LANSING — A new editorial from the Washington Post warns multi-millionaire Florida resident Mike Rogers that his support for the GOP’s reckless tariffs “could hurt” him in November after he “dismiss[ed] the economic anxiety” of Michiganders worried about higher costs.
As the Post’s editorial board notes, Michigan has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs, food prices have gone up, the cost of building a home has spiked, and farming exports have cratered since Trump’s reckless tariffs were introduced. Still, Rogers has dismissed the concerns of Michiganders, saying, “The shoe is going to pinch every once in a while.”
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Washington Post: Trump’s target was Canada, but Michigan takes the hit
- A state report, ordered by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), estimates food prices have risen 3.6 percent due to Trump’s tariffs, and the cost of a new home rose an average of $10,900 because raw materials cost more. Michigan has lost 6,300 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office and has a 5 percent unemployment rate. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs have badly damaged the farming sector, a key element of Trump’s coalition.
- All this could hurt Republicans in November’s midterms. Michigan has open races for governor and Senate. The major GOP candidates have largely backed Trump’s “America First” trade policy as necessary for revitalizing the economy, despite intense short-term pain. Democrats have hammered Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, a former congressman, for seeming to dismiss the economic anxiety by saying, “The shoe is going to pinch every once in a while.”
- Among Michigan voters surveyed, tariffs are about as popular as an Ohio State bumper sticker at an Ann Arbor tailgate.
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