Free Republic

Tens of thousands of protesters descended on DC Saturday as part of nationwide “Hands Off!” rallies against spending cuts from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and President Trump’s new “Liberation Day” tariffs — with one speaker calling on the crowd to make the two men “afraid.” The huge crowd assembled with homemade — and in many cases vulgar — anti-Republican signs near the Washington Monument while similar events unfolded in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. “Trump and Musk, who want to be dictators and want to be kings and lords, they are afraid of the power of...

Tariffs are just “one chapter of the book of the Trump economic agenda,” Sen. David McCormick (R-PA) said during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday, discussing tariffs and the latest jobs numbers.The latest jobs numbers, he began, are a “reflection of a number of companies already starting to invest in jobs in the United States,” or “an early response to the Trump economic agenda.”“And listen, you know, the last month has been tariffs, tariffs, tariffs… And I will talk about that in a minute. But the tariffs are just one chapter of the book of the Trump economic agenda, and...

Back in 2018, lawmakers of both parties greeted President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on Chinese imports with widespread derision. Six years later, most members of Congress are applauding President Joe Biden’s extension — and in some cases, expansion — of those tariffs, if not calling for him to go even further.

Tucker Carlson interviews the fulcrum between Wall Street and Main Street in the MAGAnomic policy world, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.Secretary Bessent notes the goal of the tariff plan, and the accompanying economic policy is to give the working middle-class a boost in wealth and simultaneous relief from bad policy that has exclusively benefited the investment class. WATCH:Chapters:0:00 Trump’s Tariff Plan 5:42 The Current State of the Stock Market 8:22 Will Americans See Substantial Tax Cuts Because of Tariffs? 13:16 How Much Money Will America Make Through Tariffs? 14:33 Bringing Manufacturing Back to the US 20:14 Tariff Pushback From Foreign Countries22:16...

President Donald Trump, in his post, highlighted that China has been hit harder in the ongoing trade war between the world nations and the United States. He also said that the reciprocal tariffs imposed on the nations are a result of them treating the US badly with their tariff rates. “China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer,” said Trump in his Truth Social post. The President also attempted to reassure the people...

President Donald Trump’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs marks the end of “American Empire,” according to melodramatic claims from one of Bill Kristol’s group of globalist, pro-migration, Never Trump advocates. “The age of American empire, the great Pax Americana, [has] ended,” wrote Kristol’s colleague, Jonathan Last. “We cannot overstate what has just happened. It took just 71 days for Donald Trump to wreck the American economy, mortally wound NATO, and destroy the American-led world order.” Kristol topped that wild-eyed alarmism

US President Donald Trump on Saturday doubled down on the sweeping tariffs he unleashed on countries around the world, warning Americans of pain ahead, but promising historic investment and prosperity.The comments came as Trump's widest-ranging tariffs took effect in a move that could trigger retaliation and escalating trade tensions that could upset the global economy."We have been the dumb and helpless 'whipping post,' but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform."This is an economic revolution, and we will win," he added. "Hang tough, it won't be easy,...

Elon Musk took multiple shots at Peter Navarro in reaction to a clip of the trade advisor defending President Donald Trump’s tariffs amid steep declines in the stock market. Musk has remained fairly silent on Trump’s tariff announcement as stocks, including Musk’s, have taken major hits. Tesla stock fell 10% by Friday, erasing billions in Musk’s wealth. Markets closed on Friday with the week marking the worst trading week in five years. Navarro, a senior counselor to the president, has been among the White House officials passionately defending the tariff strategy, insisting a manufacturing boom in the United States is...

On Friday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “On Balance,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) stated that large tariffs won’t bring back steel or auto plants to his state “in less than five or ten years. And the costs of competing, of manufacturing here in the United States are still too high.” Coons said, “There was a 100-year-old steel mill in Claymont, Delaware. We worked hard to try and save it, but, ultimately, it closed. There were two auto plants in Delaware. Ultimately, they closed. High tariffs won’t bring those plants back in less than five or ten years. And the costs of competing,...

Let us be honest: When most people hear "tariffs," they think about price hikes and trade wars. But the Trump administration’s latest tariff rollout is not merely a knee-jerk protectionist move—it is part of a far broader strategy.

