And just like that, another Trump policy is over before it began.
Many didn’t take too kindly to Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on Mexican goods – least of all the stock market. Soon after the tariff was announced, stock prices around the world went into free fall. Car companies were hit especially hard, with Tesla stock falling as much at 4 points.
In a recent press interview, Trump announced that he would be backpedaling from his tariff plan against Mexico, saying that the tariffs will be delayed for a “month.” Trump’s tariff postponement comes on the heels of Mexico and Canada’s joint announcement to impose retaliatory tariffs against the United States.
The internet wonders if the threat from the U.S.’s NAFTA neighbors worked, with one user on Twitter asking if Trump “caved in”.
Now the internet is doing what it does best: roasting the president.
“Trump tanked the market with his tariffs then had to scramble to fix his own mess” wrote one user. “He has no idea what he’s doing” said another.
Whether Trump intended it or not, his tariff plan appears to be having the opposite effect that he promised it would. While campaigning for the presidency, Trump touted tariffs as a trade policy panacea that would solve all of the United State’s economic problems. Trump promised that tariffs would do everything from lowering inflation to protecting Americans from drug overdoses. Experts disagreed, saying that tariffs could raise the cost of virtually everything from food to cars to houses. Trump swore up and down that foreign countries, not American consumers would make up the cost of the tariff—but corporate executive and customs experts alike hold that this is not likely to be the case.
This isn’t the first time that the president has folded in his current term. After the White House put out a memo announcing a freeze on trillions federal funds, the bipartisan backlash was so swift that the president rescinded the memo in only a few days. The president, much like a two year old, is testing out his executive powers by putting his hands on a series of political hot stoves—pulling back when his fingers get burned.
But the burns keep on coming.
Tariffs and federal money aren’t the only thing the Backpedlar In Chief has 180’d on. The president walked back many of his more outrageous campaign promises before he even took office. While on the campaign trial, Trump swore that he could end the war between the Ukraine and Russia in “24 hours.” Russia disagreed. Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine predicted more pessimistic figure of “100 days” until wartime’s end in an interview with Fox News. Trump has since claimed that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made “significant” progress towards ending the conflict, but hasn’t given any details as to what those “significant” decisions were.
The heaviest political albatross currently hanging around the president’s neck is his failure to do anything about “the groceries.” In an interview with NBC, Trump said he would bring the cost of groceries “way down.” He flipped on his stance soon after, telling Time Magazine that bringing food prices down will be “very hard” now that they’re up. If Trump’s tariffs are left unchecked, the price of food will only climb higher.
According to the 2024 election results, nearly half the country cheered Trump’s return to power. If Trump continues to push the American economy to the brink, his once loyal supporters may start pushing back.
Published: Feb 4, 2025 08:13 am