Trump’s tariff vow won the White House

In 2016, Donald Trump’s support for tariffs helped propel him to a shocking electoral victory. In 2026, his tariff policy may help tank Republicans in the midterms. This turnabout counts as a surprise of Trump’s second term, and an unwelcome one for the president and his party. During his political ascent in 2015 and 2016, Trump exploited issues that revealed a disconnect between popular and elite opinion, and trade was prominent among them. His protectionism — expressed in pungent and excoriating terms — poached traditional Democratic ideological territory and appealed to the working-class voters, allowing him to crash the traditional…