Another WTF Week in Review

Gaffes and Grifts - You just can't make this shit up

The grotesque comedy of errors that somehow passes for leadership

This Week in Review reads like a dystopian script greenlit by Netflix, ghostwritten by Ayn Rand on bath salts, and directed by a hedge fund manager.

Welcome to The Wisecrackers' Desk! I'm Tracy Rigdon, and I call political bullshit exactly what it is. No filters, no corporate sponsors telling me to tone it down, just raw, honest analysis of America's political circus. Whether you're a longtime reader, someone who's sampled paid content before, or you've just discovered my work, I'm grateful you're here. My unfiltered take on the headlines mainstream media tiptoes around and the political hypocrisy that deserves exposure has resonated with readers who appreciate straight talk about the mess we're all witnessing.

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Sec. of Education pitching A1

ANOTHER WEEK THAT’S BURNING IT ALL DOWN

This isn’t a think piece. This is your April 12, 2025 Week in Review, and it reads like a scorched-earth indictment of a system actively gutting itself.

This week was a symphony of disaster: a multi-trillion-dollar tariff rollercoaster, Trump’s Truth Social stunt that triggered a market explosion, blatant signs of insider trading, international allies turning their backs on us, and a sitting Secretary of Education confusing artificial intelligence with A1 steak sauce. I wish I were kidding.

The takeaway? Trump and his GOP lapdogs aren’t just incompetent, they’re actively monetizing chaos, gambling with global markets, and dismantling American institutions faster than we can report the damage. This wasn’t a news cycle. It was a blueprint for kleptocracy in real time.

Let’s walk through the wreckage.

THE BUY SIGNAL THAT WASN’T A SUGGESTION, IT WAS A SIGNAL TO CASH OUT

April 9, 2025, 9:37 a.m. a timestamp that should live in infamy.

That morning, Donald J. Trump posted seven words on Truth Social that would light a fire under the entire U.S. financial system:

“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT”

Within hours, he announced a 90-day pause on the very tariffs he’d unleashed a week earlier, tariffs that had already obliterated $5 trillion in global market value. What followed was historic: the S&P 500 skyrocketed by 9.5%. DJT stock, Trump’s own publicly traded company, exploded upward by 22%. Tesla surged 18%, handing Elon Musk a $20 billion windfall. And Nasdaq call option activity had mysteriously spiked just 20 minutes before the announcement.

Coincidence? GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!. That wasn’t a market rebound. It was a coordinated cash grab orchestrated from the top. And guess who was already holding the bag of gold?

Trump’s family trust, run by his son, gained $415 million in a single fucking day.

If this had been any other president, any other CEO, they'd be under investigation, indictment, or locked up already. But Trump? He's still out there grifting like it’s a campaign strategy.

The White House called it “reassuring the market.”

The rest of us call it insider trading in broad daylight.

THE INSIDER TRADING PLAYBOOK: WRITTEN IN CAPS LOCK AND ARROGANCE

Let’s rewind for context.

On April 2, Trump nuked the global trading floor with 60% tariffs, vowing to “reshape global trade.” That move sparked a mass selloff, $5 trillion in global wealth vanished into the ether. Retirement accounts cratered. Businesses froze contracts. Markets bled red across every screen in the country.

Seven days later, he flipped the switch back and posed like a hero. “Stability,” they called it. Bullshit. It was a trigger event, deliberately designed to collapse and then "rescue" the markets, with his closest allies perfectly positioned to collect the winnings.

And the SEC? Nowhere.

It gets worse. Trump has issued a series of executive orders in recent weeks aimed at tightening presidential control over federal agencies, including those tasked with investigating financial crimes. The SEC now reports to a man who openly profits from his own policy decisions.

So no, there won’t be a raid. No subpoenas. No justice.

Because the fox isn’t just guarding the henhouse anymore, he’s selling the eggs on Truth Social.

”Drive the dollar into the ground to make exports look shiny. Wreck the global supply chain to justify "Made in America" subsidies for his cronies. Then sell the ashes as rebirth. This wasn’t policy. This was sabotage sold as strategy. A rigged demolition with a red, white, and blue bow on top.”

