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Brett Fortnam

@brettfortnam.bsky.social
191 followers 458 following 211 posts

Editor-in-Chief at Inside U.S. Trade, fan of depressing sports teams. Never met a dad joke that wasn't worth the groan.

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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
The use of quotes around 'so- called' upsets me on a level that is difficult to describe. I am often annoyed by the administration's typographical policy, but this one is distressing. You put the word/phrase after 'so-called' in quotes. Why put 'so-called' in quotes. WHY???
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
For some reason I think I'm going to need some extra caffeine today.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
I second this. Might add a 2a about getting a damned downfield receiver...
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
"Well, who says life is fair? Where is that written? Life isn't always fair." Seems really unfair right now. #RIPRobReiner
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Former USTR Robert Lighthizer has a pretty good reading list if you ask me. www.mckinsey.com/capabilities... iykyk
mckinsey.com
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
I said maybeeee You're gonna be the one who saves meeeee
Picture of the Pope at the mic.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Hear me out -- instead of the Avalanche, we call them the Colorado Wildberry Pop-Tarts. Would the Sabres still lose to a breakfast pastry? Of course. But maybe we would be just a little less miserable watching it. #sabresafterdark
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Dr. Meredith Wills ⚾️⚾️👀 @bbl-astrophyscs.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
“People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” - Rogers Hornsby (May the waiting commence…)
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
I chuckled...
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Silky @silkyweineck.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience.

Mitch Hedberg
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
1. A giant hug from one of the kiddos. 2. The sound of the ball hitting the glove. 3. Ripping the entire peanut butter lid cover off in one swift tear. 4. Starting (and finishing) a book. 5. Hearing 'I want to go to bed' from the toddler.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Nah. I can't imagine any difficulty negotiating on trade with India.
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
some of you need to make like travis kelce and engage with a tailor swiftly
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Time for a thread on what the administration is calling "transshipment" because what they're really talking about is a wholescale change to rules of origin. A thread: 🧵 (1/n)
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Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
In today's newsletter: imagine if the commissioner of baseball admitted to a room full of reporters that he ended MLB's diversity program because he was afraid Trump, congratulated himself for that, and then no one in that room reported on it. Wild, I know. www.cupofcoffeenews.com/cup-of-coffe...
Back in 2016 MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred established Major League Baseball’s Diversity Pipeline Program initiative to identify and develop front-office candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. Then, just after Trump was inaugurated for the second time, I discovered that MLB ended the program, removed all evidence of it ever existing from the MLB website, and otherwise scrubbed almost every reference to diversity on the league's site.

In response to my reporting, Rob Manfred gave a non-answer, claiming that the league's "values on diversity" had not changed. Then MLB released the following statement:

“As the commissioner stated, our values on diversity remain unchanged. We are in the process of evaluating our programs for any modifications to eligibility criteria that are needed to ensure our programs are compliant with federal law as they continue forward."
As I wrote in response at the time, Major League Baseball had not only changed its "values on diversity," they admitted that those values were always paper thin if not wholly illusory. Actual values in which people or institutions truly believe do not get tossed aside the minute the political winds change. They are not trashed because one anticipates that they may displease the powerful. If you hastily memory-hole a successful nine-year program like the Diversity Pipeline because a bunch of unapologetic racists like Donald Trump and Steven Miller think such things discriminate against white people, you never truly believed in the program and you're really no better than the unapologetic racists.No one said jack shit about it afterward, but as Jen Ramos Eisen reported on Monday, over the All-Star break Manfred spoke at a BBWAA brunch and was asked about the killing of the Diversity Pipeline program. His response was a hell of a thing:

