“Daddy’s back,” said one Republican congressman. “Daddy’s home!” said another. They were referring to the return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office. My Impromptus today is headed “Who’s your daddy? &c.” I begin with a walk down Memory Lane, to the 1992 presidential campaign. Other issues include NATO, wokery, and the late historian Stephan Thernstrom, an outstanding person in our national life (and in mine, personally).
Try it here.
Not included in my column today is trade — the new trade wars President Trump has launched. He has launched them against our nearest neighbors and largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. These are “wars of choice,” to borrow a familiar phrase.
The issues involved are not new, obviously. In June 2018, I published a post here on the Corner with the heading “Trade and Protection: The Unending Struggle.” While the issues are not new, party positions can be.
Republicans and conservatives used to take great pride in our North American free-trade agreements. Politics can give you whiplash.
Consider the nominations of Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (as I do in my column today) — their nominations for cabinet positions. Would you have guessed, short years ago, that they would be put forward by Republicans, not Democrats?
President Trump, Vice President Vance, and other Republicans have offered different rationales for the imposition of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico. One is this: It will boost the American economy. It may even eliminate our national debt and eliminate the need for income taxes. Another rationale is this: We have to punish Canada and Mexico for fentanyl.
From some Republicans I hear, “Tariffs will benefit us economically. They’ll be a bonanza.” From others I hear, “Granted, tariffs will hurt us economically — but they’ll be worth it for cultural and psychological reasons.”
Either way, these talkers are pro-tariff.
Yesterday, our president posted this:
Chances are, some Republicans are embarrassed by this, even if they consider it too risky to say so out loud. For years, I kicked against the stereotype — the caricature — of the “Ugly American.” Does the president threaten to make it a reality?
Here is a message from Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader in Canada:
We must put CANADA FIRST.
That is why Common Sense Conservatives condemn President Trump’s massive, unjust and unjustified tariffs on Canada’s already weak economy. Canada is the United States’ closest neighbour, greatest ally and best friend. We share the longest undefended…
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) February 1, 2025
I think of something that William F. Buckley Jr. stressed (particularly when it came to Latin America): Remember, other people have patriotism too. They have their own pride, their own national dignity. We Americans are the top dog. We are the Big Guy. You don’t have to go around beating your chest and bellowing.
Evidently, President Trump has succeeded in uniting Canada, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, in patriotic solidarity.
We “old conservatives” are often accused of “zombie Reaganism.” But it isn’t Reaganism, per se. It is a body of beliefs, principles, and values that have long existed and always will. Sometimes they are popular, sometimes not.
I quoted Reagan in my June 2018 post. In 1988, he said,
Today, protectionism is being used by some American politicians as a cheap form of nationalism, a fig leaf for those unwilling to maintain America’s military strength and who lack the resolve to stand up to real enemies — countries that would use violence against us or our allies.
Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies; they are our allies. We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends — weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire Free World — all while cynically waving the American flag.
The expansion of the international economy is not a foreign invasion; it is an American triumph, one we worked hard to achieve, and something central to our vision of a peaceful and prosperous world of freedom.
Reagan spoke of “real enemies.” We do indeed have real enemies: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and so on. Canada and Mexico are not our enemies. Neither is Denmark.
Consider something: “America First” and American greatness are in conflict. America has been greatest when it has been world-embracing — open, confident, strong. Not closed, fearful, cramped.
The bad news is, there are no permanent victories. The good news is, there are no permanent defeats. The advocates of protectionism are bold. Advocates of trade — enlightened trade, of course, in the national interest — should be equally so.