CANADA AND THE EU ARE DONE PLAYING TRUMP’S GAME

Europe didn’t just retaliate, they fucking carpet-bombed our exports.

Luxury boats, citrus, bourbon, even agriculture subsidies were hit in one coordinated response. This wasn’t just economic tit-for-tat. This was a declaration: “We don’t trust you anymore.”

As one EU diplomat told PressMare, “America First has become America Confused.”

And they’re not wrong.

The U.S. under Trump is no longer seen as a stable trading partner. It’s a rogue actor with a stock ticker, a social media addiction, and zero strategic vision. Other nations are already forming regional trade blocs that exclude us entirely because we’ve made ourselves unreliable and dangerous.

Our international reputation? Hanging by a thread.

Our economic alliances? Unraveling.

Our leadership? Tweeting into the void while cashing out.

“A1” IS NOT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING CLOWN

A1 SAUCE Jumped all over this shit!

As if the global chaos wasn’t humiliating enough, America’s Secretary of Education spent the week confusing AI with steak sauce in front of Silicon Valley elites.

Linda McMahon, Trump appointee and former WWE executive, stood at a tech summit and said, with complete sincerity:

“There’s a school system making sure first graders have A1 teaching every year.”

Then she doubled down.

“Let’s see A1 and how that can be helpful…”

You cannot make this shit up. She said “A1” twice. In public. In front of people who build machine learning systems for a living.

This isn’t some light gaffe. It’s a blinding spotlight on what Trumpism is doing to America’s institutions. McMahon isn’t qualified. That’s the point. She was installed to dismantle the Department of Education, not improve it. Trump himself said he wanted her to “put herself out of a job.”

And she’s doing it, one humiliating soundbite at a time.

Marie Jensen, an elementary school principal in Toledo, was blunt:

“We’re cutting programs. Kids are falling behind. And the person in charge thinks AI is fucking steak sauce? Jesus.”

THE CULT OF FEAR AND FANTASY

You’d think with this much chaos, at least a few Republicans would break ranks. But no. Not a peep. The GOP is a spineless monolith of bootlickers and bagmen, too afraid to lose their committee assignments to speak the obvious truth:

Trump is actively destroying the country for profit.

They call him a “disruptor,” but that’s just code for unaccountable tyrant. His MAGA cult isn’t built on policy, it’s built on chaos and fear. Every new disaster is another loyalty test. Every contradiction is a feature, not a bug.

And the followers?

They don’t care if it hurts. They care that it hurts the people they hate.

Even if that means torching their own future in the process.

This is what happens when political identity becomes a religion.

You stop asking questions and start praying to the avatar of your own rage.

Trump’s not just manipulating markets. He’s monetizing national instability like it’s his side hustle.

He’s dismantling the regulatory system, cutting deals in the dark, and pumping his own stock with glorified shitposts.

And the people supposed to stop him? They’re either in on the grift or too gutless to act.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are watching our institutions collapse like a drunk on a spiral staircase.

From Wall Street to the EU, from AI to A1, this was the week America officially stopped pretending.

We are not governed. We are being gamed.

And if we don’t say it loud and often and with zero fucking apologies, we deserve every empty grocery shelf, every skyrocketing mortgage rate, every teacher walking out of the classroom, and every goddamn steak-sauce-laced press conference that follows.

Wake up.

1. AP News

Title: Trump’s Truth Social Post Triggers Market Surge

Link: https://apnews.com/article/trump-truth-social-djt-tesla-musk-tariffs-pause-fccfa6b06c8f1ec0cd7844641ca52669

Why it Matters:

This report captures the exact timeline, Trump posts his now-infamous “BUY!!! DJT” comment at 9:37 a.m. on April 9. The market skyrockets shortly after. It confirms his direct influence on market behavior and the unnatural timing of the surge in DJT and Tesla stock. AP’s neutrality makes this source bulletproof when confronting accusations of bias. It’s the smoking gun in plain sight.

