In a stunning rebuke that’s left MAGA supporters reeling, the conservative Wall Street Journal has published a scathing editorial, labeling Donald Trump’s disastrous tariffs “the biggest economic policy mistake in decades.”
The Journal’s editorial board didn’t mince words, writing, “Mr. Trump thinks he can bully everyone into submission, but he can’t bully Adam Smith, who deals in reality. Markets know tariffs are taxes, and taxes are anti-growth. The Trump tariffs are the biggest economic policy mistake in decades, and extending the 2017 tax reform and deregulation may not compensate for all the damage.”
This blistering assessment comes in the wake of Trump’s irrational attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his absurd suggestion that he might illegally fire him.
The Danger of Trump’s Economic Ignorance
Trump, in his infinite self-interest, is furious that Powell isn’t slashing interest rates, desperately hoping this would somehow mask the self-inflicted damage of his idiotic tariffs. In reality, such a move would almost certainly trigger runaway inflation.
Adding to Trump’s tantrum, Powell had the audacity to publicly state the obvious: that the tariffs will likely exacerbate inflation and cripple economic growth.
The Journal rightly pointed out that firing Powell would be “a recipe for more market uncertainty,” asking, “Whose forward guidance should investors follow, Mr. Powell’s or his replacement’s?”
The editorial board concluded with a damning assessment: “All of this is tempting economic fate and contributing to a global ‘sell America’ narrative in financial markets. That’s why the dollar is under pressure. Smart Presidents pay attention to market signals and adapt. The adaptation now would be to negotiate a quick end to the tariff barrage. Claim some trade-deal victories, and call it a day. But markets are spooked because they don’t know if Mr. Trump listens to anyone but his own impulses.”
The editorial paints a picture of Trump as an impulsive, economically illiterate leader, stubbornly driving the country towards disaster.
Instead of ushering in a new “Golden Age,” as his supporters deluded themselves into believing, Trump is destroying the economic recovery and leaving America poorer and less safe.