Trump’s Tariffs, Address to Congress, Foreign Policy

Mike and Jay open with a look at the latest in the “Will he or won’t he?” saga of President Trump’s tariffs, They agree that this sort of uncertainty is bad for markets, and Mike points out that tariffs are not just a tax, but a regressive tax. Jay observes that the US used to derive nearly all of its income through tariffs, but that was a very different time. They also look at the legal justification for the tariffs, which they both agree is at least somewhat shaky. Next is a discussion of the big Trump rally that was his address to a joint session of Congress. There wasn’t much substance, but plenty of lies and people behaving badly. They close by considering a UK listener's view that under President Trump, the United States is no longer either strong or right, but that American under Trump is weak and venal. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Mike’s Substack: What Fresh Hell is This? Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe Politics Guys on Facebook | XListener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys.The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.