On Tuesday, Donald Trump gave a scripted speech, with teleprompter, in front of a wall of garbage in Pennsylvania, then a more extemporaneous one in St. Clairesville, Ohio. The tone was different, but the message was the same: Free trade deals are bad. "The Trans-Pacific Partnership is another disaster, done and pushed by special interests who want to rape our country — just a continuing rape of our country," Trump said. "That's what it is, too — it's a harsh word. It's a rape of our country. This is done by wealthy people that want to take advantage of us and that want to sign another partnership."
This is not the first time Trump has bashed trade deals, nor is it the first time he has equated free trade with rape. And while Trump is clearly aiming to win over Rust Belt communities in the Midwest, his language is at odds with decades of Republican Party advocacy of unfettered free trade, and he faced immediate criticism from Republican business leaders and business groups typically aligned with the GOP. "Under Trump's trade plans, we would see higher prices, fewer jobs, and a weaker economy," tweeted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, adding in another tweet: "Even under best case scenario, Trump's tariffs would strip us of at least 3.5 million jobs."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
