Overview

• President Trump took to Truth Social late Sunday to label Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman a “deranged BUM” and urged followers to sue The New York Times.
• The post misidentified Krugman as a current New York Times columnist despite his departure in December and his move to Substack.
• On Sunday, Krugman’s Substack column called most of Trump’s newly imposed tariffs “clearly illegal,” warning they reverse 90 years of tariff reductions.
• Krugman shrugged off the insult by calling it flattering and announcing he would add “Deranged BUM” to his Substack profile.
• The exchange over personalized attacks and tariff policy comes as an August 12 deadline for a China trade deal nears, with even steeper tariffs at stake.