Commentary by Stephen Macaulay
During a local morning news broadcast on one of the affiliate stations in Detroit on Sunday, March 29, there was reporting on the previous day’s No Kings Rallies held literally around the world.
To provide some balance in its presentation, it brought on the chairman of Republican party of one of the suburban counties and asked him what he thought about the rallies.
Certainly not a “gotcha” question by any means.
He responded that Donald Trump is doing a great job because he secured the border and then, well, that was about the extent of his answer.
Certainly he is right. The southern border is absolutely more protected than it has been in some time.
But given that Oakland County is the home to the headquarters of Stellantis North America, as well as to a multitude of automotive suppliers from around the world, the issue of tariffs and our northern neighbor, Canada, ought to be of more concern to Republicans and Democrats alike in Michigan because those tariffs are having a deleterious effect on not only Stellantis, but General Motors and Ford, as well.
And those auto companies can ill-afford the cost of the tariffs on top of the losses—in the billions—they are experiencing because the Trump Administration decided that it would no longer fund the purchase of electric vehicles via a tax credit to consumers—funny how it lost its tax credits while the Big Beautiful Bill Act provides an array of tax cuts. And will add an estimated $3.4-trillion to the deficit over the next decade.
Donald Trump likes to talk about how the US is the “hottest” country.
While some may say that by eliminating the tax credits it allows the market to determine what will be powering vehicles, there is a larger issue here: The rest of the world—and China, in particular—is aggressively developing electric propulsion, in large part with support of their governments.
Whether you are a proponent of HEMIs or plug-in hybrids, if being a “hot” country means globally competitive, then pulling the rug out from under the US auto industry by making much of their investments in electrification a sunk cost isn’t a way to assure that happens. What’s more, the 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum (what do you think cars are made of?), as well as the threats of tearing up the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)—an agreement, by the way, that Trump described as a “colossal victory” when he signed it (sure doesn’t sound like we were being “ripped off” by Canada and Mexico back then)—are issues that are also making the US auto industry less competitive.
And now with his inability to secure the Strait of Hormuz, gas prices are going up day by day and so US consumers are going to be less able to afford to buy a new vehicle (or if they can afford to, the level of uncertainty caused by the war, which is also causing their 401(k)s to crater, likely will put them on the sidelines for some time to come).
Again, a kick in the groin for American manufacturers.
And then there are the pressures on the farmers because of the roiling caused by (1) tariffs and (2) the fact that not only oil but fertilizer (about a third of all of it) goes through the Strait of Hormuz, and (3) their tractors use diesel and diesel fuel is up $1.65 a gallon from a month ago, to $5.40, which will probably be higher by the time you read this.
Sticking with Michigan, agriculture is the second-largest industry in the state, supporting about 25% of all of the workers employed. It is second only to California in the variety of agricultural products grown.
The top export market for Michigan agricultural products is Canada. The second is Mexico.
So how is the Trump Administration’s treatment of those countries—Canada in particular—helping out the Michigan farmers?
Yes, the head of the Oakland County Republican party sure knows that the president is doing a heck of a job for his state.
And while speaking of Michigan, according to the most-recent University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment—which is a national survey—"Overall, the short-run economic outlook plunged 14%, and year-ahead expected personal finances sank 10%.”
Great. The so-called “Golden Age” that the president holds forth about doesn’t seem particularly shiny and bright for the citizens.
K-shaped economy or not, the U of M researchers found “Consumers with middle and higher incomes and stock wealth, buffeted by both escalating gas prices and volatile financial markets in the wake of the Iran conflict, exhibited particularly large drops in sentiment.”
That’s right: even the wealthy aren’t seeing the wonders that Trump promised.
What is the outlook?
“Year-ahead inflation expectations climbed from 3.4% in February to 3.8% this month, the largest one-month increase since April 2025.”
April 2025, as you’ll recall, included “Liberation Day.”
How’s that working out?
Clearly Donald Trump is more interested in getting his signature on the dollar bill and less interested in the conditions of people’s wallets.
Meanwhile, right now is the time when many people across the country are going on Spring Break. Should they drive, they’re going to have to take a larger percentage of their disposable income to pay for gas. According to AAA, as of March 29 the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.98—a dollar more than it was a month ago.
If they fly, then they’re going to have to endure long lines because of the partial government shutdown that is causing TSA staffing shortages.
According to the Administration: “Currently, more than 60,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, including approximately 50,000 transportation security officers who perform security functions at domestic airports, are not being paid due to congressional Democrats’ reckless decision to prioritize criminal illegal aliens over American citizens and shut down DHS until their demand to prohibit enforcement of Federal immigration law is met.”
Guess the fact that the Republican House refused to go along with their colleagues in the Senate who helped pass a package that would have funded TSA—as well as the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The congressional Democrats aren’t prioritizing “criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”
Rather they are protecting American citizens from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who have killed American citizens and trampled on the rights of many more. Shouldn’t ICE agents get a warrant before going into someone’s house—you know, like the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States requires?
Why don’t they have to follow the same sort of rules that law enforcement professionals across the land abide by?
Right now, the lines at US airports resemble those of a third-world country. (And on the subject of third-world countries: in all of 2021, the first full year of the Biden presidency, there were 49 cases of measles. Thanks to the clever choices to lead the federal health system and initiatives, as of week 13, 2026, there are 1,614 cases. Make America Healthy Again?)
While Donald Trump is signing an Executive Order to pay the TSA agents, he is not addressing the problem. It is the classic “put a band-aid on it.” (He’ll probably make sure the checks are signed with his name—but it is our money.)
What is the consummate deal-making businessman doing to solve the congressional issue?
Evidently nothing.
If all we needed was a border czar, then we’ve got Tom Homan.
But we’ve got bigger issues, which seem to be un- or under-addressed by Donald Trump.
The war continues. Prices are high. The Epstein files remain obfuscated.
“Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it. People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we’re winning too much. We can’t take it anymore. We’re not used to winning in our country until you came along, we’re just always losing. But now we’re winning too much. And I say, no, no, no, you’re going to win again. You’re going to win big. You’re going to win bigger than ever.”—Donald Trump, “State of the Union Address,” February 24, 2026
How’s that working out?
Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.
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MONDAY 3/30/26