You can say a lot of things about President Donald Trump, but one thing no one can deny: The man understands showmanship. And if there’s one place on Earth where showmanship reigns supreme, it’s Las Vegas.
But Donald Trump didn’t build a hotel in Vegas to learn how to count cards or win at slots. He’s built many hotels. What he picked up in Las Vegas was the magician’s most powerful tool: misdirection. The ability to distract the crowd with one hand while pulling off the real magic with the other.
And right now? He’s using that same strategy to get things done for America – whether you love him or loathe him. And those who loathe him have a hard time separating the man from his policies. In just a short matter of time we will uncover whether President Trump is a mad genius or if he’s just mad.
Let me break it down. Misdirection is the art of drawing your opponent’s attention one way, while the real play is happening elsewhere. It’s how a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat. It’s how Trump has always played politics – and he’s back on center stage.
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Here are three ways Trump is using magician misdirection right now:
1. Tariff Hype, But The Real Tariffs Were Aimed At China
Everyone’s shouting about Trump’s 10% tariff on all countries – calling it reckless, inflationary and a new trade war in disguise. But while the mainstream media fixates on the headlines, Trump’s real play is something else entirely: Sending a warning message to China and reviving good old American manufacturing.
Consider Trump’s tactics. Announce a policy. Change a policy. Announce a policy. Change a policy.
Part of being a master negotiator is to never let your opponent get balanced footing. In the end of this massive flurry of tariff talks the last two weeks, the real tariff hit China the hardest at 145%, sending the ultimate message that we won’t tolerate manipulative tactics from China.
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While behind closed doors, the Trump team is simultaneously working with economic advisors to roll out a broader industrial plan – one focused on bringing critical supply chains home, incentivizing American-made goods and loosening our dangerous reliance on China. The tariff talk? That’s just the spark. The fire is economic independence.
2. Tariff Revenue, Tax Talks
Amid all the tariff scuttlebutt, most Americans are forgetting that right around the corner looms one of the largest tax discussions in American history. President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, and those very tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2025.
One of the big initial questions is, how we are going to pay for the tax cuts to continue and for what was promised on the campaign, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security benefits.
According to a study, President Trump’s tariff plan (as of April 8, 2025) is projected to raise significant revenue – over $5.2 trillion over 10 years on a “strict conventional” basis and $4.2 trillion on a “partially dynamic” basis commonly used with tariffs. This revenue could be used to reduce federal debt, thereby encouraging private investment.
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Instead, while most of the public-facing discussion in the media has been about trade imbalances or resurrecting fairness of trade around the world so the United States doesn’t get taken advantage of anymore, this is a master magician move by President Trump as I predict he will use these tariffs revenues as a bargaining chip for a new tax plan that will move corporate tax rates to 15%, fulfill part of the “no tax” promises made on the campaign trail, and create tax cuts for millions of middle-class families in America. It’s just that nobody is talking about it right now.
3. It’s Not A Nobel Prize, It’s The Noble Cause
From Ukraine to Gaza, and with growing tensions between Taiwan and China, global instability is on the rise. Some suggest that Trump’s goal in stopping these wars is selfishly to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
But while President Joe Biden tried to walk a tightrope, hoping to please both progressives and defense hawks, Trump is pushing a simple message: peace through energy, economic strength, and keeping our enemies off balance. If you don’t comply, “there will be hell to pay.”
We don’t always know what President Trump’s real goal is in this magic trick. Take over Greenland? Canada as the 51st state? Gulf of America? Mineral deals with Ukraine?
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If you don’t watch the sleight of hand, what he’s calling for is a return to full-scale American energy dominance – through oil, gas, nuclear and even clean coal – to take power back from rogue nations like Iran and Russia.
While critics scream “isolationism,” Trump may just be pulling off the ultimate trick by crafting a platform of controlled strength that aims to keep America out of wars by making sure no one wants to pick a fight in the first place. How would that be for a grand finale?
Atlantic City and Las Vegas may have taught Donald Trump that if you want to win the game, you don’t just play your hand – you control where everyone’s looking. And while the media, the left and even some conservatives keep falling for the noise, he’s laying track for a political comeback that’s part Houdini, part heavyweight prizefighter.
Love him or hate him, Trump knows how to put on a show. But don’t mistake the sizzle for the steak. Look past the lights – and you’ll see the real trick: getting stuff done for America while everyone else is watching the shiny objects.
Because in politics, just like in Vegas, the brilliant magicians don’t succeed with luck. They do it with misdirection.
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