Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs around the world—including, inexplicably, on two uninhabited islands off the coast of Australia that are home to nothing but penguins. Some have alleged that the use of AI is what led to the targeting of penguins, but the Administration denies these claims.
Interestingly, on the short list of who didn’t get slapped with tariffs is Russia. Penguins got hit. Putin didn’t.
The fallout? The stock market is in freefall. Americans nearing retirement and retirees have been anxious and frustrated watching their 401(k)s shrink. The Dow dropped over 1,600 points in a single day following Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs.
Congress could have stopped this mess. Trump is using emergency powers they gave him—and now he’s abusing them. Congress has the Constitutional duty to rein him in. But they won’t.
A bipartisan group of Senators recently introduced a bill to revoke those emergency powers. Four Republicans joined Democrats to stop the economic hemorrhaging. While Senator Tillis did sign on to the Trade Review Act of 2025, the bill aimed at curbing the President’s trade authority, it likely doesn’t have a viable future as Trump has already said he would veto it.
Tillis has been quite timid on the subject over the past few months. The Senator first said they could be used strategically, and at one point said he doesn’t “question the wisdom” of the President.
While he’s been trying to find a middle ground that’s comfortable for his reelection chances, following the absolute catastrophe that Trump’s tariffs created in only the first two days, Tillis has made a stronger statement saying, “Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Tillis questioned who was responsible for this approach, which anyone familiar with the situation, even in minimal ways, knows that this has been Trump’s approach the entire time.
Tillis must think that playing dumb will play well with voters.
Thom Tillis isn’t representing North Carolina anymore—he’s running in the MAGA primary to save his seat. Signing on to a bill with no future and making empty statements won’t help anyone, and frankly, his wavering stance on this subject makes him look weak. Voicing support for the tariffs while it was politically advantageous for him in gaining Trump’s favor and then flipping his script when they went wrong, as predicted – without naming the party responsible – is weak.
While Tillis bounces back and forth, desperately trying to balance the extremism of his party’s primary voters with the moderate general electorate of North Carolina, his constituents suffer.
