One of the scariest aspects of the current national nightmare that is Donald Trump is that for as much of a dystopian hellscape as his presidency has turned out to be, we’re periodically reminded that if he got his way, it would be even worse. Over the past two and a half years we’ve learned that he had to be convinced not to invade Venezuela, or nuke hurricanes, or escalate tensions with Syria by assassinating Bashar al-Assad, or scrap a trade deal with South Korea, the latter of which was avoided when then-National Economic Council director Gary Cohn reportedly swiped a letter from the president’s desk that Trump didn’t even realize had gone missing. According to a new report, the president also wanted to shiv the U.S. economy in a characteristically self-defeating attempt to get back at China—a move that was only prevented by a chorus of staffers and CEOs begging him not to go through with it.

CNBC reports that after China retaliated with $75 billion worth of tariffs last month, the president was so angry—and apparently surprised, despite the fact that China has responded this way every time he’s ratcheted up the trade war—that he wanted to double existing tariffs on Chinese goods. That such a move would have hit the economy even harder than the trade dispute already has, and undoubtedly send the stock market into free fall, apparently did not cross his mind, even though people have tried to sit him down and explain it to him many times. Unable to talk him off the ledge on their own, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer apparently enlisted multiple CEOs to call the president and get it through his seemingly impenetrable skull that the impact of such an action would be, in his own words “not good!” Instead, Trump simply chose to unleash a series of belligerent tweets about how he “hereby ordered” U.S. companies to cease doing business with China “immediately,” sending the Dow plummeting, which he later joked about. (He also settled for a 5% hike in tariffs on $550 billion in Chinese products.)

The news that Trump wanted to go nuclear on China comes days after aides confirmed that the president was lying about Chinese negotiators calling his “top trade people” and saying they wanted to “get back to the table.” Also, this:

President Trump said on Tuesday that Chinese manufacturing would “crumble” if the country did not agree to the United States’ trade terms, as newly released data showed his trade war was washing back to American shores and hurting the factories that the president has aimed to protect.

Days after new tariffs went into effect on both sides of the Pacific, a closely watched index of American manufacturing activity fell to 49.1 from 51.2, signaling a contraction in United States factory activity for the first time since 2016. The companies responding to the Institute for Supply Management survey, which the index is based on, cited shrinking export orders as a result of the trade dispute, as well as the challenge of moving supply chains out of China to avoid the tariffs.

“The U.S. trade war with the world has blown open a great big hole in manufacturers’ confidence,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank, wrote in a note on Tuesday obtained by the Times. “The manufacturing sector has officially turned down and is falling for the first time this year as the China tariffs and slowdown in exports has really started to bite.”

Meanwhile, on Planet That’s Not How Any Of This Works:

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Trump congratulates Poland on that time it was invaded by Nazis

Yes, like the decision to flash a thumbs-up sign while posing with a baby whose parents had just been killed in a mass shooting, or to tell victims of a devastating hurricane to “have a good time,” the president went with this when asked if he had anything to say to Poland on the 80th anniversary of it being invaded by Nazi Germany:

“I do have a great message for Poland. And we have Mike Pence, our Vice President, is just about landing right now. And he is representing me. I look forward to being there soon. But I just want to congratulate Poland. It’s a great country with great people. We also have many Polish people in our country; it could be 8 million. We love our Polish friends. And I will be there soon.”

Kind of a strange tone to strike but that’s our president! Stay tuned for the inevitable tweet offering congrats to London this weekend on the anniversary of the Blitz.

Labor Department aide quits after perfectly normal Facebook posts surface

Just kidding, of course:

A recently appointed Trump Labor Department official with a history of advancing controversial conservative and faith-based causes in court has resigned after revelations that he wrote a 2016 Facebook post suggesting the Jewish-controlled media “protects their own.”

