'Stupid or dishonest?' Blistering column burns Trump 'sycophants' for ignoring idea flaws

Former President Donald Trump's love of tariffs got a blistering rebuke from an analyst Wednesday — as did their support from "lackeys" in the Republican Party.

Writing for The Dispatch, commentator Kevin D. Williamson explained that a recent comment by Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelly left him wondering if she was "stupid or dishonest?"

“The notion that tariffs are a tax on U.S. consumers is a lie pushed by outsourcers and the Chinese Communist Party,” Kelly claimed.

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“If Donald Trump has a superpower, it is being so brazen and insistent in his stupidity and dishonesty that his lackeys, sycophants, and credulous marks have no choice but to adopt his stupidity and dishonesty as their own," Williamson wrote.

Trump has proposed replacing the entire revenue system with tariffs. The correspondent explained that Trump loves tariffs, which have been a personal obsession since the 1980s.

A tariff is defined as a tax or duty paid on imports or exports.

Trump's plan would triple the cost of imported items, he wrote. Williamson noted that it would likely do more than triple. It would impact everything from "gasoline, diesel, crude oil, pharmaceuticals, and other leading imports."

Doing the math, Williamson said that the U.S. spends about $320 billion a year on imported oil and gas. Under Trump's plan, it would equal nearly $1 trillion. Imported drugs would jump from $170 billion to more than half of a trillion dollars.

"Despite what the RNC claims, tariffs are paid directly by U.S. firms and U.S. persons — they are a tax imposed on importers domiciled in the United States, not a tax imposed on foreign manufacturers," wrote Williamson.

"When you raise the price of competitors’ goods, domestic producers do not keep their own prices down out of the goodness of their hearts," explained Williamson.

The perfect example, he said, comes from Trump's steel tariffs, which ushered in a 9 percent increase in steel prices. It has cost U.S. companies and individuals billions.

He closed by returning to his initial question: Is the RNC, "Dumb or dishonest?"

Read the full explainer here.