Republicans quietly celebrate the demise of tariffs. That relief might not last.
People are fed up—do they even notice?
Republicans quietly breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Friday — but that feeling may prove fleeting.
The court's decision to upend Trump’s global tariffs comes as affordability concerns and the cost of living continue to galvanize voters ahead of the midterms. Many free trade-friendly Republicans spent the past year worrying that the tariffs would drive prices higher, destabilize the economy and hurt their hopes of hanging onto control of Congress this November.
“It's very possible that the Supreme Court just threw Trump's economy a life preserver, and the president is refusing it and demanding an anchor. These tariffs economically have not played well into the affordability narrative,” said Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump State Department official. “It just has not been helpful — full stop.”
Trump’s hard line on tariffs has proven particularly difficult for some GOP candidates to navigate in battleground states where manufacturing and agricultural industries have been hit the hardest by the trade measures. Several of Trump’s allies in farm country and Republicans encouraged him to pump the brakes Friday and reassess his path forward.
But the president’s announcement of a 10 percent global tariff immediately after the ruling had them back on their guard.
“We have very powerful alternatives,” Trump said in a press conference Friday afternoon, announcing he will sign the new tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 – and rejecting the possibility of legislating a new measure through Congress. "I don't need to,” he said. “It's already been approved."
Only minutes earlier, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had suggested in a post on X thatCongress would work with the administration to find “the best path forward.”
Polling shows that Trump’s tariffs are broadly unpopular. A 45 percent plurality of Americans said in a November POLITICO Poll that higher tariffs are damaging the U.S. economy — in both the short and long term. That view falls along partisan lines, with Democrats far more likely to say the levies are damaging the U.S. economy.
Still, roughly a quarter of Trump’s own 2024 voters agree. Among Republicans who do not identify as “MAGA” — a much more malleable group of voters — opposition to the levies rose. Thirty-two percent of non-MAGA Republicans said the higher tariffs are damaging the economy in both the short and the long term, compared with just 21 percent of self-identifying MAGA Republicans.
Despite Americans’ overall disapproval of the White House’s tariff agenda, Trump remains bullish on his approach.
“Without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now,” he said in a Thursday speech before a crowd …
People are fed up—do they even notice?
Republicans quietly breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Friday — but that feeling may prove fleeting.
The court's decision to upend Trump’s global tariffs comes as affordability concerns and the cost of living continue to galvanize voters ahead of the midterms. Many free trade-friendly Republicans spent the past year worrying that the tariffs would drive prices higher, destabilize the economy and hurt their hopes of hanging onto control of Congress this November.
“It's very possible that the Supreme Court just threw Trump's economy a life preserver, and the president is refusing it and demanding an anchor. These tariffs economically have not played well into the affordability narrative,” said Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump State Department official. “It just has not been helpful — full stop.”
Trump’s hard line on tariffs has proven particularly difficult for some GOP candidates to navigate in battleground states where manufacturing and agricultural industries have been hit the hardest by the trade measures. Several of Trump’s allies in farm country and Republicans encouraged him to pump the brakes Friday and reassess his path forward.
But the president’s announcement of a 10 percent global tariff immediately after the ruling had them back on their guard.
“We have very powerful alternatives,” Trump said in a press conference Friday afternoon, announcing he will sign the new tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 – and rejecting the possibility of legislating a new measure through Congress. "I don't need to,” he said. “It's already been approved."
Only minutes earlier, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had suggested in a post on X thatCongress would work with the administration to find “the best path forward.”
Polling shows that Trump’s tariffs are broadly unpopular. A 45 percent plurality of Americans said in a November POLITICO Poll that higher tariffs are damaging the U.S. economy — in both the short and long term. That view falls along partisan lines, with Democrats far more likely to say the levies are damaging the U.S. economy.
Still, roughly a quarter of Trump’s own 2024 voters agree. Among Republicans who do not identify as “MAGA” — a much more malleable group of voters — opposition to the levies rose. Thirty-two percent of non-MAGA Republicans said the higher tariffs are damaging the economy in both the short and the long term, compared with just 21 percent of self-identifying MAGA Republicans.
Despite Americans’ overall disapproval of the White House’s tariff agenda, Trump remains bullish on his approach.
“Without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now,” he said in a Thursday speech before a crowd …
Republicans quietly celebrate the demise of tariffs. That relief might not last.
People are fed up—do they even notice?
Republicans quietly breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Friday — but that feeling may prove fleeting.
The court's decision to upend Trump’s global tariffs comes as affordability concerns and the cost of living continue to galvanize voters ahead of the midterms. Many free trade-friendly Republicans spent the past year worrying that the tariffs would drive prices higher, destabilize the economy and hurt their hopes of hanging onto control of Congress this November.
“It's very possible that the Supreme Court just threw Trump's economy a life preserver, and the president is refusing it and demanding an anchor. These tariffs economically have not played well into the affordability narrative,” said Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump State Department official. “It just has not been helpful — full stop.”
Trump’s hard line on tariffs has proven particularly difficult for some GOP candidates to navigate in battleground states where manufacturing and agricultural industries have been hit the hardest by the trade measures. Several of Trump’s allies in farm country and Republicans encouraged him to pump the brakes Friday and reassess his path forward.
But the president’s announcement of a 10 percent global tariff immediately after the ruling had them back on their guard.
“We have very powerful alternatives,” Trump said in a press conference Friday afternoon, announcing he will sign the new tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 – and rejecting the possibility of legislating a new measure through Congress. "I don't need to,” he said. “It's already been approved."
Only minutes earlier, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had suggested in a post on X thatCongress would work with the administration to find “the best path forward.”
Polling shows that Trump’s tariffs are broadly unpopular. A 45 percent plurality of Americans said in a November POLITICO Poll that higher tariffs are damaging the U.S. economy — in both the short and long term. That view falls along partisan lines, with Democrats far more likely to say the levies are damaging the U.S. economy.
Still, roughly a quarter of Trump’s own 2024 voters agree. Among Republicans who do not identify as “MAGA” — a much more malleable group of voters — opposition to the levies rose. Thirty-two percent of non-MAGA Republicans said the higher tariffs are damaging the economy in both the short and the long term, compared with just 21 percent of self-identifying MAGA Republicans.
Despite Americans’ overall disapproval of the White House’s tariff agenda, Trump remains bullish on his approach.
“Without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now,” he said in a Thursday speech before a crowd …
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