@bulltheoryio🚨PRESIDENT TRUMP USES THIS SAME TARIFF PLAYBOOK EVERYTIME TO GET WHAT HE WANTS.
Trump does not use tariffs as trade policy, He uses tariffs as a market control mechanism.
Every major tariff event under Trump follows the same structure. It has nothing to do with economics first. It has everything to do with pressure, timing, and market psychology.
The playbook always starts the same way:
1. Announcement timing is intentional : Trump almost always drops tariff news on late Friday or on weekends. This is done as US markets are closed so price cannot react instantly and the markets take some time to absorb the news.
2. Tariffs are structured with escalation windows : Trump never announces a single final tariff. He announces a first number and then a higher number later.
This happened last week too.
January 18, 2026: Trump announces tariffs on 8 European countries
10% tariffs effective February 1
25% tariffs scheduled for June 1 if no agreement is reached
That creates an immediate shock event but also keeps a negotiation window.
3. The first market reaction is always mechanical : Funds do not “think” during Phase 1. They execute risk protocols.
That means:
Prime brokers raise margin requirements
Volatility models force selling
Risk parity systems reduce exposure
Leverage collapses
Liquidity disappears
This is why moves are violent and fast. Not because fundamentals changed but Because capital structures are being forced to rebalance.
This is exactly what today looked like.
Large caps dropping 10–15% in minutes.
Small and mid caps dropping 30–40%.
4. Bitcoin always sells harder during Phase 1 : Bitcoin is not treated as digital gold during tariff shocks.
It is treated as high beta risk.
Why:
24/7 market
High leverage
Perpetual futures
Thin liquidity during political shocks
So BTC becomes the pressure valve for global risk.
5. After the shock, the narrative phase begins : This is where Treasury officials appear. This is where words like “Negotiations”, “Constructive talks”, “Temporary” and “Not catastrophic” start showing up. Volatility stops to rise. Selling pressure slows and markets remember tariffs take weeks to implement.
6. Then comes the resolution phase : This is where Trump announces delay, reduction, framework, partial agreement or a “historic deal”. Markets rally because uncertainty collapses. This three-phase structure has repeated across:
China tariffs
Mexico tariffs
Canada tariffs
India tariffs
and will probably happen now too. The Greenland situation follows the same template, but with higher geopolitical risk.
This is because:
Europe can retaliate symmetrically
It involves NATO allies
It includes territorial pressure
It overlaps with Supreme Court review of tariff authority
That makes this tariff more unstable, but not structurally different. Now look at today’s crash. Today was not about valuation. Not about earnings. Not about recession data.
It was Phase 1 of the tariff cycle: Shock.
Funds reduced exposure. Liquidity was pulled. Leverage was forced out. Crypto was hit harder because it always is during global risk resets.
So the playbook is simple:
1. Announce aggressively
2. Create fear while markets are closed
3. Let leverage unwind
4. Force negotiation pressure
5. Reframe later as diplomacy
6. Claim victory
7. Markets recover
We just faced the 3rd phase and now entering the 4th phase. In a few weeks, everything will be back to normal and the markets will trade above their pre-dump levels.
https://x.com/bulltheoryio/status/2013228531728499178
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