Donald Trump drew mockery on Wednesday for including two remote islands near Antarctica on his list of countries (even though they are not countries) that will now be hit with steep, new tariffs as part of his so-called “Liberation Day.”
The president slapped a 10% tariff on all products that are imported from the mostly barren, volcanic Heard and McDonald Islands.
They are uninhabited by humans, take days to travel to (only by boat) from Australia and are home to penguins and seals, and has a fishery.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow poked fun at the news by noting how the islands ― which, per The Guardian, exported only around $1.4 million worth of products to the U.S. last year ― are “only reachable by boat and it takes two weeks by sea to get there from Australia.”
“They’re totally uninhabited. Both of them,” she continued. “They’re also active volcanoes so, even if you wanted to move there, even the penguins might caution you, right?”
“I will say those volcanoes and the penguins and seals who live there, they will never menace the American economy again, as they have in the past, by flooding us with their cheap exports of what? Like, fresh air, cool breezes, a waft of eau de penguin, I don’t know. What do they send us?” Maddow snarked.
“Are you tired of all the winning, America?” she asked. “Can you just feel the practical economic benefits that MAGA leadership is bringing to us at last? Isn’t it a relief?”
Meanwhile, on social media, former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) sarcastically wrote: “The Heard Island and McDonald penguins have been taking advantage of us for too long - it’s about time we stood up to them!”
Other critics followed suit.
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