Some prominent voices in the conservative movement are crowing over Donald Trump’s destructive trade war with Canada.
With affordability polling as a top issue for voters ahead of the midterm elections, Republicans are openly expressing concerns about a trade war that stands to inflict harm on American industries and consumers alike. And some are openly speculating that it could prove disastrous for the GOP in the midterms.
On Fox Business on Tuesday, “The Big Money Show” co-host Dagen McDowell highlighted the trade war’s potential impact on Canadian aerospace giant Bombardier — a company Trump has targeted specifically and one that has factories in Texas and other states crucial to Republicans’ hopes of maintaining control of Congress.
McDowell said:
“Everything that happens in any of these critical midterm states should be avoided at all costs. Ken Paxton is in a fight with James Talarico [that] the Republicans should not have to be in. This makes Ted Cruz-Beto O’Rourke, you know, look like Reagan-Mondale. So why — it might be a few jobs — but why take that risk?
She also said that other states with key Senate races rely on imported gasoline from Canada, including Maine, Minnesota and Michigan, adding: “I am ‘America First’ all day, but this makes ‘America First’ harder to maintain, potentially.”
Co-host Brian Brenberg, arguably the most shameless pro-Trump propagandist on the show, said feuding with Canada may appeal to die-hard Trump supporters but warned about the effect on independent voters.
“Why are we punching so hard against Canada? I think that’s the challenge. … What’s in it for us? Should we be using that firepower elsewhere? And maybe the answer to that is yes,” he said.
Co-host Taylor Riggs sounded the alarm on consumer sentiment cratering amid rising inflation, saying that “people and moms and voters go to the polls, and sometimes they do vote based on how they’re feeling.”
Trump’s authoritarian threat to halt Bombardier airplane sales in the U.S. has also created a problem for Republicans in Kansas, where the company’s American headquarters are located.
The state’s senior Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran immediately defended Bombardier, as did Ty Masterson, the Republican nominee for governor and current state Senate president. But the issue has put pressure on the state’s junior Sen. Roger Marshall, a close Trump ally running for reelection in a competitive race.
“We cannot allow this chaotic economic policy to continue to hurt Kansans; they deserve so much better. As your Senator, I will always stand up for Kansas workers,” the Democratic nominee in the race, Adam Hamilton, wrote on X Monday.
On Tuesday, Marshall said he would fight to keep Bombardier’s jobs in Kansas, posting on social media, “I’ve already taken that concern inside the Oval Office.” Marshall said he agreed with Trump’s aim of bringing more manufacturing jobs, particularly in Bombardier’s case because the company sells half its products in the United States.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Politico last weekend that she thought the Trump administration “underestimated” how its tariffs on Canadian products would affect Maine. It’s a statement I’d argue reeks of Collins’ widely criticized deference to the president in many ways, since it presumes the administration cared at all about the impact its trade war would have on Americans. Nonetheless, Collins’ statement — which comes amid her pivotal Senate race against Democrat Troy Jackson — made clear that she views the feud with Canada as destructive:
“I think the administration has very much underestimated the impact on Maine families, on small manufacturers, on our agricultural products. And that’s what I’m trying my best to educate them about. They look at this issue as a macro issue. And in fact, the micro impact on a state like Maine is considerable.”
The president has absurdly said the U.S. doesn’t “need Canada,” suggesting their trade partnership is worthless. The fact that he’s being contradicted by members of his own party on this front, including people who’ve been willing to placate his cognitive dissonance in other areas, underscores that this trade war is politically toxic — and could kill the hopes of some Republican candidates.
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