The Tillis tariffs

PoliticsNC is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Transcript:I’m Thomas Mills for PoliticsNC. Today is Thursday, Apr 3, 2025 and the Republic is still standing, but your 401(K) is not. Donald Trump introduced blanket tariffs across the globe. He even put tariffs on two islands off the coast of Australia that are inhabited only by penguins. Not sure what they did to insult the president, but it must have been bad. You know who didn't get tariffs? Russia. So penguins did, Putin didn'tIn response, the stock market is crashing. The Dow Jones industrial average has dropped more than 1,000 points since opening.Donald Trump once said that if the Dow dropped 1,000 points in two days, the president should be impeached. Today, it’s almost 1,500 points in a single day. I doubt he’s saying much now. Congress could have reeled Trump in on his tariff debacle. He’s acting under emergency powers that they granted him. Now, Trump is abusing those powers. Congress has the Constitutional responsibility to hold the president accountable, but they won’t. Last night, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation to rescind the emergency powers. Four Republicans voted with Democrats to stop the economic bloodbath. Our Senator Thom Tillis lacked the courage to stand up to Trump. He voted against the measure.I’m sure he’ll be very concerned about the economic impact on families and farmers. But he won’t do a damn thing about it. I want to take this moment to urge everyone to call Senator Thom Tillis and thank him for tanking your retirement plans. If you’re a farmer, you can thank him for cutting off your markets. If you’re in manufacturing, thank him for making parts more expensive. Tillis has another chance to hold Trump accountable. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley has introduced a bill that would require Congress to approve new tariffs within 60 days or they expire. Let’s hope Tillis has guts to support the bill, but don’t bet on it. Thom Tillis is no longer the Senator for North Carolina. No, he’s now a candidate in the MAGA primary to keep his seat. He won’t do anything that risks the ire of Donald Trump. He’ll throw farmers under the bus and tank your IRA to stay in Trump’s good graces. As always, Thom Tillis will say one thing and do another. He’s a man who sold his soul to party that abandoned its values. It’s all just pathetic. I'm Thomas Mills signing off for politicsNC. Get full access to PoliticsNC at www.politicsnc.com/subscribe