Ground Game: Trump's ‘Liberation Day', Musk hands out $1 million payments, Democratic base's anger

Associated Press

31-03-2025

By Meg Kinnard
President Donald Trump says Wednesday will be 'Liberation Day,' when he plans to roll out a set of tariffs that he promises will free the United States from foreign goods. We take a look at what Trump is proposing, what the plans could mean for U.S. consumers and what other countries are saying.
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THE HEADLINES
What Trump's promised 'Liberation Day' of tariffs could mean for you
The details of Trump's next round of import taxes are still sketchy. Most economic analyses say U.S. families would have to absorb the cost of his tariffs in the form of higher prices and lower incomes.
It is also possible that the tariffs are short-lived if Trump feels he can cut a deal after imposing them.
What does Trump plan to do? The president has said he wants to announce import taxes, including 'reciprocal' tariffs that would match the rates charged by other countries and account for other subsidies. He has talked about taxing the European Union, South Korea, Brazil and India, among other countries.
The Republican president plans to tax imported pharmaceutical drugs, copper and lumber. He has put forth a 25% tariff on any country that imports oil from Venezuela – even though the U.S. also does so. Imports from China are being charged an additional 20% tax because of its role in fentanyl production. There are also separate tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for the stated reason of stopping drug smuggling and illegal immigration. And Trump also expanded his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs to 25% on all imports.
What could tariffs do to the US economy? Nothing good, according to most economists. They say the tariffs would get passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for autos, groceries, housing and other goods. Corporate profits could be lower and growth more sluggish. Trump maintains that more companies would open factories to avoid the taxes, though that process could take three years or more. Read more.
Of note:
How are other nations thinking about the new tariffs? Most foreign leaders see them as destructive for the global economy, even if they are prepared to impose their own countermeasures. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney – whose country already has announced retaliatory tariffs – has said Trump's tariff threats had ended the partnership between his country and the U.S.
Musk hands out $1 million payments after Wisconsin Supreme Court declines request to stop him
Elon Musk gave out $1 million checks on Sunday to two Wisconsin voters, declaring them spokespeople for his political group, ahead of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that the tech billionaire cast as critical to Trump's agenda and 'the future of civilization.'
'It's a super big deal,' he told a roughly 2,000-person crowd in Green Bay on Sunday night, taking the stage in a yellow cheesehead hat. 'I'm not phoning it in. I'm here in person.'
Musk and groups he supports have spent more than $20 million to help conservative favorite Brad Schimel in Tuesday's race, which will determine the ideological makeup of a court likely to decide key issues in a perennial battleground state. Musk has increasingly become the center of the contest, with liberal favorite Susan Crawford and her allies increasingly protesting Musk and what they say is the influence he wants to have on the court.
'I think this will be important for the future of civilization,' he said. 'It's that's significant.'
He noted that the state high court may well take up redistricting of congressional districts, which could ultimately affect which party controls the U.S. House.
Of note:
A unanimous state Supreme Court on Sunday refused to hear a last-minute attempt by the state's Democratic attorney general to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters, a ruling that came just minutes before the planned start of the rally.
Is Elon Musk skirting election law in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race?
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Wisconsin's spring election
The Democratic base's anger puts some party leaders on shaky ground
Democrats' anger isn't just directed at Trump, Musk and the 'Make America Great Again' movement; rank-and-file Democrats are mad at their own leaders and increasingly agitating to replace them.
Arizona Democrats pushed out their party chair, and Georgia Democrats are on their way to doing the same. And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York postponed a book tour amid protests and calls from progressives that he face a primary challenge.
The losing party after a presidential election often spends time in the wilderness, but the visceral anger among Democrats toward their party leaders is reaching a level reminiscent of the tea party movement that swept out Republican incumbents 15 years ago.
Tuesday's elections could give national Democrats a boost. Wisconsin's officially nonpartisan state Supreme Court race has become a test of Musk's influence. And two U.S. House special elections in Florida feature Democrats who are outraising their Republican counterparts in sharply pro-Trump districts.
IN PHOTOS
Elon Musk tosses a cheesehead during a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
ON THE CALENDAR
Wisconsin's Supreme Court race is on Tuesday, along with special elections for two Florida congressional districts.
On Wednesday, Trump has said that he will roll out a new round of import taxes, including 'reciprocal' tariffs to match the rates charged by other countries and account for other subsidies.
2025 COUNTDOWN