It is no secret that a signature component of President Donald Trump’s economic agenda is the use of import tariffs. From the moment he entered office on January 20, 2025, President Trump has moved quickly and frequently to assess tariffs on virtually all imports. He placed a 25% tariff on non-covered goods from Mexico and Canada (goods not covered by the USMCA) and a 10% tariff on China for its role in the trafficking of fentanyl. In April 2025, he launched “Liberation Day”, wherein he applied nation-specific tariffs using an interpretation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). From this benchmark, he has since brokered agreements with the United Kingdom, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and more to establish more concrete tariff rates. He used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to place tariffs on aluminum, steel, and semiconductors, and Section 301 of the Unfair Trade Practices Act to hit China for its unlawful pr...
It has been 386 days since Donald Trump commenced his second term with a promise of a new golden age. The last year has been anything but uneventful. Our political focus has already shifted to this year’s upcoming midterm election. Polls are giving Democrats much to be optimistic about, but the question lies in whether they should. It was only fifteen months ago that Democrats were resoundingly defeated at the ballot box due to failures in governing the economy, the border, and foreign affairs. Whether or not it is fair to discredit this rejection, the 2026 midterms will be squarely focused on the performance of Donald Trump and the Republican Congress. This leads us to ask a simple question. How have they performed? We’ll examine this first on the consequence of policy as it relates to the economy, crime and immigration, and foreign affairs. Then we’ll examine how the public views the Trump Administration broadly and why that is important to the 2026 elections. Let’s start w...