Tariffs are the secret sauce to Trump’s working-class coalition and that’s the subject of “The Riff.”
In case you didn’t read it, check out today’s Wall Street Journal editorial: “Kamala Harris’ Pitch to Black Men: Will more pot smoking and forgivable loans peel them from Trump?” This with three weeks to go in the campaign.
She would spend $20,000 in forgivable government loans for 1 million minorities to start businesses, but as we learned with the March 2021 so-called “American Rescue Plan” – that had a loan forgiveness program for socially disadvantaged farmers defined as Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander – several judges enjoined the program and the Department of Justice didn’t even appeal.
This latest from Kamala is essentially the same thing. Allocating government loans on the basis of race is unconstitutional, and then comes the bit about legalizing marijuana, which is frankly beyond stupid.
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In fact, the more people smoke pot, the stupider they become. That’s what Black communities in California have learned. That’s what everybody in New York has learned, and there’s all kinds of self-help spiritual programs that will help people stop getting stupid.
None of these half-baked ideas are going to help Kamala at this stage in the game, but her problem with Black males is just part of her bigger problem with males in general.
Young men are leaving the Democratic Party. According to the Harvard Institute of Politics, only 33% of young men now identify as Democrats, compared to 42% back in 2020.
The reasons, as you might guess, are largely economic. Rising prices are killers to young men. Particularly, the Biden slump in manufacturing, where pre-pandemic Trump created 450,000 manufacturing jobs, whereas Biden-Harris at the same stage of their cycle — only 187,000.
Economic anxieties, particularly for those without a college degree, are running high. They see Trump as more hopeful than Kamala Harris. Higher rents, along with higher prices, are driving young men toward Trump.
The same can be said for high interest rates and the broken affordability dream of getting married and buying your first home. Interestingly, while many economists are free traders and believe Trump tariffs are somehow inherently inflationary, the reality on the ground is that young men – and you might say blue-collar working folks, in general – favor tariffs by considerable margins.
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They recall there was no inflation during the Trump years, but they were pleased to see Trump fight back against China. When it comes to manufacturing jobs, they see Trump as a relentless fighter against China, and perhaps India and perhaps others, as well. But mostly, they want homegrown jobs to be available for those who do not have a college degree. That’s about two-thirds of the American male workforce who still work with their hands, and still believe that America can be great again.
This is Trump’s working-class coalition: Blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Whites, young men, etc. It’s a force to be reckoned with, three weeks from today. That’s “The Riff.”
This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the Oct. 15, 2024, edition of “Kudlow.”
