Trump visits Ford plant and defends his tariffs, hoping to counter jitters about the economy
Economic uncertainty forces tough choices between short-term relief and long-term stability.
The mainstream framing treats tariffs as a political stunt to calm “jitters,” as if the only serious metric is next quarter’s mood. That misses why Trump went to a Ford plant in the first place: manufacturing towns have lived through decades of elite assurances that offshoring was “efficient,” right up until the bills came due. Tariffs are not magic, and they carry costs.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
DETROIT — President Donald Trump offered a full-throated defense of his sweeping tariffs on Tuesday, traveling to swing-state Michigan to push the case that he’s boosted domestic manufacturing in hopes of countering fears about a weakening job market and still-rising
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The mainstream framing treats tariffs as a political stunt to calm “jitters,” as if the only serious metric is next quarter’s mood. That misses why Trump went to a Ford plant in the first place: manufacturing towns have lived through decades of elite assurances that offshoring was “efficient,” right up until the bills came due.
Tariffs are not magic, and they carry costs. But so does surrendering critical supply chains and pretending our competitors play by the same rules. The conservative concern is national security, industrial capacity, and public trust in an economy that rewards production, not just financial engineering.
Michigan workers do not need sympathy. They need fairness for American labor and a system that enforces reciprocity. The real question is whether policymakers are willing to defend economic sovereignty without pretending there are painless options.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.