The Trumpster Fire: President Trump yesterday “ordered” American companies in China to find another country in which to do business, announced he’s raising tariffs on Chinese goods even higher, and denounced the chairman of the Federal Reserve as an “enemy” of the United States, comparing him to China’s President Xi Jinping.

  After listening to all this, investors sent the stock market into a dive. The Dow Jones fell 623 points.

  Well, then.

  In a rage because China raised tariffs on American goods in response to him raising tariffs on Chinese goods yet again, Trump tweeted that, “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.” 

  It’s an order with no authority. 

  Trump said he would inflate existing tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from 25 percent to 30 percent starting Oct. 1st. He also said the US will levy taxes on another $300 billion worth of Chinese imports at 15 percent, rather than the planned 10 percent. 

  He said in his tweet, “The vast amounts of money made and stolen by China from the United States, year after year, for decades, will and must STOP.”

  Trump had said at the outset  that trade wars are “easily” winnable, and he’s not winning. 

  In the meantime, it’s Americans who pay the tariffs, not Chinese exporters as Trump claims. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says that even before the latest round of tariffs, American households could expect tariffs to cost them an additional $800 a year.

  The Fed is refusing to lower interest rates at Trump’s command, reserving that as a tool for when the economy turns down. In his attack on the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell, Trump said, “We have a very strong dollar and a very weak Fed. I will work ‘brilliantly’ with both, and the U.S. will do great.My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?”

 Speaking in Jackson, Wyoming, Powell said the Fed can’t do much to blunt the effects of Trump’s trade war.“While monetary policy is a powerful tool that works to support consumer spending, business investment, and public confidence, it cannot provide a settled rule book for international trade,” Powell said.

Five Alarms: In response to world concern about fires raging in the Amazon, Brazilian PresidentJair Bolsonaro reversed course and says he’s sending the army to fight fires that have not been seen on the current scale for at least 10 years. Bolsonaro had previously said there wasn’t much he could do about it.

  He seems to lack full commitment. He told reporters, “Whatever is within our power we will do. The problem is resources.”

The News Roundup:In the continuing investigation into the suicide of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Department of Justice revealed that a psychologist at the Metropolitan Correctional Center removed Epstein from suicide watch even though he had already made an attempt. — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has just completed another round of cancer treatment. She’s one of four liberal votes on the court. — North Korea conducted its seventh missile test in a month. This happened just two days after Japan and South Korea broke off their joint intelligence agreement in a trade dispute. 

The Obit Page:David Koch, the billionaire industrialist who wielded his money to support conservative causes and the arts, died of prostate cancer at age 79.

  Koch, pronounced “coke,” was a libertarian who with his brother Charles fueled the resurgence of the far right in the Republican Party and the birth of the Tea Party. The Kochs believe deeply in individual liberty, unfettered trade, and freedom from what they call government “intrusions,” including taxes, military drafts, compulsory education, business regulations, and welfare. They are believed to have sunk as much as $100 million into conservative causes.

  Koch also gave as much as $1.2 billion to such institutions as  Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the American Museum of Natural History and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. 

  Much of the Koch wealth was based on oil and gas. Consequently David Koch fought regulations on carbon emissions and was a major denier of global warming and climate change.

Just Terrific:If you already hate New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, here’s another reason. He tried to trademark the name “Tom Terrific.”

  The US trademark office denied him because the name has long been associated with the 1960s baseball pitcher Tom Seaver. And of course it’s the name of a 1950s cartoon character.

  Brady is reported to be deflated by the news.