemned the high court majority’s ruling.

“Countless people in the Los Angeles area have been grabbed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed simply because of their looks, their accents, and the fact they make a living by doing manual labor,” she wrote.

She added, “We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low-wage job. Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent.”

US District Court Judge Maame E. Frimpong had ruled that ICE could not rely on such factors, alone or in concert, in making mass immigration stops in the Los Angeles area. The plaintiffs in the case before her included two US citizens who had been swept up in such raids, the Associated Press reported.

In making her ruling, Frimpong referenced what she called “a mountain of evidence” that agents were “indiscriminately rounding up numerous individuals without reasonable suspicion,” the NYT reported.

Monday’s Supreme Court ruling seemed an apt complement to the crazed meme President Donald Trump’s posted over the weekend that showed his pleasure in the pain ICE agents inflict as they abduct and move quickly to deport thousands of immigrants, most of whom have no criminal records. Many held jobs and paid taxes. Some of them have been children. Others have lived in the US for decades.

Rather than making an effort to hide the cruelty of ICE’s campaign, Trump increasingly appears intent to revel in it.

On Saturday night, he posted a meme on Truth Social titled “Chipocalypse Now” that began, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago [is] about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

It was a takeoff on the dark and surreal Francis Ford Coppola film, Apocalypse Now, in which Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore, played by Robert Duval, says, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” after ordering a massive napalm strike in Vietnam.

Napalm was a defoliant that denuded Vietnamese villages, burning women, children and the elderly alike, and leaving those American soldiers exposed to it with serious lifelong illnesses.

Creepy as Trump’s post clearly was, it was not surprising.

The crescendo of ICE crackdowns across the country has been building for months. It started with powerful and intimidating personal stories, like the abduction of a Tufts University graduate student by masked men on a Somerville, Massachusetts, street. Her crime: Co-authoring an op-ed in the college newspaper.

There was the deportation of a Maryland father and construction worker to a notorious El Salvadoran prison along with 200 Venezuelans alleged to be gang members. (They reported being tortured there though subsequent news reports showed many had nothing to do with gangs.) Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s tragic story continues as the Trump Administration tries to deport him to Africa.

There was the arrest of an 18-year-old high school volleyball player and honors student, pulled from his car in Milford, Massachusetts, on his way to a Saturday morning practice. He was released from a Burlington, Massachusetts, ICE detention center after the entire town rallied to support him.

Now the Trump Administration has escalated to widespread raids and occupations by ICE and National Guard troops in swaths of Los Angeles and the entire city of Washington, D.C., and threats of new massive intervention in blue state cities from Chicago and Baltimore to Boston.

The Supreme Court’s cavalier rejection of a federal district court judge’s restraining order on Monday appears to have given a green light to the militarization of other city streets and centers, making it all the more likely elsewhere.

Already, preliminary Census Bureau data analysis by the Pew Research Center suggests that more than 1.2 million immigrants disappeared from the US labor force during the first seven months of 2025, AP reported. The figure included documented as well as undocumented immigrants. And that was before the massive surge in ICE hiring after Trump’s big budget bill and before the occupation of American cities began in force.

Yet the battle over our Constitution and our freedom is far from over.

Judges of both major political parties at levels below the Supreme Court continue stubbornly to uphold the law. A week ago Sunday, for example, a US District Court judge in the District of Columbia issued a two-week temporary restraining order blocking the deportation of more than 600 unaccompanied children to Guatemala even as dozens sat in planes on a Texas runway.

Last week, The Atlantic published an article by Michael Scherer titled “The Anti-Trump Strategy That’s Actually Working. Lawsuits, Lawsuits and More Lawsuits.”

He wrote: “A legal resistance led by a patchwork coalition of lawyers, public-interest groups, Democratic state attorneys general and unions has frustrated Trump’s ambitions. Hundreds of attorneys and plaintiffs have stood up to him, feeding a steady assembly line of setbacks and judicial reprimands for a president who has systematically sought to break down the limits of his own power.”

Americans continue to rally at pop-up protests across the country on village greens and in towns, small cities and metropolises. Even as the massive urban demonstrations of past movements from civil rights to the women’s march have remained noticeably sparse, weekly protests have become much more a constant part of the rhythm of community life.

In the nation’s beleaguered and occupied capitol, The Washington Post reports, “resistance … is taking many forms.”

These include “ringing bells in the masked faces of law enforcement, scribbling signs to warn drivers about ICE checkpoints, bombarding social media with footage of arrests, and employing art and humor to build consensus – and momentum.”

In some parts of the city, for example, residents gather on street corners, in parks or on front porches every night at 8 p.m. to bang pots and pans as a sign of their opposition, the WaPo reports.

In Massachusetts and other states, citizen teams are racing to the site of reported ICE stops and arrests to witness, record and challenge (but not obstruct) the masked federal agents grabbing without warrants or any semblance of due process those they believe to be immigrants.

