And one of his first acts is to engage in a pointless trade was that will unilaterally raise prices. And that action was clearly telegraphed during his campaign - he said again and again that he would do exactly this.

Absolute own goal from all those who voted for Trump because they bought the lie that he would fix prices.

In the same sense, your least-worst outcome here might be believing you have more resilience, and will come out the otherside of the worldwide flu attack (from American markets sneezing) stronger than the other guy.

Not to drive all the way there, I bet during the post WW1 hyperinflation days somebody said "we can pay down our war debt faster now"

One might even call that a negotiation? Including the market-moving volatility from "trade war" headlines. F2F talks have been underway for more than a month. The most contentious issues in every negotiation are decided near the deadline.