On the eve of what he deemed "Liberation Day," President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to claim that his tariffs will increase the price of illegally smuggled drugs. Trump posted that he wants to "penalize" Canada "by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy."
His post was met with widespread mockery by those who realize it’s exceedingly unlikely that drug traffickers will submit tariff declarations for fentanyl at ports of entry. One Bluesky user wondered, "okay so he genuinely thinks that fentanyl smugglers have to pay tariffs lmfao."
That was just one of many posts in which Trump expressed or boosted bizarre or fringe claims about tariffs in the weeks leading up to what he has foreshadowed as a sweeping tax on virtually all imports to the United States. These posts have been the subject of ridicule and derision.
The White House did not respond to an inquiry sent via email.
On Tuesday, Trump repeatedly asserted that tariffs will increase the street price of fentanyl.
Around lunchtime, he posted, "Senator Tim Kaine [(D-Va.)], who ran against me with Crooked Hillary in 2016, is trying to halt our critical Tariffs on deadly Fentanyl coming in from Canada."
Further on, Trump continued, "Republicans in the Senate MUST vote to keep the National Emergency in place, so we can finish the job, and end the scourge. By their weakness, the Democrats have allowed Fentanyl to get out of hand." Fentanyl deaths doubled when Trump was in office and have continued rising since then.
Trump was likely referring to a motion from Kaine, which would nullify Trump's declaration of a fentanyl emergency that underpins the tariffs he plans to levy against Canada.
Kaine told the Associated Press (AP) last week, “I really relish giving my Republican colleagues the chance to not just say they’re concerned, but actually take an action to stop these tariffs.” If Kaine intended to pressure Republicans by forcing them to vote on the tariffs, Trump's post may indicate that it worked.
Earlier in the month, another Trump post hinted that the specter of fentanyl pouring across the borders may simply be a pretext for erecting a tariff wall—an idea he has forwarded as a policy idea since the 1980s.
Many are bewildered and amused in turns by his claims that tariffs will have any impact on illegal drug smuggling. A social media user joked that “all these tariffs will do is hurt the honest law-abiding fentanyl smugglers.”
Trump has nevertheless fully committed to the bit.
On March 5, Trump wrote, "Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs. I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped."
Earlier posts by Trump express a curious optimism about the likely effect of tariffs—which many economists say will be inflationary—on interest rates, which the Federal Reserve has kept relatively high since 2022 in an effort to slow post-COVID inflation.
On March 19, he posted, "The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as U.S. Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing. April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!!"
The Federal Reserve has publicly indicated that it intends to cut rates twice this year as previously planned, but the AP reports that economists say there are signs it may put those moves on hold. The outlet also noted that the Fed predicts tariffs will raise inflation.
Interest rates have been a longtime bugbear for Trump, who as a businessman was a perennial borrower and serial bankrupt.
In a March interview with Fox News, he said, “Nobody ever gets rich when the interest rates are high, because people can’t borrow money.” As early as 2023, he hinted that he would pressure the Fed to lower rates if he returned to the White House.
At other times in the last month, Trump has presented tariffs as a kind of revenge against faithless allies.
On March 10, he posted, "Despite the fact that Canada is charging the USA from 250% to 390% Tariffs on many of our farm products, Ontario just announced a 25% surcharge on ‘electricity,’ of all things, and your [sic] not even allowed to do that."
Last week, Bloomberg explained that while tariffs of that magnitude are possible if import quotas are exceeded, 99.9% of U.S. dairy exports to Canada are duty-free, and "Canada’s supply management is an alternative to direct farm subsidies that most countries, including the U.S., use to prop up their agricultural sectors."
Trump has struggled to find support for his tariffs among mainstream economists. So instead he’s boosted the arguments of anyone who happens to line up behind him.
In early March, he boosted an article from Trump-gazing American Greatness entitled "No, Trump’s Tariffs Will Not Cause Inflation."
The author is a Canadian divorce lawyer who wrote a book called Reshore: How Tariffs Will Bring Our Jobs Home and Revive the American Dream.
The attorney, Spencer P. Morrison, told the Daily Dot via email that he has written about economics for 10 years. Morrison said his family has deep roots in the U.S. and his parents' generation moved to Canada where he was born.
"I am American by blood," he said.
That book's publisher, Calamo Press, is the home of a number of far-right and conspiracist authors including conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec. Its recent titles include a book arguing that using deadly force against “violent criminals and tyrannical governments … flows from the very heart of biblical faith and reason” and one claiming that former President Barack Obama ran a “shadow presidency” under former President Joe Biden.
U.S.-based Calamo Press will presumably not be subject to border tariffs—no matter what Trump might post.
This post has been updated with comment from Spencer P. Morrison.
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