MaddowBlog-'She just rubbed me the wrong way': Trump says more than he should about tariffs

[LetMyPeopleVote]

At the heart of the White House’s tariffs policy are alleged “emergency” conditions. The president, however, keeps forgetting to keep up appearances

‘She just rubbed me the wrong way’: Trump says more than he should about tariffs - MS NOW

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— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-01-22T18:02:59.635Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/she-just-rubbed-me-the-wrong-way-trump-says-more-than-he-should-about-tariffs

Many of Donald Trump’s international critics have long accused the American president of setting tariff rates for petty and personal reasons that have nothing to do with trade policy. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Republican effectively conceded that his critics were right. The New York Times reported:

President Trump said on Wednesday that he imposed higher tariffs on Switzerland last year, at least in part, because of a phone call with the country’s president that ‘rubbed me the wrong way.’

The tariff rate, which Mr. Trump set at 39 percent last August, was significantly higher than the rates he imposed on the European Union, which negotiated a 15 percent tariff, and Britain, which reached a 10 percent tariff deal.

As part of his remarks, the American president admitted that he didn’t remember the name of the Swiss president at the time, Karin Keller-Sutter, or her title. (“I guess prime minister, I don’t think president,” Trump said.).....

As for Congress, which is actually empowered by the Constitution to set tariff rates, a reporter asked House Speaker Mike Johnson whether lawmakers will ever get around to exerting their authority.

Johnson: I have no intention of getting in the way of President Trump and his administration. He has used the tariff power that he has under Article II. He has not exceeded his authority. There is no reason for the Article I branch to intervene.

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2026-01-22T00:13:59.067Z

The Louisiana Republican, who’s long described himself as a “constitutional lawyer,” replied, “I have no intention of getting in the way of President Trump and his administration [on tariffs policy]. He has used the tariff power that he has under Article II very effectively.”

As Johnson really ought to know, there is no such thing an Article 2 tariff power. As a legal matter, the House speaker’s comments were gibberish.

[biophile]

1. She is a woman in a position of power. Of course he doesn't like her

[MizLibby]

2. TACO again

At that point, Trump said he imposed a 39% tariff on Swiss products — a level he later reduced after, as an Axios report summarized, the Swiss deployed a delegation of industry tycoons to the White House bearing gifts, including “a special Rolex desktop clock, a 1-kilogram personalized gold bar, and loads of flattery.”

Is that even legal???

[NoMoreRepugs]

3. MagaMike is the epitome of a dweeb. I bet his lunch money was stolen by pigtailed girls.

[2naSalit]

4. He reminds me of...

A brat I wanted to beat up when I was in the second grade... sans the glasses.

[The Wizard]

5. A punk

by any other name ......