MAGA Voters Will Be Patient With Tariffs
President Trump’s blue-collar supporters like his message on trade and trust his business savvy.
Still faithful.
Photographer: Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesWall Street is freaking out. Main Street isn’t exactly anxiety-free, either. The concern is justified. President Donald Trump has imposed import tariffs on virtually every commodity and product under the sun, with the aftershocks of this little experiment threatening to produce persistent inflation, stunted wages, mass layoffs and a global recession.
But Trump may yet have significant political latitude to see through his attempt to radically overhaul global trade. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 31 – April 2, the day of Trump’s big announcement, showed a majority of Republican voters approved of his handling of jobs, trade and the economy. Only on inflation was his support softer. Even in the immediate aftermath of the president’s big trade reveal and the economic turbulence that has followed, you should expect Republican voters and conservative populists to retain a substantial amount of trust in Trump’s management of the economy.