That Carrier Deal

You may have heard that Trump supposedly struck a TREMENDOUS DEAL with Carrier, the Indiana air conditioner company he's used as the symbol for Rust Belt jobs he wants to keep or "bring back" to the US. Be wary of this news and how it's being reported.

Look at how the @nytimes is already framing the Carrier news, even though we don't know the details of the deal:https://t.co/hXPisHLBNL pic.twitter.com/JytviXxmYK

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) November 30, 2016

If news reports are correct, Carrier is getting a massive tax break while still sending nearly half their Indiana jobs to Mexico. Unreal.

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) November 30, 2016

And Trump is already getting rewarded for his largely meaningless announcement with just the framing/coverage he wants: https://t.co/u5kzsW5lO0

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) November 30, 2016

.@nytimes headline on Carrier story suggests Trump is directly responsible for jobs staying. THERE IS LITERALLY NO EVIDENCE OF THAT pic.twitter.com/TU8nWJeswS

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) November 30, 2016

Every savvy CEO will now threaten to ship jobs to Mexico, and demand a payment to stay. Great economic policy. https://t.co/t2WAJOgh8F

— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) November 30, 2016

We don't know what the deal is or how it was struck. We don't even know if it's actually a good or wise deal.

Also worth noting that Pence is still Indiana governor for the moment. The tax break may be state, not federal. And Pence the one orchestrating this whole thing.

I suspect we're seeing the first example of what the Trump-Pence administration will look like: Pence muscling things behind the scenes; Trump taking the credit. Media offering plaudits because they don't even know what happened or how.

Not good. Not good at all.