Leif Olson, an unsuccessful GOP candidate in 2012 for a Texas district court judgeship, fired off a series of late-night posts on his personal Facebook page three years ago that started as a sarcastic quip about former House Speaker Paul Ryan’s blowout primary victory. They then devolved into an exchange referencing two anti-Semitic tropes: that Jews control the media and that they look out for members of their own faith.

In a statement, Olson—who made a name for himself in Houston challenging the rights of same-sex couples, urging the Supreme Court to invalidate the Obama administration’s policy of giving some illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship, and trying to block defrauded customers from receiving a $10 million settlement from Target—told Bloomberg that he was totally kidding about Jews controlling the media. “It was sarcastic criticism of the alt-right’s conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic positions,” Olson said in an interview. He declined to say if he regretted his actions or wanted to apologize.

The NRA throws a massive hissy fit after Walmart ends handgun ammunition sales

According to the lobbying group, the retail giant should be ashamed of itself for banning the sale of items that have been have been used in hundreds of mass shootings this year alone:

The National Rifle Association (NRA) in a Tuesday statement slammed Walmart’s changes to its gun policies as “shameful” after a mass shooting last month in one of its stores. “It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites. Lines at Walmart will soon be replaced by lines at other retailers who are more supportive of America’s fundamental freedoms,” the statement said.

The NRA also accused Walmart of blaming the victim, or something moronic like that:

“The truth is Walmart’s actions today will not make us any safer. Rather than place the blame on the criminal, Walmart has chosen to victimize law-abiding Americans,” the NRA added. “Our leaders must be willing to approach the problems of crime, violence, and mental health with sincerity and honesty.”

Speaking of wanting to approach the problem of violence, last month NRA chief Wayne LaPierre called the president during his trip to El Paso to urge him not to push for universal background-check legislation. (Trump also reportedly received similar advice from his “gun expert” Don Jr.)

Ivanka seems to think she’s one haircut away from whispers of “President Ivanka”

So far, it’s not working

Ivanka Trump was hard at work getting on and off planes this Labor Day Weekend, and she made a change to her wardrobe of revolving shift dresses and power suits. The 37-year-old first daughter has a new hairstyle. What was once long is now short—and it moves. Trump first sported the short, side-parted bob at an airbase in Maryland on Monday, pairing it with a navy maxi dress belted at the waist. She stared purposefully off into the distance while cameras snapped, as if playing “Come Fly With Me” in her head.

“I think that anytime someone does this chop, it gives off a ‘take me more seriously’ vibe,” stylist Devin Toth continued. “You appear more intentional, precise, and discerning. Just think of Anna Wintour.”…Stephanie Brown, a master colorist at Soho’s IGK Salon, put it bluntly: “She looks like an anchor from Fox News, and that’s probably the next job she’ll get anyway.”

It also seems likely that the First Daughter is attempting to change the conversation from “My father is a lunatic and I refuse to do anything about it” to “check out my new ‘do!” which doesn’t appear to be working either, though perhaps a full buzz could move the needle.

Elsewhere!

Britain may face snap elections after Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffers major loss in Parliament (Washington Post)

SoftBank is more than $600 million underwater on its Uber investment as stock hits an all-time low (CNBC)

Goldman’s Coder-in-Chief Ditches Wall Street for California Sunshine (WSJ)

Trump defends golf outings while attacking London mayor (NBC News)

Senator says Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg should face “possibility of a prison term” (CNBC)

The Great Tax-Break Heist (NYT)

Trump says “no bedbugs” at his Doral resort. But inspectors have found a host of other problems. (Washington Post)

Pentagon approves diversion of military construction funds for Trump’s wall (Washington Post)

Horse joins owner on flight from Chicago as service animal (Guardian)

— The Trump-baiting Anthony Scaramucci interview that roiled the president
— Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged enabler, explained
— Trump’s bizarre handwritten notes to Justin Trudeau
— The private-jet controversy plaguing the British royal family
— The real-life events that may have inspired Succession
— From the Archive: Another whodunit in the Hamptons

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