‘Did Trump’s second-term tariff crusade backfire on America?’

This is apropos four letters to the Editor from this writer carried by the newspaper on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and yesterday. This writer would like to conclude his argument by saying, among other things, that as 2025 draws to a close, the central question remains: Can a nation become great again by taxing its own people, dividing its own states, and alienating its own allies?

The numbers answer before the historians can. America collected $300 billion but lost nearly twice as much in trade, consumer spending, and trust. Its factories are quieter, its allies colder, its campuses emptier.

Donald Trump’s second term began with roaring confidence and ends, barely a year in, with a silent admission: the slogans that once stirred the crowds — Stop the Plunder, Secure the Border, Restore the Greatness — have fallen flat, leaving behind a trail of broken promises and broken partnerships.

All those promises that lifted him to power — tariffs, immigration reform, national security, and federal supremacy — have failed to deliver. Now, as the first year of his presidency closes in turmoil and uncertainty, one question looms large over Washington and the world: does Donald Trump still have the legal, moral, and ethical basis to remain in power? That question may, in the end, define not only his legacy but the fate of American democracy itself. Concluded.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025