You seem to be saying this genuinely so I am going to treat you like any friend I would treat who asked me something to the effect of, "why did he do that?" This isn't meant to enflame, but since you seem sincere, I want to tackle this response honestly and respectfully.
First, he had to do something. Discriminatory business practices (and on a national level no less) are a huge deal. What France did is the equivalence of a business saying, "well, you pay more because you are black." No matter what is done, the wrong answer is doing nothing. Could Trump have started with a diplomatic call to action? Sure. If that is what you are trying to communicate, then by all means, let's talk more about that idea. But to let discrimination go unanswered, is and can never be the right answer in a good country.
Two, a tariff is a very appropriate response in the case of France. Since they are taxing our big companies more, a tariff simply alleviates that tax. In other words, you demanded $100 more so I will charge you $100 more. It isn't lashing out as much as it is evening the playing field.
Three, what makes him a patriot for doing so is that the companies affected greatly by these digital taxes are tech giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Companies that have all been caught using algorithms to limit or censor conservative content (save Amazon. liberal yes, but not done any questionable things). The Republican thing to do is watch your adversaries sink in the face of all the oposition. The American thing to do is to stand up for your opossition because they too are American.
The title for this meme is honest. I really didn't vote for him in 2016 (or Hillary for that matter), but I keep seeing things that makes me define him more as a patriot than a Republican, and I like that. Questionable character at times, not arguing that, but a patriot, I am arguing that.
I mean, let's keep a conversation going. What do you think about what I said?
