Wall Street Journal Torches Trump's Tariffs With 'Golden Age' Reality Check

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday issued a scathing critique of President Donald Trump’s so-called Liberation Day announcement vowing sweeping new tariffs on countries worldwide.

In a sharply worded editorial headlined “Trump’s New Protectionist Age,” the newspaper’s conservative board warned of multiple ways the tariffs could backfire on Trump that the president “isn’t advertising.”

The board pointed to a range of possible repercussions, including potential retaliation from foreign governments, higher prices for American consumers, economic pain for U.S. exporters, and “the end of U.S. economic leadership.”

It also predicted China could attempt to expand its influence by using “its large market to court American allies.”

“This is far from a comprehensive list,” the board noted, “but we offer them as food for thought as Mr. Trump builds his new protectionist world.”

“Remaking the world economy has large consequences,” the editorial concluded, “and they may not all add up to what Mr. Trump advertises as a new ‘golden age.’”