Trump’s trade war on reality

“Liberation Day” is an apt name for President Donald Trump’s policy to impose massive new tariffs across the world. He sees the United States as a victimized colony, taken advantage of by other countries that have robbed it of jobs, industries and money. “Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” he said when announcing his plans on Wednesday. Trump’s acolytes, such as Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, parrot this view, painting a picture of a hollowed-out country with empty factories, unemployed workers and stagnant wages.

The reality is the opposite. And it is only because it is the opposite — in other words, because of America’s unrivaled economic power — that Trump can even attempt his tariff policy. It is U.S. economic heft that allows him to try to force the rest of the world to bend to his will. But Trump is using American power in such a capricious, destructive and dumb way that it will almost certainly result in a lose-lose outcome for everyone.

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