President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social Thursday morning that the tariffs will go into effect at the beginning of March for Mexico and Canada, saying that they're not doing enough to stop fentanyl flowing into the U.S.
The logic was something questioned by political analysts and influencers across social media platforms.
"How are the drugs pouring in if we shut down the border?" asked national security lawyer Bradley P. Moss.
In long remarks before his Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump bragged that his border strategy was working.
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"In just over one month, illegal border crossings have plummeted by numbers that nobody has actually ever seen before. It’s much more than 100 percent," he said according to a White House transcript.
Later, Trump said he was still going to usher in the tariffs, and a reporter asked why if what he was doing was working.
"No, no. I’m going to — I’m not stopping the tariffs, no. Millions of people have died because of the fentanyl that comes over the border," Trump said.
"Even with the 90 percent drop in border crossings, though, this —" the reporter replied.
"Well, that’s — well —" Trump struggled. "Yeah, they’ve been good, but that’s also due to us. Mostly due to us. I mean — it’s very hard. It’s, right now, very hard to come through the border. But the — look, the damage has been done. We’ve lost millions of people due to fentanyl. It comes mostly from China, but it comes through Mexico, and it comes through Canada."
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that from 2019 to 2022 the total number of overdose deaths reached 107,941.
Ian Bremmer of the geopolitical risk firm Eurasia Group observed, "markets have been overly complacent on this."
Rep. Richie Torres (D-N.Y.) flagged, "Donald Trump just announced that his proposed tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico will take effect on March 4th. Trump’s tariffs mean higher taxes on you and higher prices for the goods and groceries you consume."
Democratic strategist Maria Cardona posted on X after appearing on CNN, "Republicans are WORRIED! Their tell is that they are now claiming Democrats are cheering for the economy to collapse. THE TRUTH is that ECONOMISTS (not DEMS) say the Trump/Musk wrecking ball and their tariffs and mass deportations will explode inflation and increase costs for working families. What Dems say is that this is a betrayal of the American people and what Trump promised."
Andreas Steno Larsen, CIO of the Global Macro Fund and CEO of Steno Research, posted Trump's update and pointed to Kevin Hassett telling reporters 45 minutes before that "tariffs would not be implemented until April."
"And now Trump tweets that they will be in place in March. Is anyone even in contact with him, or is he just firing off tweets from the hip while on the toilet?" he asked.