'Shouldn't behave this way': Conservative outlet wants president handcuffed

Donald Trump's erratic tariff war with America's trading partners has reached the point where the editors of the normally Trump-supporting National Review are begging the courts to shut the whole thing down.

In an editorial on Thursday morning, under the headline "Trump's Reckless New Tariffs," the editors expressed their exasperation with the president for now sending off letters to world leaders threatening the tariffs that have been on-again, off-again as deadlines have come and gone.

With Trump's "Liberation Day" deadline kicked down the road, the editors note that multiple judges have already ruled that the reciprocal tariffs Trump has advocated for under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act don't pass legal muster.

With that in mind, they point out that the letters the president has been touting with yet another deadline are a waste of time.

Pointing out that reaction to the letters on the markets has been greeted with a shrug ("They don’t believe him") they added, "That doesn’t make the tariffs any less crazy. He is sending these letters to foreign leaders as though they are the ones who pay tariffs. Trump should be sending all of these to the American people, as they are the ones who would bear the burden of these tax hikes."

As for Trump making demands of marginal trading partners, the editors wrote, "Presidents should not behave this way, and they can’t. Trump’s actions under IEEPA have already been ruled illegal by one federal court, and oral arguments for the appeals court are scheduled for July 31."

With those hearings just weeks away, they added, "If they put an end to Trump’s tariff spree, the courts would be doing the rule of law, and the markets, a favor."

You can read the editorial here.