Not even 24 hours after his party lost a key Wisconsin race and underperformed in Florida, President Donald Trump followed the playbook that has defined his political career: He doubled down. Trump’s move on Wednesday to place stiff new tariffs on imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners marks an all-in bet by the Republican that his once-fringe economic vision will pay off for Americans. It was the realization of his four decades of advocacy for a protectionist foreign policy and the belief that free trade was forcing the United States into decline as its economy shifted from manufacturing to...

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) claimed Friday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” that Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump’s voters are panicking over tariffs. Gottheimer said, “I think you’re going to see a lot of people panic and start to say, this is not what we signed up for. I did hear that from a Trump voter today who said, I did not sign up for higher costs, higher taxes. What’s going on here with all this chaos? And I think that’s what you’re going to see more of.”

Classical theory may not care where the steel mills, chip foundries, shipyards, research labs, aircraft plants, oil fields, and supply chains are, but the real world of power politics does. I spent most of my time during 20 years in Washington, D.C. working in a bipartisan manner on trade policy with the aim of keeping here, then bringing back, strategic industries. There was then a coalition of national security Republicans (on my side of the aisle) and labor union Democrats. Democrats did not want to lose the middle-class blue-collar jobs when factories closed. Republicans did not want to lose the...

GUANGZHOU, China — At his factory in southern China, hat supplier Jeffy Ma is trying to keep up with global demand as well as President Donald Trump’s seismic changes to international trade. His company, Ace Headwear, sews, embroiders and finishes golf visors, cycling headwear and baseball hats for brands such as Wilson and Fila, as well as for Major League Baseball teams. About 40% of the hats his 350 employees make are sold to the United States. “For us, the manufacturing profit is very low, so we cannot absorb so much,” Ma told NBC News last week at his factory...

The price of Lululemon’s popular leggings and yoga wear could soon jump by more than 10% because of President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs, according to industry experts. The high-end athleisure brand is “in the tariffs bullseye” – with the bulk of its manufacturing sourced from countries that were among the hardest hit hard, William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia wrote in a note to clients. Lululemon has said 40% of its products are made in Vietnam – which the US plans to hit with a 46% tariff. Another 46% of Lululemon’s garments are produced in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and...

Bitcoin rose on Friday after China retaliated against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, while stocks continued to crater following their worst day since 2020. The price of the flagship cryptocurrency rose more than 2% to $83,959.19, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as much as $84,717.51. Most of the major cryptocurrencies were also in the green Friday. Solana and dogecoin jumped about 6% each. Most crypto-related stocks fell again, however, with Coinbase down about 6%. The bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy advanced nearly 4%. Meanwhile, spot gold fell 2.4% to $3,037.30 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 2.05% at $3,057.90....

Thailand will negotiate with the United States on tariffs, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from many countries to the US. 'We won't let it get to where GDP will miss the target,' Ms Paetongtarn told reporters. 'We have a strong plan.' 'We have prepared several steps, including sending our permanent secretary to talk with them. … I think we can still negotiate.' Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said the government was not surprised to be hit with tariffs, though the 36% level was higher than anticipated. 'We...

JERUSALEM: Israel is in talks with its main ally the United States to reduce tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump as part of a global salvo, according to the finance minister.Trump hit friends and foes alike with his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs this week, making his announcement just a day after Israel lifted all of its remaining customs duties on US imports. Trump reserved some of the harshest duties for major trade partners, while goods from Israel, a top beneficiary of US military aid, were hit with a 17 percent tariff. “The Ministry of Finance is maintaining an ongoing dialogue...

China struck back against President Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs Friday by slapping the US with its own 34% tariff on imports and announcing curbs on some key rare materials — further heightening the trade war between Washington and Beijing. The new double-digit tariff on imports of all US products will be imposed from April 10, China’s finance ministry said. The move is in retaliation to Trump on Wednesday hitting China with a “reciprocal” 34% tariff on Chinese exports – on top of the 20% levy he imposed earlier this year. As part of the flurry of retaliatory measures, Beijing...

HANOI (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnam's leader To Lam agreed on Friday to discuss a deal to remove tariffs, both leaders said after a phone call that Trump said was "very productive", as Hanoi escalated its campaign to dodge duties of 46%. Days before Trump's announcement on reciprocal tariffs that hit Vietnam hard, the country had already cut several duties as part of a series of concessions to the U.S., which also included pledges to buy more American goods such as planes and agriculture products. "Just had a very productive call with To Lam, General Secretary of the...