President Donald Trump’s slash-and-burn approach to trade policy has given Democrats an opening. They’re just not sure how to seize it.
Nowhere is their conflicted response more evident than in the upper Midwest, where Trump’s new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China and other major trading partners promise both possible upsides but also tremendous risks for automakers and other manufacturers that are central to the regional economy.
Democrats from states like Michigan and Pennsylvania are trying to thread the needle by condemning Trump’s erratic policy pronouncements and attacks on allies like Canada, while not criticizing tariffs or protectionist policies.
“It’s indiscriminate tariffs that are not based on anything — that’s the problem,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) “I’ve supported tariffs. I supported Joe Biden’s 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles from China.”
