Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal bashed President Trump’s back-and-forth tariff policy, after he yet again delayed tariffs he had placed on the furniture industry.
In a column by the editorial board published on New Year’s Day titled “Another Trump Tariff Retreat,” the conservative-leaning newspaper pointed out the hypocrisy of Trump’s latest tariff moves.
“Mr. Trump had imposed the higher tariff in the name of national security, but apparently the killer love seats aren’t as dangerous as advertised. Maybe you can now buy one without fear of assault from a foreign spy,” the Wall Street Journal wrote.
The op-ed came as Trump made yet another reversal on his signature economic policy, lowering and delaying his tariffs on furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities. The tariff rate will be lowered from 50% to 30%, and the levies will now take effect in 2027, rather than on Jan. 1, 2026, as was originally intended.
The rollback of tariffs on the furniture industry also comes amid affordability concerns that have swarmed the White House, as consumer sentiment about the U.S. economy has dropped.
A poll conducted by the Daily Mail in December found that 48 percent of voters felt worse off since Trump returned to office last year. Thirty-six percent of those polled called the cost of living “much more” unaffordable, and another 12 percent said it was “a little” more unaffordable since Trump assumed the presidency. It is one of numerous datasets pointing to a dissatisfied public.
“The retreat is another in a string of policy reversals to mute the tariff harm to American consumers,” the newspaper added.
The editorial board pointed out that Trump had already made a carve-out for “his punitive tariffs on Chinese goods for smartphones and other consumer electronics.” It provided relief for producers of “bananas, coffee, beef and many farm products,” as prices of those products rose as a result of Trump’s tariffs.
“You’d think the tariff cheerleaders would be embarrassed by these walkbacks, but they ignore them as they promise that the tariff golden age will soon arrive. At least for your next sofa, the golden age will have to wait until after the November election,” the Journal concluded.
Trump has flip-flopped on his tariff policy throughout his second presidency, earning him the nickname “TACO” or Trump Always Chickens Out.
During his 2024 run for president, Trump claimed that revenue from tariffs could pay for everything from funding child care to paying down the national debt to covering tax cuts. At one point, Trump said even the word “tariff” was “the most beautiful word to me in the dictionary.”
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