I am adamantly opposed to most things President Trump does. Not all: The Gaza ceasefire is a good thing and I hope it holds. But in general, I have a grudging respect for his ability to underperform even my low expectations for his behavior.
Seriously, I don’t know how he does it. He is behaving outrageously and ignoring the laws, but you have to admire the creativity. Two weeks ago, did anyone have “tear down part of the White House” or “punish Canada for quoting Ronald Reagan” on their bingo card?
Trump’s decision to impose additional tariffs on Canada for running a television ad is exceptional on multiple levels. In short, Canada ran an ad on American TV stations featuring a 1987 speech in which President Reagan explained why tariffs, in general, are a bad policy that hurts American workers. Trump was so furious about this “fraudulent” ad that he imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on Canadian goods as a punishment and demanded it be taken down “IMMEDIATELY.”
You can imagine what happened. Trump may be able to ignore the Constitution, but he can’t ignore the Streisand Effect. Had Trump done nothing, the ad would hardly have been noticed. Now it’s one of the biggest stories in the country, and millions of people are actively discussing Reagan’s thoughts on free trade.
Trump’s plans for punishing Canada are probably illegal. Although non-U.S. citizens acting outside the U.S. are not protected by the Constitution, Canada acted inside the U.S. There is also a First Amendment “right to hear.” So punishing a foreign government for communicating directly and openly with the American people on a topic of immense public interest may well violate the Constitution. It certainly violates the spirit of the Constitution. If someone inside the U.S. had run that ad, they would have unquestionably enjoyed all the protections that the First Amendment has to offer.
That’s particularly true because the ad was neither incorrect nor misleading. It uses accurate quotes from a Reagan presidential address and correctly represents Reagan’s views on tariffs in general. Here’s the ad. Here’s Reagan’s speech. Judge for yourself.
And let’s not forget that even under Trump’s reading of the law, he only has authority to impose tariffs when there is an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” Canada running an ad quoting Reagan is not a threat, extraordinary or otherwise.
But there is an even more fundamental question here. Trump claims that tariffs are part of his “America First” policy and are designed to make the U.S. economy stronger. Yet he is using them here to punish Canada because he’s personally offended by its efforts to speak directly to the American people.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said as much, claiming, “This is a kind of propaganda against U.S. citizens. It’s psy-ops. … What was the purpose of that other than to sway public opinion?” Heaven forbid someone should use a reasoned argument against the Trump administration in public. It is both tragic and hilarious that the Trump White House now considers an effort to foster a discussion as a “psy-op.”
Trump also claims that this ad might influence the Supreme Court as it considers a challenge to his authority to impose tariffs at all. I have serious concerns about the conservative majority’s objectivity, but even I have to admit that the idea the court will be swayed by a TV ad is ludicrous.
This new tariff on Canada is part of a pattern. Trump also imposed a 50 percent punitive tariff on Brazil — in the process increasing the cost of hamburger in American supermarkets — because he was mad that former president Jair Bolsonaro was being prosecuted for attempting to overthrow the Brazilian government after losing an election. There is no economic justification for this tariff, and Trump never pretended there was.
Indeed, there is no economic justification for any of this. Neither the Brazilian tariff nor the Canadian tariff will protect a single American job. They will, however, cost American businesses and consumers billions of dollars as things like lumber, fertilizer, coffee and beef become more expensive. Trump is using American trade policy simply for his own amusement.
There is some encouraging news, however. On Wednesday, the Senate voted to rebuke Trump by expressly removing his authority to impose such tariffs. But if you are expecting congressional Republicans to finally stand up to Trump, don’t get your hopes up. This effort garnered a total of four Republican votes, meaning 49 Republican senators still show no signs of an ethical pulse.
Whether imposing tariffs or tearing down parts of the White House, Trump has made the entire federal government his own personal vanity project. Once you divorce American policy from American interests and make it about Trump’s whims, there’s no telling what you are going to get.
It is going to be a long three years.
Chris Truax is an appellate attorney who served as Southern California chair for John McCain’s primary campaign in 2008.