And now organizers of the massive, millions-strong No Kings protests that rolled across the United States on June 14 are calling for Americans to again take to the street in force on October 18.

The barriers before the American people are formidable: A president and administration hellbent on unchecked dictatorial powers, a Supreme Court that with few exceptions bends to that president’s will, a Republican-controlled Congress that’s cowardly and complicit in his autocratic actions and a Democratic congressional opposition too often enfeebled by his threats.

Taken together, that puts a tremendous burden on we, the people, on the media, on those public servants and not-for-profit organizations unwilling to bend.

It is a burden and struggle, however, that the founding fathers would tell us is worth every ounce of our strength.

“Liberty, once lost, is lost forever,” our second president, John Adams, wrote in a letter to his wife in 1775.

This reminder to us all hangs from lamp posts up and down Main Street in my hometown of Falmouth, Mass.

I hope you’ll take it to heart.

This commentary first appeared in Lanson’s Substack, From the Grassroots.

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THURSDAY 9/11/25

Commentary by Rich Corbett

Each September 11th, we pause to remember. We remember the lives lost, the families changed forever, and a nation that was shaken to its core.

For me, the memories are still vivid. That morning, I was glued to CNBC while getting my son ready for the bus and off to Independence Elementary School. We both caught glimpses of the television as smoke poured into the clear blue New York City sky from the Twin Towers. My son remembers being the one to mention this to his teacher and asked if they could turn on the television in his classroom. Like so many Americans, we stared in shock at our TVs, not yet grasping how much life would change in the hours and years to follow.

In the face of such tragedy, many of us turned where we always turn in times of sorrow, to our faith. Churches and synagogues filled with prayer. We opened scripture and prayed that God would move closer and embrace the brokenhearted. Our hope, even in the darkest of moments, has never rested on human strength alone, but on His enduring eternal promises.

Yet while on earth, faith does not call us to passivity. Scripture reminds us that “blessed are the peacemakers,” and to stand firm against evil. Past leaders know, peace is never simply given. It must be safeguarded by resolve. President Ronald Reagan captured this balance well when he described US policy as “peace through strength.” It is the same message echoed by President Trump who now focuses on America on remaining strong, confident and unashamed of her values.

As we look forward, I find myself asking: “What kind of future are we building for the next generation." America’s young adults now only know 9/11 through history books and memorials. Do they hold the same resolve of the previous generation? Let’s hope we don’t just pass down memories, but a living legacy … one of a strong and free America, a nation that places faith above fear … and one that seeks peace while never forgetting its responsibility to protect its people.

This anniversary is not only about looking back in mourning, but also about looking ahead with resolve. May we honor those lost by living faithfully, standing united, and ensuring that America remains both a beacon of freedom and a guardian of peace.

Corbett is a contributing pundit for The Hustings and also writes My Desultory Blog.

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THURSDAY 9/11/25

From one of our contributing pundits ...

Failed Attempt at Bravado, Humor -- How odd that a teenager who sweeps the lobby at McDonald’s must follow certain protocol and behavioral norms, yet the president of the United States is bound by none. Trump’s assaults on Washington, D.C. and Chicago are disturbing, unconstitutional and embarrassing. The Chipocalypse meme is a failed attempt at bravado and humor. In addition to being unbecoming for a president, it’s clumsy and dumb. And in an attempt to echo Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore’s epic line from Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Trump is portrayed referring to a smell, but he brings to mind an odor much more offensive than napalm. --Joel Postman

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Unlike X-Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Bluesky, et. al., The Hustings a civil media site designed to allow you free and easy access to various gradations of political thought from the right and left. This page is designed for easy access to readers who do not agree with you.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line. --Editors

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TUESDAY 9/9/25

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

So the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has come out with some numbers that aren’t indicative of a Golden Age — unless, of course, a Golden Age is one where very few people need to work and they spend their days eating peeled grapes and imbibing ambrosia.

The government organization has revised its non-farm employment numbers.

Now before several people become apoplectic about the adjustment, know that they are for the year prior to March 2025, so this has mainly to do with “BI-den” (say it with a sneer), a man who, when he wasn’t sleeping, was apparently wreaking havoc left, right and center.

And know well that this is not a consequence of the Trump administration because it had too short a time in office to have had much of an effect.

The BLS now calculates that during that 12-month period there were 911,000 fewer jobs created than had been thought. For those who don’t want to do the math, that’s some 76,000 fewer per month.

It is also worth knowing that these adjustments are commonly performed, not the work of some sort of government cabal that is trying to make people look bad.

One of the conclusions that can be drawn is the economy isn’t doing as well as you might be led to believe, the purported “hotness” of the country notwithstanding.

