A year later, Trump doubles down on tariffs

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A year later, Trump doubles down on tariffs
Remember Liberation Day? Well, a year later, inflation is up, Trump’s ratings are down — and he doesn’t care

By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published April 5, 2026 9:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) Thursday marked an important anniversary: It was one year since Donald Trump summoned the press corps to the White House Rose Garden — before its destruction — to declare “Liberation Day.” That afternoon in 2025, with his shellacked coif flapping against his bronzed forehead in the wind, the president held up hastily-assembled poster boards bearing the names of the world’s countries and territories.

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The effects of Trump’s tariff agenda are evident. One year later, inflation is up, the American economy is weakening and his poll numbers are in the basement.

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On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court found many of the president’s tariffs unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision. Trump called the ruling a “disgrace” and attacked the Court, saying it “has been swayed by foreign interests.” He reserved particular ire for Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, both of whom he had appointed. He promised to slap 10% and 15% tariffs on every country, and he has since balked at refunding the money that American companies have paid to the government as a result of the tariffs over the past year. (That too is being litigated.)

Despite his anger, Trump doesn’t seem to care about the immediate. As I recently wrote, he is only concerned with how he will be memorialized. He made this even more clear when, on the April 2 anniversary of Liberation Day, he announced a new round of tariffs — some that reached 100% — on name-brand pharmaceuticals, along with making adjustments to tariffs on steel and aluminum products. .......................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/05/a-year-later-trump-doubles-down-on-tariffs/