Ex-Obama adviser says tariff ruling may have saved Trump 'from himself'

A federal court’s decision to strike down Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan may be a political “black eye” for the administration – but could ultimately help the president if it effectively causes him to be “stymied in doing something that's going to raise costs for people,” according to Democratic strategist David Axelrod.

“It may be a black eye, but it may also be a break for him,” Axelrod claimed.

Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper just after the unanimous ruling dealt a major blow to Trump’s economic agenda, Axelrod argued that the decision may have spared Trump from pushing forward with economic policies that could backfire on American consumers.

“In a weird way, I mean, in the short run, I think it creates a lot of havoc,” Axelrod said. But, the former Obama adviser added, “In the long run, it could save him from himself because these tariffs are bad economic policy, and these tariffs could raise costs on Americans.”

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The remarks came after the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs went beyond his legal authority. The court ordered the tariffs vacated in a sweeping decision Wednesday that CNN legal analyst Elie Honig called “a huge setback” for the administration.

“As big a deal as the tariffs were, this is as big a deal in the opposite direction,” Honig said. “It essentially pauses for now, rules illegal and unconstitutional, almost all of the tariffs that have been in place.”

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