Even Trump Voters Fear the Tariffs
Trump’s reversal might not stop the bleeding.
AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF TANKING the U.S. economy, Donald Trump abruptly reversed himself by announcing on Truth Social that he would pause most tariffs for 90 days. MAGA dutifully celebrated the art of the deal.
Here’s Howard Lutnick bragging about how he had the honor of witnessing Trump’s humiliating 180 “one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his Presidency.”
This comes after days of Marco Rubio, JD Vance, Scott Bessent, and others defending Trump’s tariffs, explaining why, actually, trade wars are good for the economy.
Here’s a helpful side-by-side, just to give you a look at the level of hypocrisy we’re talking about with these people.
BUT THERE’S SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT than schadenfreude going on here: Americans are going to feel the effects of Trump’s tariff adventure, no matter what. Backing down does not undo the damage that’s been done.
Other countries—particularly our closest democratic allies—now know they cannot take the United States to be a reliable partner in matters of global trade. They’re not going to snap back to a pre–trade war equilibrium, just because Trump has decided to reverse course for the moment.1
Today’s market won’t measure the long-term damage Trump has done to the U.S. economy by destroying global trust in America that took generations to build.
As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney put it: “The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over. It’s clear the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner.”
Voters understand this fundamental shift, too. I talk to voters in focus groups every week—lately, mostly Biden-to-Trump voters. Lots of them switched to Trump primarily for economic reasons. For many, it was their first time ever voting Republican.
Something you hear over and over from these people is the idea that Donald Trump is a great businessman and a dealmaker. And despite all the crazy of his first term, they appreciated that the pre-COVID economy was booming. During the 2024 campaign, they wanted to go back to that.
This is the core of the Trump myth. It was his superpower during a campaign that centered on prices and inflation. It’s also his core vulnerability in his second term, now that he’s decided to blow up the U.S. economy.
THERE’S BEEN A SLOW BUILD-UP of concern in the focus groups about the tariffs and how the trade war will affect people’s bottom lines:
“The tariffs I don’t get, and it kind of concerns me a little bit,” said Steve, a Biden-to-Trump voter from Georgia. “But I’m hoping it will make sense shortly. Right now, it just kinda doesn’t to me.”
“I am, too, a little scared about the tariffs, because the stock market has plunged a few times,” said Sylvia, a Biden-to-Trump voter from Michigan. “I’m glad I just bought a newer car in December because the prices are all up right now. I’m still a little worried.”
She went on: “I got an oil change . . . it cost me $10 more. Why I voted for Trump was for the prices to come down at the grocery store. Nothing’s come down. That's why I voted for Trump. . . . So it really hits me in the gut.”
When we asked a recent group of nine Trump 2024 voters whether they were in favor of the tariffs, fewer than half raised their hands.
Maybe Trump’s reversal puts all these concerns to bed. But maybe not. If you’re an average person who took a flyer on Trump, and you look at prices spiking, growth stalling, stocks plummeting—are you feeling confident in what you’re seeing just because the president put out a Truth?
DEMOCRATS SHOULD EXPLOIT THIS OPPORTUNITY. People are scared and vulnerable, and the president is actively doing violence to the economy. Democrats should point this out, relentlessly. Or at least they should not get in Trump’s way as he makes it clear that all of this chaos is his doing.
Right now, this administration is delivering real, negative consequences for people in a way that is personal, and can be felt in their day-to-day lives. It’s Democrats’ job to make sure they know who’s to blame.
Trump pausing the tariffs makes this less of a slam-dunk case for Democrats in the immediate term. Especially now that he can point to the pause to deflect blame for rising prices, or take credit for market gains (after having tanked the market in the first place). But they should stay on offense.
Talk about how his blustering incompetence started this mess, and how his feckless attempt to get out of it is too little, too late. And whatever Democrats do, stop actively giving him cover.
Trump might have bought his administration some time by reversing course. Or he may have further undermined voters’ confidence that he has any idea what he’s doing.
This also happens to be true in regard to our security commitments. The global world order that the United States has built and maintained for generations required trust and confidence in our leadership and commitment to the project. Trump has destroyed that trust and confidence.
