Moira Donegan

Asked about his tariffs’ impact, the president has repeatedly pointed to dolls – because they’re seen as feminine, childlike and frivolous

Donald Trump has found a new target for his trademark mockery and dismissal: little girls.

In comments at a 30 April cabinet meeting, the president seemed to dismiss the economic impact of his chaotic tariff regime on American consumers by citing girls as the primary complainants. “Somebody said, oh, the shelves are going to be open,” Trump said. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”

The vestiges of the US’s democracy are crumpling to the ground. We don’t yet know what will be erected in its place

It’s possible that later, when we know more about how the Trump regime reshapes the US and about how it ultimately comes to an end, we will look back at this moment in 2025 and conclude that we were already living under an autocracy. Checks on executive power seem to have all but vanished; the Trump administration is not acting like either the courts, the judiciary or the people have any prerogatives that they must respect.