What did Donald Trump do today?

He actually boosted the economy, after a fashion.

Today is "Black Friday," traditionally a very busy shopping day, and a bellwether for the strength of the retail economy. It is expected to be a good one, with inflation and unemployment both low, and most other economic indicators in the green since the pandemic economy ended.

But there is one factor driving sales today that is very unusual: shoppers are listening to retailers and economic experts, and reporting that they are buying big-ticket items now, rather than risk seeing their prices driven up if Trump makes good on his promise to reignite a trade war with the United States' three largest trading partners.

This is a rational fear: consumers are effectively saying that they understand that tariffs are taxes that are ultimately paid by consumers in the country that imposes them, and that they would prefer not to pay them if possible. This is a concept that has been famously difficult for Trump to grasp.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Trump tonight to discuss the situation. He appears to be playing the "good cop," with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and Trudeau's own opposition being more blunt. Trudeau, who has been in office since 2015, has developed something of a sideline in helping to "manage" Trump, sometimes at the behest of Trump's own staff.

Why does this matter?

• Americans should not have to save themselves from the costs of their own president's incompetence.

• Americans should not have to rely on foreign leaders to save them, either.