Trump’s tariffs threaten to become his Achilles’ heel

Republicans typically love President Trump — no matter what he does. 

But a growing chorus of those supporters has quietly been expressing dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of tariffs, including his most recent threat on foreign-made films. 

They’re increasingly uncomfortable with the tariff talk and the market fluctuations, and they see through the spin coming from the administration in recent days. 

Trump’s focus this week on implementing movie tariffs gave Republicans reason to feel even more consternation. 

“It’s getting into silly territory,” one Republican strategist told The Hill. “This is going to continue to cause heartache with Americans who voted for him and not with the Democrats because they were worried about cost of living.” 

A former Trump aide who worked on his 2020 campaign said the tariffs discussion is “not sitting well” with many of the voters who supported him. 

“They didn’t vote for him to rock the markets and throw out flimsy arguments on movies,” the former aide said. “They voted for him because they wanted a remake of the first [term] Trump economy.” 

Polls show Republicans aren’t really breaking with Trump on his recent moves on tariffs, even as consumer confidence has taken a hit and business leaders have expressed deep uncertainty. 

A CBS News/YouGov poll, for example, showed that 85 percent of Republicans surveyed said they think tariffs will help add domestic manufacturing jobs. Other surveys also reflect the widespread support of tariffs among Republicans. 

At the same time, a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll out at the end of April showed that 64 percent of Americans polled disapproved of Trump’s plan to raise import taxes while 34 percent approved. 

The poll concluded that the issue was one of Trump’s least popular issues in his presidency to date. 

As a result of the public’s dissatisfaction, there’s beginning to be some daylight between the president and his supporters the longer the discussion around tariffs plays out and as the markets respond to the tumult surrounding the issue. 

And that’s probably not what Trump wants right now, as he looks to potentially cut tariffs on China to 80 percent and as trade talks begin in Switzerland on Saturday.

Veteran GOP strategist Kevin Madden said while most Republicans — particularly the MAGA base — still support the president’s efforts around tariffs, “there are pockets of resistance ... and there is growing awareness about the negative impact of the tariff wars back home in states and districts.” 

While it’s a sticky situation for Trump, Shermichael Singleton, who worked briefly in the president’s first administration, defended Trump and said the president has to finish what he started. 

“You can’t focus on other economic issues like cost of living without resolving the lingering tariff issue,” Singleton said. “So he’s doing it right to focus on this, and it’s my hope that it will be resolved in the next 30 days." 

But Singleton cautioned that it could get worse for Trump in terms of public opinion the longer the tariffs debate drags out. 

“I don’t want us to be in the same place in" the third quarter, he said. “I really, really, really, really do not.” 

A second former Trump aide didn’t mince words, saying that there was never any real substance behind the proposals and no real directive on how to proceed on such a complex issue. 

“I think there [has been] an inherent skepticism from the beginning,” the former aide said of the public’s mood around the tariff talk. “The numbers aren’t adding up, it feels ad hoc, the vision hasn’t been well articulated on how to get there.

“And people can read polling and are getting concerned about the House,” the former aide said. 

While few want to confront Trump directly on the issue, some Republicans predicted Trump will be under increasing pressure as next year’s midterm elections creep closer. The closer GOP lawmakers get to those midterms, the more their nerves may be on edge.

And there’s already trepidation among some Republicans that the House is in jeopardy. 

While there’s still time on the clock and lawmakers aren’t feeling the heat just yet, they say Trump risks losing support over the issue.

“If he doesn’t figure this out quickly, it’s not going to end well,” the first former Trump aide said.