It is with a curious sense of irony that I find myself, from the great beyond, compelled to address a matter that strikes at the very heart of the principles I once championed. When I stood at the helm of the American nation, I believed in a shining city upon a hill — open, free, and prosperous. Trade, free and fair, was a cornerstone of that vision. And so, from beyond the veil, I cannot remain silent as I observe the folly of President Trump’s reckless tariffs.
First, let us cast aside the political theatrics and face the truth plainly: tariffs are taxes. No amount of populist bluster can disguise that simple fact. When a nation imposes tariffs on foreign goods, it is the American consumer who pays the price. At the checkout counter, at the car dealership, at the hardware store — these costs trickle down and chip away at the everyday lives of hard-working families.
During my presidency, I witnessed the transformative power of free trade. I championed the cause of open markets not merely as an economic doctrine but as a moral one. Free trade fosters cooperation between nations. It lifts people from poverty and binds us together in shared prosperity. Barriers to trade, on the other hand, breed resentment, retaliation, and economic stagnation.
Trump’s tariffs, cloaked in the language of protecting American industry, in truth serve as shackles on our economy. They provoke trade wars, invite countermeasures, and sow uncertainty among businesses that thrive on global supply chains. Farmers in the heartland have borne the brunt of retaliatory tariffs, their crops left to rot as foreign markets close their doors. Manufacturers, far from being shielded, face higher costs for raw materials, rendering their products less competitive both at home and abroad.
What is perhaps most disheartening is the betrayal of conservative principles. The party I once led prided itself on standing for free enterprise, limited government, and individual liberty. Tariffs expand the government’s reach, distort the free market, and place power in the hands of bureaucrats rather than the invisible hand of competition. We once believed that government should get out of the way of the people, not dictate their choices through punitive taxes on goods.
The lesson of history is clear. Protectionism may offer the fleeting illusion of strength, but it ultimately weakens the nation it claims to defend. In the 1930s, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act deepened the Great Depression and unleashed a spiral of global economic decline. Have we learnt nothing?
If I were to address President Trump directly, I would urge him to remember that American greatness is not forged in isolation but in our engagement with the world. Our prosperity flows not from walls and barriers but from bridges and open doors.
Let us not retreat into the false comfort of economic nationalism. Instead, let us reaffirm our commitment to the principles that made America a beacon of hope: free markets, free people, and the unyielding belief that our best days are built on the foundations of liberty, not the scaffolding of protectionism.
From where I now stand, I see clearly what is at stake. I implore you, my fellow Americans, to see it too.
Ronald Reagan
(From beyond the grave)