And if we bring the numbers up to date, the BLS reckoned, June, July and August had average payroll growth of 29,000 for each of those months, which is below the breakeven point for keeping the unemployment even — which explains why it is now at 4.3% (August figure), which is up 0.1% from July, which may seem like nothing, except for the fact it is the highest rates since October 2021 — when you-know-who was probably trying to figure out how to put more ink into the autopen.

Some people (you probably see them on the news regularly or read their pronouncements) will lead you to believe that the tariffs are going to change things for the better, especially as regards manufacturing employment — you know, like all of those auto plants that are allegedly being built.

Well, as it turns out all those plants either (1) existed prior to Liberation Day or (2) are plants that were part of the agreement with the UAW signed in November 2023.

Sure, expansion is expansion. But let’s not get too carried away when it comes to ascribing credit.

In addition to which, one of the biggest investment announcements was made by Hyundai, and you’ve got to believe that the people in Seoul were not particularly happy with last week’s ICE raid of its massive assembly plant in Georgia that resulted in the arrest of more than 300 South Korean nationals who were helping the plant in its start-up-phase. [The plant, co-owned by Hyundai and battery-maker LG Energy Solution had its groundbreaking in May 2022, so credit for it goes with the other guy, even though production didn’t begin until late Q4 2024.] How are they going to feel about making additional investments when they know that the Department of Homeland Security had its eye on the company’s “Metaplant”?

Anyway, back to those manufacturing jobs.

Turns out that 15,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs were lost in June 2025, followed by 12,000 more in July and 6,000 in August. 

While the half-glass-full people will look at those figures and say that the trend is in the right direction, does it seem likely that some 33,000 manufacturing jobs will be created anytime soon just to get back to even with the May manufacturing employment rate?

A quick word about “we’re going to bring manufacturing jobs back.” US manufacturing companies put production where it is most cost-effective. This means that things are produced that (1) allows them to make a profit and (2) that are affordable to consumers. Clearly, if they don’t have (2) they won’t have (1). 

If they don’t have (1) then they are going to have to raise their prices which means that (2) isn’t what it once was. That is likely to depress demand.

When demand is depressed, then there is reduced need for supply. When there is reduced need for supply, then there is reduced need to manufacture it.

Which conceivably means there is going to be a tougher time anytime for the foreseeable future when those 33,000 job losses are recovered.

As you may recall, in August Erika McEntarfer, at the time the BLS commissioner, was fired by the president because of an adjustment of jobs data, which showed things were significantly weaker than the previous numbers indicated. The president suggested the data were “rigged.”

She’s gone, and so, apparently, were a whole lot of other jobs.

Tariffs may bring some jobs back. Not many. And everyone else is going to be paying a whole lot more for those goods.

And unfortunately, it seems that there are now a whole lot fewer people who are going to be able to afford those increased costs.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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Right Comments Here, Left Comments Left

This is the place for your thoughts and opinions on the Supreme Court’s temporary pause on a US district judge’s ruling barring federal agents from making immigration stops without reasonable suspicion, President Trump’s “Chipocalypse” meme and his threats to send US military to Chicago and other cities, and/or on other recent issues and political news.

Whether you’re pro-MAGA or never-Trump conservative, moderate or progressive or hard-left liberal, we invite you to join a civil discussion of such issues.

Unlike X-Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Bluesky, et. al., The Hustings a civil media site designed to allow you free and easy access to various gradations of political thought from the right and left. This page is designed for easy access to readers who do not agree with you.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line. --Editors

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TUESDAY 9/9/25

The only viable Democratic answer to President Trump’s power grab is to block federal budget appropriations bills in the Senate and shut down the federal government after September 30, New York Times columnist Ezra Klein wrote Sunday (“It’s Simple: Stop Enabling Trump’s Power Grab.”)

If you lean left – anywhere from just off-center moderate to progressive – we’re looking for your COMMENTS on President Trump’s impending federal takeover of US cities, as described in the center column. 

Unlike X-Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Bluesky, et. al., The Hustings is a civil media site designed to allow you free and easy access to various gradations of political thought from the left and right. This page is designed for easy access to readers who do not agree with you.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings – left or right in the subject line. –Editors

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MONDAY 9/8/25

Pro-MAGA conservatives: Do you have an explanation for President Trump’s “Chipocalypse Now” Truth Social post? Do you accept border czar Tom Homan’s explanation, or do you agree with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker that it’s a declaration of war on US cities?

Never-Trump conservatives: We want your opinion, too. If Trump’s actions indicate his plan for swaying the 2026 and 2028 elections, what can be done about it? Do Democrats have the wherewithal to push back and potentially swing next year’s midterms to their advantage?

Or is all this an overreaction?

Unlike X-Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Bluesky, et. al., The Hustings a civil media site designed to allow you free and easy access to various gradations of political thought from the right and left. This page is designed for easy access to readers who do not agree with you.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings – right or left in the subject line. –Editors

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MONDAY 9/8/25