WSJ says Trump 'cheerleaders' ought to be 'embarrassed' after his latest 'retreat'
Conservative principles face implementation challenges as policy meets political complexity.
The coverage treats the tariff delay as a gotcha, as if every adjustment proves the whole trade agenda was a sham. But tariffs are not a theology. They are leverage, and good leverage is calibrated to real risk, not to snarky hypotheticals about “killer love seats.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board took a shot at President Donald Trump's biggest "cheerleaders" after he quietly walked back a punishing furniture tariff in a thinly veiled bid to prevent Americans from seeing costs soar.Trump threw a curveball on New Year's Eve, when his administration quietly walked back steep levies on furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities, delaying the planned 30% to 50% tariffs for a full year while keeping a still-painful 25% border tax in place.Chiding the move as a "retreat," the board wrote Thursday, "Trump had imposed the higher tariff in the name of national security, but apparently the killer love seats aren’t as dangerous as advertised.
Maybe you can now buy one without fear of assault from a foreign spy."The move comes as prices for ...
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The coverage treats the tariff delay as a gotcha, as if every adjustment proves the whole trade agenda was a sham. But tariffs are not a theology. They are leverage, and good leverage is calibrated to real risk, not to snarky hypotheticals about “killer love seats.”
What the framing misses is the conservative problem with the current churn: it starts to look like government by exemption. When industries line up for carve-outs, public trust erodes, and so does the credibility of any national security rationale. If a policy is truly about security, it should be narrow, explainable, and consistently applied, not revised in silence after the price tag hits.
A serious America First trade posture should protect domestic production without turning tariffs into a backroom favor system. The principle at stake is fairness and the rule of law: predictable rules, transparent standards, and decisions the public can see and test.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.