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Commentary
The Wall Street Journal

Why Trump Wants Tariffs

He sees them as a way to enhance his personal power, at home and abroad.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. Touting the event as “Liberation Day”, Trump is expected to announce additional tariffs targeting goods imported to the U.S. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Caption
President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a trade announcement event at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s hastily kludged together tariff plan has global financial markets swooning. His plan has accomplished two things that befuddled Democrats couldn’t: Tariffs have plunged Mr. Trump into the first true crisis of his second term, and they have American voters wondering if the president is fit for office.

It is much too early, however, to draft obituaries either for the Trump presidency or the MAGA movement. If there is one lesson since the president descended the escalator at Trump Tower in 2015, it is not to write this man off. A guy who can turn a mug shot into a presidential portrait should never be discounted, and disasters that would ruin lesser talents leave him unfazed

Read the full article in The Wall Street Journal.