President Trump's first Rose Garden event of his second term on Wednesday wasn't just another White House ceremony—it was a vindication of decades of unwavering economic vision. Standing before a crowd of supporters and media on Wednesday, Trump outlined ambitious new tariff plans that prove what conservatives have known all along: America First isn't just a slogan, it's a winning strategy.
Trump appropriately dubbed it "liberation day" as he emphasized this return to "true free trade"—not the one-sided deals that have been bleeding America dry for decades.
In 2023, the U.S. International Trade Commission released a report that found that Trump's Section 232 and 301 tariffs, affecting over $300 billion in imports, did exactly what he said they would: brought manufacturing back home and put American workers first.
A groundbreaking 2024 study confirmed what Trump has been preaching since the 1980s—his first-term tariffs actually “strengthened the U.S. economy” and “led to significant reshoring” in the manufacturing and steel production industries and resulted in “a boom in investment,” creating thousands of jobs.
The Economic Policy Institute found that the tariffs imposed during President Trump’s first term had no clear link to inflation and only a temporary impact on overall prices.
Remember when the liberal media claimed tariffs would destroy American jobs? Clearly, the evidence shows they were dead wrong, as usual. Of course, the issue of whether tariffs work shouldn’t be under dispute. But the real kicker is that no one should be surprised that Trump is an advocate of reciprocal tariffs.
“And yet we, we let Japan come in and dump everything right into our markets and every... Uh, it's not free trade,” he told Oprah back in 1988. “If you ever go to Japan right now and try to sell something, forget about it, Oprah.”
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“Just forget about it. It's almost impossible. They don't have laws against it, they just make it impossible. They come over here, they sell their cars, their VCRs, they knock the hell out of our companies. And hey, I have tremendous respect for the Japanese people,” Trump continued. “I mean, you can respect somebody that's beating the hell outta you, but they are beating the hell out of this country. Kuwait, they live like kings. The poorest person in Kuwait, they live like kings, and yet they're not paying. We make it possible for them to sell their oil. Why aren't they paying us 25% of what they're making? It's a joke.”
President Trump has been calling attention to the disaster falsely marketed as "free trade" for decades.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 2, 2025
In reality, foreign countries have gotten rich at the expense of the American worker.
Today, he finally levels the playing field. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/XS0ZAiZS6p
Sound familiar? That's because Trump's not some Johnny-come-lately politician who changes positions based on polling. He's been consistent for nearly forty years. Need more proof? Just fire up Amazon Prime and watch old episodes of "The Apprentice"—you'll see the same Trump, same message, same style. He’s the genuine article.
That same clear-eyed assessment of unfair international relationships drives his policy today. The downstream effects of these tariffs? Minimal. The benefits to American workers and industry? Substantial.
While the Democrats scramble to explain why protecting American interests is somehow wrong, Trump's decades-long consistency on trade speaks volumes about his genuine commitment to American prosperity. It's not rocket science—it's common sense economics that puts America first.
