Tariffs are not an economic policy. They are a culture war tactic

So many people are confused by Trump's motivation with tariffs. Why disrupt the economy so radically? Why are we hurting our allies? Will we really get enough revenue from them to offset increased costs?

The numbers don't matter, because it's not an economic policy. It's a culture war policy that helps Trump define the American identity as a powerful, rugged, individualistic society.

The only non-government stakeholder I've seen support these tariffs are the UAW auto union and Shawn Fain. He wrote a whole press release talking about saving working-class, blue collar jobs and attacking corporate America. This plays into the Republican talking point that Trump is for "Main Street, not Wall Street." Of course, tariffs are harming Main Street, too, but Trump can tell a story that he supports this caricature of a 1950s, working-class man who works with his hands.

In foreign policy, the confrontation with Canada, "Governor" Trudeau and the 51st State really speak to this theory. Trump doesn't care about the USMCA or prices of goods (or even access to those goods). Trump wants a narrative where Americans don't rely on other countries anymore. We're homesteaders. The cruelty is the point here, because it further emphasizes our individualism.

There is no systems thinking here. Trump is using tariffs so that he can talk about the economy using a vocabulary of rugged individualism and nostalgia. This plays into the way he defines American identity for his voters, so that they can feel the same thing.