As the November elections approach, President Trump is living on the edge. He and Mitch McConnell have discouraged and angered many Republican voters. They have done so both with McConnell’s interference in Republican primaries and with Trump’s trade tariffs. The result is that if Trump wants to have a “red wave” or even avoid a “blue wave,” he will need to convince large numbers of Democrats to vote for Republican congressional candidates.
One thing the President should consider is selling all of the virtues of his tariffs to Democratic Party environmentalists who believe strongly in social responsibility. He can do that by pointing out the merits of using tariffs to support Human Rights and better environmental stewardship throughout the world. Prior to the Trump presidency, modern day tariffs and trade sanctions were utilized almost entirely as vehicles to dissuade other countries from nuclear proliferation, military invasion of other countries or to pressure other countries to free American prisoners. Prime recent examples being trade sanctions enacted to punish North Korea for its nuclear tests, to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and to put pressure on Turkey in an attempt to free the American pastor.
But politically left-thinking American voters should also be supportive of tariffs being used to dissuade countries from failing to care for the world’s environment and from violating workers and political opponent’s human rights. Trump should, in other words, be making American voters aware that his trade tariffs are not only for the purpose of supporting American workers and their jobs, but they are also to encourage foreign countries to be better stewards of the environment and to care more about protecting the human rights of their citizens.
The political left cannot possibly support slave labor, child labor, destroying the environment, and profiting off of human rights violations.
Imagine a “Green and Soft-Hearted” President Trump. He might actually create a “Green Wave”. Or Make the World Great Again.
Trump and McConnell are wrong to pick winners and losers in Republican primaries and they should resist the urge to do so. No, they should not just resist the urge they should just stop their interference. After all, telling Republicans how to vote in primaries is like getting into the middle of a family argument. You always anger one member or the other.
But Trump’s tariffs are the right thing to do and they are long past due. He just needs to gain wide support for them because wealthy Republican and Democrat businessmen will not give up the easy profits they make in Asia and Mexico without a vicious political fight.
At least that’s my view. It’s also my view that Trump will not drain the swamp so long as McConnell is Senate Majority leader.
Don