Today’s tariff rumbles have stirred a fascinating debate among conservatives who otherwise travel harmoniously aboard the Trump Train.
Some consider tariffs an end, not a means. They argue that tariffs could generate $600 billion in annual federal revenues. They want these funds to underwrite tax cuts or to curb the national debt.
Defending tariff protectionism, a Manhattan financier friend told me: “A short-term stock market hit is well worth rebuilding some of our core infrastructure, becoming more self-reliant, and putting our young, able-bodied men back to work! Right now, in record numbers, they are outside the labor force.”
Other Trump Train passengers consider tariffs a means, not an end. They seize the attention of recalcitrant foreign leaders and could slam foreign and domestic tariffs down, ideally to 0%.
As Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., wryly…
