If there is one thing we know about Republicans, it is that they hate taxes, right? Well, a tariff is a tax. It is money paid by law to the US government that is ultimately priced into the cost of goods. It is sort of a specialized federal sales tax on specified imported products.
So why isn’t the GOP going bonkers over the Trump tariffs? Why isn’t Grover Norquist threatening to slash his wrists? Why do we hear nothing but a low level of unhappy mumbling from Republican leaders?
Two reasons. First, the GOP is really concerned about taxes that are paid disproportionately by its donor class, such as income, capital gains, and estate taxes. The other ones don’t mean nearly as much, the party’s general anti-tax and pro-freedom rhetoric notwithstanding. Second, the party is in such thrall to Trump and his white nationalist followers that even its purportedly core beliefs have to give precedence to the whims of the man on golf cart.
And if you think that sounds pathetic, you’re right.