“Madness”: Trump Tariff Lunacy Suddenly Darkens Amid Brutal Poll Drop | The New Republic
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“Madness”: Trump Tariff Lunacy Suddenly Darkens Amid Brutal Poll Drop

As the IMF downgrades growth projections and Trump’s approval on the economy slides, economic commentator Heather Long explains why the future looks so grim—with no easy exit for the president.

Donald Trump holds up a chart of tariffs in the White House Rose Garden
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

On Tuesday, largely due to President Trump’s tariffs, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its projections for economic growth in a big way. Meanwhile, we’re already starting to see layoffs. All that comes as new polls show Trump cratering on the economy. Trump is now angrily shifting blame to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for the tariff fallout. But those attacks are only rattling markets and investors more, backfiring on Trump. We talked to one of the best economic commentators out there, Washington Post columnist Heather Long, author of a new piece on how Trump’s “tariff madness” is likely to drive us into a recession. She explains why the prognosis is so grimand why Trump is in a bind with no easy way out. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.