There was an interesting moment recently when Donald Trump stated that kids in the U.S might have two baby dolls instead of 30.  This was in reference to his tariffs on China, which is seemingly an admission that his tariffs will cause higher prices.

China does export a lot of toys to the United States, which would include baby dolls.  Apparently, Trump thinks that your child can have just 2 dolls instead of 30 so that he can make America great again.

This is Trump’s moment of “Let them eat cake.”

It takes especial gall from someone like Trump to make this comment about how many baby dolls your children should have.  Trump owns multiple luxurious properties.  The faucets in his places are probably gold-plated.

Is Trump really going to play the role of complaining about excess materialism?  Trump is the face of excess materialism.  It is like when some rich politician tells you to ride your bike to work while he flies on his private jet to a climate change conference.

Maybe Trump can become the new leader of the World Economic Forum.  The slogan can be: “Let them eat bugs and only have 2 baby dolls.”

What Else Should be Limited?

If Trump is going to complain about Americans having too much wealth, what else will he suggest?

Maybe we should only have 27-inch televisions instead of 55-inch televisions.  Maybe you don’t really need that king-sized bed.  It is really more of a luxury than a need.

Here is another issue that Trump didn’t address.  What about a family that is just barely getting by before the new tariffs?  What if they are barely able to pay the electric bill and the grocery bill each month?  They were able to get together just enough money to buy a baby doll for their daughter for Christmas.

Should that family not pay their electric bill next year, or should they not give a single Christmas present to their daughter because the price of toys has gone up?  Most kids don’t have 30 dolls.  Maybe some have more toys than they play with, but it is probably a variety of toys.

And what about things that aren’t toys?  If the price of furniture goes up, is he going to say that a family should only have one bedroom dresser for the whole family?

Excess Materialism vs. Big Government

If Trump or anyone else suggested that there is too much emphasis put on materialism in the United States, that might be appropriate if it wasn’t trying to justify higher taxes.

In other words, it isn’t necessarily unreasonable to say that people who don’t put an emphasis on materialism tend to be happier and more grateful for the things they do have.  This is probably true after reaching a certain point of wealth.

But here’s the problem.  Most people don’t want the government controlling the amount of wealth or material goods we are allowed to accumulate.

If I listen to a self-help podcast and make the decision that I don’t want to have so many material goods in my house, then I can make that decision.  It shouldn’t be the government’s decision to make for me.  It certainly doesn’t justify raising taxes on the goods and services we buy in the name of reducing materialism.

Conclusion

Donald Trump’s political career has been largely successful because he speaks out against the ruling elite. This statement from Trump makes him sound like one of the out-of-touch elitists that he so often criticizes.

If Trump’s presidency and his attitude continue down this path, he will be a deeply unpopular president.  He is already hated by about half of America.

Even some Trump supporters will start to lose their patience with him if Trump thinks he can dictate how many baby dolls your kids should be allowed to own.