"The diversity pipeline, let me say it this way. Sometimes, you have to look at how the world's changing around you and readjust where you are. There were certain aspects of some of our programs that were very race and/or gender based. We know that people in Washington felt it was important that we passed our programs in a way to make sure that we can continue on with our programs, continue to pursue the values that we have always adhered to without tripping what could be legal problems interfere with that process. You know, that's a judgment, my judgment. At the end of the day, I think I made it right."
For starters, I think it's pretty pathetic that Manfred made this statement to a room full of BBWAA members yet not a single goddamn one of them besides Ramos Eisen, who is not a BBWAA member but who got access to a recording of the brunch later, reported on it. And it was not because the brunch was off-the-record or anything. All kinds of stories about other comments Manfred made during that brunch were published. Stuff about the All-Star Game, the roboump, the Olympics and other topics. Yet the Commissioner of Baseball saying "yeah, I ordered the league's much-lauded diversity program to be killed because I didn't want to upset Donald Trump" goes unreported for over a week, until a shit-stirrer (complimentary) like Ramos Eisen, who does not work for a major media outlet, got a hold of it.As for the substance, Manfred saying "sometimes, you have to look at how the world's changing around you and readjust where you are" and trying to square that with "values" is positively embarrassing. "Values" and "doing things based on how the wind is blowing" are completely opposite concepts. The fact that Manfred said such a thing suggests that he's a dead-eyed drone free of anything anyone could call values or convictions apart from a desire to please Donald Trump.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
So let me get this straight: I have to sign up, agree to Truth Social's terms of service, which includes your usual data rights handovers, so I can read statements setting U.S. policy from the sitting U.S. president. Have I got that right?
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
I found this reply interesting ("Can those foreign companies open shop in the US?") I don't think Japanese or South Korean menswear can be made in the US. At least, not without losing something. Let's explore why. 🧵
I tweeted: "trump announced he'll impose a 25% tariff on japanese and south korean goods starting august 1st. could be crippling for many quality menswear stores in the US" 

Then someone replied: "Think you could convince any of them to come over here and open shop?"
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
One of the most illustrative lines in these tariffs letters I think is Trump's invitation for Japan/Korea to participate in the U.S. economy. He's clearly talking about investment and not trade. Thread (1/n)
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Trump is starting to post the tariff letters, starting with Japan and Korea. Each are getting 25 percent tariffs. insidetrade.com/daily-news/t...
insidetrade.com
Trump tells Japan, Korea he’s imposing 25 percent tariffs as of Aug. 1 | InsideTrade.com
The U.S. will begin imposing 25 percent tariffs on Japanese and Korean goods beginning on Aug. 1, President Trump declared on Monday, sending letters to Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and Kore...
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
media.tenor.com
a man in a leather jacket is holding a baseball in his right hand .
ALT: a man in a leather jacket is holding a baseball in his right hand .
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
media.tenor.com
a man with long hair and a beard is holding a cup of coffee and says huh
Alt: GIF of The Dude stirring a White Russian saying 'HUH?'
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Aram Shabanian @aramshabanian.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Weird they're showing Swan Lake on Fox right now
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Rep. Dean (through a few degrees of separation, admittedly) caused this to get stuck in my head. So now you all can have it stuck in your head too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIiZ...
youtube.com
Raffi - Bananaphone
YouTube video by Children's Music Channel
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Ryan Godfrey @ryangodfrey.com · 22/05/2025
I believe this means the sun will set over the entirety of the British Empire tonight for the first time in several hundred years. Chagos is the dot below India on this map. Sunset in the Pitcairns (dot in the Pacific) will happen ~40 minutes before sunrise in Akrotiri and Dhekelia (dot on Cyprus).
Map of the Overseas British Territories
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Ghoulnemer @guynemer.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
has their even been a sports commissioner who hated their sport more than Rob Manfred
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
I legitimately cried at the line: "That's just what Rush Limbaugh said." Wife paused the movie, rewound, and I'm pretty sure I cried again. youtu.be/Akr33uOKP8M?...
youtu.be
The Birdcage (6/10) Movie CLIP - Gays in the Military (1996) HD
YouTube video by Movieclips
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Yesterday, the Trump administration used a tried-and-true trade trick out of the playbook: Announcing a trade deal before one is actually done. A quick thread: (1/n)
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Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Love the lil flex when they realise they just became the most famous bird in the world.
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Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
media.tenor.com
a woman singing into a microphone with the words " why 'd you have to go and make things so complicated ? "
ALT: a woman singing into a microphone with the words " why 'd you have to go and make things so complicated ? "
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
The only way this could be better is if there was nacho cheese all down his front because my kids would certainly make sure that's the case by the third inning.
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New York Times Opinion @nytopinion.nytimes.com · 03/05/2025
Budget deficits and trade deficits are twins, @jasonfurman.bsky.social writes. “So at the same moment Mr. Trump is upending the global economy in a feckless attempt to eliminate America’s trade deficit, he’s essentially pressuring Congress to increase it.”
nytimes.com
Opinion | Someone Should Tell Trump He’s About to Make the Trade Deficit Worse
This is the one thing all economists agree on.
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60 Minutes @60minutes.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
And now, a note on Bill Owens who, until this past week, was the executive producer of 60 Minutes. We’ll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Movie you've watched more than six times using gifs. ("Hard mode" no Star Wars, Star Trek, or LOTR)
media.tenor.com
two men sitting at a table with a candle and a napkin
ALT: two men sitting at a table with a candle and a napkin
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
We have agreed to have a negotiating table. We know the broad contours of its shape and may discuss its size at some point in the future. english.motie.go.kr/eng/article/...
english.motie.go.kr
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Homepage
This is the website of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which is in charge of the real economy that dynamically grows our economy
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
One more thought: The point of a Trump-Xi call would be to get negotiations moving, right? At a minimum, it would be to set the tone. But the purpose is for everyone to be able to say, 'Ok, they've talked. Here's where we are. This is how we move forward.' We're seeing none of that.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
So I was prepared to go on this whole screed about how U.S. and Chinese officials are obviously having informal conversations that Trump is referring to as trade deals and Beijing is adamant they're not that and that it's all semantics and optics and yada yada yada. Then this happens: (1/n)
Screenshot of excerpt from Trump's interview with Time Magazine:

Has he called you yet? 

Yep.

When did he call you? 

He's called. And I don't think that's a sign of weakness on his behalf. 

But you would think it’s a sign of weakness if you called him?

I don’t–I just look—

Well, what did he say? 

If people want to–well, we all want to make deals. But I am this giant store. It's a giant, beautiful store, and everybody wants to go shopping there. And on behalf of the American people, I own the store, and I set prices, and I'll say, if you want to shop here, this is what you have to pay.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
I don't understand the animosity of some of the responses. He's inviting discussion on pros and cons of LLMs. I think it's fair to argue that the cons outweigh the pros (which is my take). But LLMs can do some things, which is how I would define "useful."
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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Check out how the anchors of CBS Evening News ended their broadcast tonight:
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Finalizing the terms of reference to lay down a roadmap for negotiations sounds a whole lot like "we've identified where we think we might want the landing zones to be, but we have to get the permit to build those zones and then actually land the thing."
Section of statement from USTR Jamieson Greer on U.S.-India trade negotiations: “I am pleased to confirm that USTR and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry have finalized the Terms of Reference to lay down a roadmap for the negotiations on reciprocal trade,” said Ambassador Greer. “There is a serious lack of reciprocity in the trade relationship with India. These ongoing talks will help achieve balance and reciprocity by opening new markets for American goods and addressing unfair practices that harm American workers. India’s constructive engagement so far has been welcomed and I look forward to creating new opportunities for workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs in both countries.”
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Tre White is and will probably always be my favorite #Sabres goalie. This is great news, for the #Bills too I guess.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Things get weirder: The administration just posted two Federal Register notices opening the comment periods for Section 232 investigations on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals they say were initiated on April 1. Here's the story from my colleague David LaRoss: insidetrade.com/daily-news/c... (1/n)
insidetrade.com
Commerce announces 232 investigations for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals | InsideTrade.com
The Commerce Department has formally launched national-security investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors -- a key step toward imposing tariffs on both sectors that President T...
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Time to talk about tariff exemptions because the administration generated some confusion over them this weekend. (1/n)
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia? Before you open this thread, take a guess. Settle on a number and then compare it to what you'll learn in this thread. 🧵
A photo of a bunch of Nike shoes.
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
If I've learned anything over the past week+ of trade news, it's that we should all get our Dramamine now before the pharmaceuticals get tariffed.
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Peterson Institute for International Economics @piie.com · 09/04/2025
nvm
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
So...I'm guessing China didn't call?
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
I think Leavitt's description today of Trump's thoughts on a China deal were telling. (1/n) insidetrade.com/daily-news/w...
insidetrade.com
White House: Tariffs on China to jump to 104 percent on Wednesday | InsideTrade.com
The U.S. will hike tariffs on goods from China in response to Beijing’s retaliation, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, confirming the tariff rate imposed by President Trump...
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Trump says China wants to deal, but that sure looks like it's a projection of optimism rather than the reality. (1/n) insidetrade.com/daily-news/t...
insidetrade.com
Trump says he's waiting for a call from China, which is promising to 'fight to the end' | InsideTrade.com
President Trump on Tuesday claimed China wants to negotiate with the United States over escalating tariffs but can’t figure out how to begin the talks, while Beijing said it would not succumb to U.S. ...
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Brett Fortnam @brettfortnam.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Trump threatens to raise tariffs on China if it doesn’t withdraw retaliation | I will personally be surprised if Beijing backs down, although there is precedent for that during Trump I. I doubt they will bc they're much better prepared for this than under Trump I. insidetrade.com/daily-news/t...
insidetrade.com
Trump threatens to raise tariffs on China if it doesn’t withdraw retaliation | InsideTrade.com
President Trump on Monday said he would hike a recently announced 34 percent tariff increase on Chinese goods to 50 percent if China does not scrap its promised 34 percent tariffs on U.S. products.
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