2. NPR

Title: Why Some Are Accusing Trump of Manipulating Stock Markets

Link: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/nx-s1-5360062/why-some-are-accusing-trump-of-manipulating-stock-markets

Why it Matters:

This piece documents expert concerns about insider trading and market manipulation. It’s not just financial nerds saying this, Richard Painter, former White House ethics lawyer, is on record calling this “untenable.” His credibility and nonpartisan history give this source immense legal and ethical weight.

3. The Economic Times

Title: Trump's Buy Tip on Social Media Raises Market Manipulation Alarms

Link: https://economictimes.com/news/international/global-trends/great-time-to-buy-how-trumps-buy-tip-on-social-media-before-his-90-day-tariffs-pause-made-money-for-investors/articleshow/120143657.cms

Why it Matters:

This source confirms that investors who followed Trump’s post made money fast. But what it really proves is timing: profits only made sense if you knew what was coming, which screams premeditation. This is the data-backed thread you pull to unravel the whole conspiracy.

4. USA Today

Title: Insider Trading and Market Manipulation Under Fire

Link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/04/11/insider-trading-and-market-manipulation/83033510007/

Why it Matters:

Hard numbers and plain English. USA Today spells out who benefited, how fast, and why it matters. This source also includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s quote demanding disclosures for congressional trades, which connects the dots between market manipulation and legislative complicity. It pushes the conversation from financial to political accountability.

5. The Washington Post

Title: Trump's Influence on the Market Raises Legal Questions

Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/04/09/trump-market-manipulation/

Why it Matters:

This is legacy media confirming this wasn’t random. The Post analyzes how Trump’s post aligned with the tariff rollback and ties the event to both legal precedent and financial ethics violations. It gives historical precedent, reminding readers how insider trading has wrecked public trust in past financial collapses.

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6. The Daily Beast

Title: Linda McMahon Confuses AI With A1 Steak Sauce

Link: https://www.thedailybeast.com/education-secretary-linda-mcmahon-calls-artificial-intelligence-a1-like-the-steak-sauce/

Why it Matters:

This article isn’t just comedic gold, it’s horrifying proof of administrative incompetence. McMahon’s repeated confusion of “AI” with “A1” proves she has no business overseeing federal education policy, especially in an AI-dominated era. This moment isn’t trivial, it underscores the deliberate sabotage of U.S. education by appointing figureheads designed to fail.

7. PressMare

Title: Trump Wobbles on Tariffs, World Responds With Retaliation

Link: https://pressmare.it/en/media/press-mare/2025-04-10/trump-wobbles-tariffs-arrogance-backpedaling-less-day-82938

Why it Matters:

An international source that reflects how our allies see us now. This piece lays out Europe’s disgust with Trump’s erratic tariff flip-flop and calls out the $23 billion in retaliation measures. When foreign media starts calling America “confused,” that’s not spin, it’s diplomacy disintegrating.

8. ShareCafe

Title: The Backpedaling Begins

Link: https://www.sharecafe.com.au/2025/04/10/trump-tariffs-start-of-the-backpedaling-begins/

Why it Matters:

Another global economic source that shows how quickly markets and international observers knew Trump’s tariff reversal was bullshit. It matters because the world’s traders weren’t fooled, they knew the game. And so did those who had the cheat codes.

9. Reuters

Title: Well-Timed Options Trades Spark Questions

Link: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/well-timed-options-trades-ahead-trumps-tariff-pause-draw-questions-2025-04-10/

Why it Matters:

Reuters tracks the 20-minute window before the tariff pause, where suspiciously timed trades exploded. This evidence is more than suggestive. It’s damning. It validates everything, this wasn’t a fluke. This was a planned event with millisecond-level coordination.

10. Al Jazeera

Title: Stocks Soar. Scrutiny Over Trump’s Tariff Pause Mounts

Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/10/stocks-soar-why-trump-faces-scrutiny-over-tariff-pause-timing

Why it Matters:

A non-U.S. lens that reframes the events as a global economic crisis, not just American political theatre. This is crucial for pushing back against GOP gaslighting that tries to localize the fallout. The world is watching, and documenting.

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