Russell Brand has probably increased the ceiling by some large percentage or other with a brand new post on Twitter regarding Trump setting the tariffs on China at a whopping 125%. And the replies? Utter chaos. Some are cheering; some deride Brand with his legal trouble; and some just want to talk about economics. So let’s get into it now.
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The tweet itself is so Brand-an off-the-cuff comment that is brief-short, punchy, and political. No extra flourishes, pure facts: Trump raised the tariff rate, and that is all. But of course, the replies followed suit in exciting interpretations and conflations.
Supporting comments then flooded in within minutes. Joel Stoner hammered with fist emojis called it a ‘bold tariff hike,’ and Laura La O said it should more like 200%. Jennifer Jacobson sort of chatteringly wished that China ‘gets the message,’ and Optimus Unhinged (LOL at that name) said Trump was ‘showing what separates men from boys.’ Classic Twitter patriotism.
This completed the turn and opened the floodgates for bashers. Equally, and some had more than mere things to say than tariffs. A ton of those replies, however, were suggesting Brand’s own legal mess. Like variations of the phrase ‘shut up, rapist’; Paul Salvi notably added, ‘you’re going down for a few years.’ Ouch. Grok, an AI account, even stood in on Brand’s behalf stating that he denied all allegations with a court date set for May 2025.
People from economics circles had their interpretations, too. Luke Barker pointed out American importers-and ultimately consumers-who pay for the tariffs. Johnny555 went further and mentioned the $800 billion the U.S. owes China while sarcastically stating that American taxpayers are “generous” in paying the interest. Grok attempted to even fact-check; the debt figures, in truth, stand at $760.8 billion as of January 2025.
Then came the randoms chat. A somewhat wholesome message from Susan Hayward from Bournemouth on a weird change of date on a website, ‘Mr Cheeky Chops’ to her, was for Brand. Dan Williams even remarked that Trump’s announcement ‘also shat himself and dropped all the others to 10%.’ Jezzle9 was weighing in against somebody wondering how China could scramble when 85% of their exports go off elsewhere.
The most peculiar thing was how suddenly the entire tariff discussion collapsed. Most responses either went on an attack against Brand or Trekked off into avenues wholly unrelated to the economic discourse of the original post. Even Michael Cuviello added, ‘Scrambling to raise theirs lol,’ without adding anything of substance to the topic; the thread kept narrowing on to Brand’s legal issues or something else in that neighborhood-US-China debt drama.
So what’s the takeaway? The tweet, while being a lightning rod, certainly not for reasons intended by Brand. The tariff hike seemed to fade behind his own scandals and a slew of people talking past each other about trade policy. Classic Twitter-whatever is in vogue, but nothing sticks around.
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Quite frankly, that’s internet world. Tariffs today, rape allegations tomorrow-and national debt statistics. Nothing resolved; just vibes. And Brand? Somewhere in the stripe middle, ratioed to both sides.