Will Trump's tariffs be reversed, according to Jonathan Chait?

Jonathan Chait thinks the populist moment will end eventually, though he cannot say when. He sees the tariffs as a counterpoint to fears that populist policy entrenches itself: Trump imposed them by executive action without ever seriously trying to pass them through Congress, and most Democrats say they would reverse them. When voters see a populist agenda not helping them, Chait says, the opposing party can undo it.

• Chait calls the tariffs Trump's broadest populist policy measure.
• He notes there has been less lasting policy movement on populist goals than the rhetoric suggests.

▸In their words

“The tariffs are probably Donald Trump's most broad-ranging populist policy measure.” Jonathan Chait · at 10:42 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Today, Explained (2026-11-03). Read the whole episode summary →

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