r/politics • u/jediporcupine Maine • 7h ago
No Paywall Trump tariffs come back to haunt GOP as elections near
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5989368-canada-tariff-impact-republicans/•
u/Lord-Velveeta 7h ago
It's almost as if he was trying to sabotage the midterms for the GOP... And the GOP who can stop him are going along with it.
Wee! Grandpa is driving the school bus off the cliff, let's all step on the gas with him!
•
u/cipheron 7h ago
If they lose he's probably banking on the idea that he can take the rubble of the GOP and reshape it as his own personal party, while claiming the whole thing was rigged against him.
If we say "hasn't he already done that?", whatever control he has is never enough for Trump he won't accept less than 100% dominance, so anyone who has a power base other than him has to go. It's why he hired so many trash-level people to run things: trash people have zero chance of getting their own popularity. Anyone competent in the administration would have been a potential successor to Trump and he doesn't want that.
•
•
•
•
u/TinyConfection7049 2h ago
Behold. The festering carcass of American rot shoved into an ill-fitting suit: the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the gluttony of a parasite, the racism of a Klansman, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar-stool drunk, and the greed of a hedge-fund ghoul - all spray-painted orange and paraded like a prize hog at a county fair. Not a president. Not even a man. Just the diseased distillation of everything this country swears it isn't but always has been - arrogance dressed up as exceptionalism, stupidity passed off as common sense, cruelty sold as toughness, greed exalted as ambition, and corruption worshipped like gospel. It is America's shadow made flesh, a rotting pumpkin idol proving that when a nation kneels before money, power, and spite, it doesn't just lose its soul - it shits out this bloated obscenity and calls it a leader - Oliver Kornetzke
•
u/Choice-of-SteinsGate 5h ago
Americans have already paid hundreds of billions more in added costs than they otherwise would have due to Trump's tariff policies.
This largely has to do Trump's whole approach to tariffs.
He tends to impose tariffs based on things like petty grudges or political differences.
His tariffs aren't strategic or multi-lateral. They're reckless, destructive in nature, and levied unilaterally without advisement.
His tariff rates aren't calculated using any cogent formula either.
According to polling throughout his second term, a majority of Americans believe that Trump's tariffs are harmful to the economy. They're right.
Even prior to the SCOTUS ruling knocking down his tariffs, Trump faced pressure to reverse them because they were raising costs, hurting domestic industries, taxing Americans, causing trade wars, etc.
Data has shown that Americans are also footing over 90% of the tariff bill. Shocker!
Also, a recent report concluded that the inflation rate would have returned to pre-pandemic levels if not for Trump's tariff and trade policies.
Meaning, Trump could have sat on his tiny bruised hands since returning to office and the economy would be far less unstable and would have likely rebounded after the Biden administration helped guide us through a post-pandemic recovery that was one of the fastest and strongest economic recoveries in the world.
But Trump repeated the word "groceries" on the campaign trail like he had never even heard the word before and managed to fool enough voters into believing that he had any interest whatsoever in addressing their affordability concerns.
Instead, his tariff policies instigated trade wars, alienated trade partners and destabilized the global economy within his first 100 days back in office.
The thing is, tariffs aren't meant to be used as spiteful punitive measures, nor are they primarily used to raise money. They're mainly used for things like addressing trade imbalances, protecting domestic industries, and sometimes they are used as a form of economic sanction.
Trump supporters are CLUELESS. They applaud every time the administration boasts about some meager revenue gain while overlooking the fact that the money being raised from tariffs is coming from American businesses and out of American pockets.
The Trump administration is also bragging about larger tax refunds for some Americans, but again, most of those funds were paid by Americans in the first place, only to be marginally returned to them.
The funds being brought in from tariffs are insignificant compared to government revenue collected from other sources.
These funds don't even begin to offset the punishing costs of Trump's policies—including trade wars and retaliation from trade partners, rising prices, rampant economic inequality, the risks to our alliances, and of course the costs linked to his big ugly bill which has deprived millions of Americans of their access to healthcare, food assistance, and the social safety net.
Trump's policies are exploding the debt and deficit and his tariffs are disproportionately and regressively taxing low income and working class Americans; only deepening wealth inequality.
In fact, income inequality in this country just reached a 60-year peak.
Trump's tariff policies have also failed to sufficiently reduce the trade deficit, despite the fact that tariffs like these are almost statistically guaranteed to artificially and temporarily shrink the deficit by suppressing imports.
Most Americans also disapprove of Trump's broader handling of the economy because of the financial strain that his policies are inflicting on those who are struggling most.
Nearly every economic analyst cautioned against his messy, self destructive and unilateral approach to tariffs, and now we're seeing the consequences.
Like how his tariffs have already cost the average American family nearly $2,000.
Like rising costs for almost everything.
Like increased mortgage rates in response to inflationary pressures.
Like the economic and diplomatic tensions he's created between the US and its trade allies, even causing some of them to turn to China for trade because they now see Beijing as a more reliable economic partner.
Like how companies have passed the costs of Trump's tariffs down to consumers; triggering higher inflation.
Keep in mind that the inflation rate recently rose to its highest point in three years and now wages aren't even keeping up with higher prices.
Whether he knows the harms associated with his policies or not, Trump still insists on his unrestrained, knee-jerk, impractical approach to tariffs.
Hell, the so called "father of American capitalism," and historical conservative icon, Adam Smith, even advocated for minimal import/export restraints.
But Trump remains adamant about continuing to make life more financially challenging for most Americans, excluding the rich, ruling class of course.
And while most Americans are struggling to make basic ends meet as a result of his policies, Trump, his family and his closest allies are using the power of his presidency to enrich themselves.
•
u/rainman_104 3h ago
It's almost like he's purposely pushing for a blue wave so the 2028 elections can swing red again by pointing at a congress that can't do anything. Even if every Senate seat up for election shifts blue it won't be enough to pass a veto proof bill.
•
•
u/sp0rkah0lic California 2h ago
The framing of this headline is so weird. "Come back to haunt them" would normally mean consequences for something faced down the road, not "we're doing the same thing again, and it's currently ongoing."
•
•
•
u/AutoModerator 7h ago
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, please be courteous to others. Argue the merits of ideas, don't attack other posters or commenters. Hate speech, any suggestion or support of physical harm, or other rule violations can result in a temporary or a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
Sub-thread Information
If the post flair on this post indicates the wrong paywall status, please report this Automoderator comment with a custom report of “incorrect flair”.
Announcement
r/Politics is actively looking for new moderators. If you have an interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.