There are tariff policies that alienate trading partners and there are tariff policies that alienate trading partners while simultaneously causing a Fox News host to go on air and say “Don’t see our benefit,” which is the sentiment applied this week to the US-Saudi civil nuclear deal, while Trump has also imposed new double-digit tariffs on 60 countries for forced labor violations, and White House insiders are described by Politico as panicking about what this combination does to Republican prospects in November.
The new tariffs, ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, took effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday on 60 countries the administration has designated as allowing products made with forced labor into their markets, per Raw Story’s confirmed reporting. The tariffs replace a global 10 percent duty that was set to lapse. They are in addition to the existing tariff structure, which has already elevated consumer prices, and they arrive on the same week that the Iran war is in its 13th consecutive day, the Red Sea has become a second choke point, and oil is spiking globally. White House insiders told Politico that Trump’s decision to ramp up tariffs again is “adding to Republican woes at a time when they need something to offer voters who are frustrated with the president’s economy.”
The Saudi nuclear deal, announced Thursday, hit a different wall. Trump made the deal conditional on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, announcing this via Truth Social posts without contacting any Saudi officials first, per CNN’s reporting, which is the diplomatic protocol of a president who governs by social media post and whose energy secretary reportedly did not inform him the deal was being announced. Trump grew “even more uneasy” after conservative media including Fox News criticized the deal. The Fox News host who said “Don’t see our benefit” was addressing the question of what America receives from a nuclear deal that does not include Israeli normalization.
Republican allies have spent the week managing Iran, tariffs, the Saudi deal, and the Red Sea simultaneously, which is the portfolio of a midterm campaign trying to explain a news cycle to voters who are looking at gas prices and grocery bills.
When the president imposes new tariffs at midnight, announces a nuclear deal via Truth Social without calling the other party, and Fox News says it doesn’t see the benefit, what exactly is the coalition holding?
Sources
Raw Story: Trump takes yet another swing at massive tariffs
Raw Story: White House insiders panic as Trump pushes tariffs
