There is an embedded assumption in the question that he does profit in some way from it, but based on his past behavior it’s a pretty safe guess.
Most of the reporting I have seen on this talks about the impact of the different tariffs, but not the “why” behind it (beyond parroting what Trump says, which is never true). I’m particularly interested in the tariffs on Canadian goods and energy. The justification about stopping fentanyl smuggling is an obvious lie. (It isn’t a real problem, and tariffs have nothing to do with drug smuggling. All but the mentally handicapped can figure that out for themselves.)
Edit: Thanks for the ideas. Causing shocks to the stock market and profiting from them sounds plausible. Using tariffs directly to extort business interests sounds even more likely.
BTW, I noticed that one of the commenters somehow changed their username after posting from “ComradeShark” (or something like that) to “Sharkfucker420” after I called him “Comrade” in my reply. I suspect that Russian influence farms didn’t shut down after the election. They’re still sowing discord on even niche social media platforms like Lemmy. (Also, rookie mistake on the username, brosky.)
I doubt that he cares about rebuilding US industry, Comrade. The idea of invading Canada sounds plausible, but it isn’t necessary for a successful invasion by the US military if he were to actually order that.
It could also be the US recognizing that it needs to decrease its sphere of influence in order to strengthen it. Perhaps focusing its imperialism on the Americas as global hegemony becomes unsustainable. These are the only conclusions I can come to without giving in to conspiracy.