Michigan GOP Nominee Bets Campaign on Trump Tariffs

Rogers told Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" that his ties to Trump are an asset: "You can send somebody back who gets up every day and tries to gouge the president's eyes out or you can send somebody back who's going to walk in and say, 'Hey, can we work on this part of the trade deal?' The Canadians have not been good partners on this."

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain rejected the escalation: the union "rejects any escalation on Canada, a country with strong unions and labor standards," he said. "If we're going to increase tariffs anywhere, it should be on countries where automakers continue to offshore jobs because they can pay workers $3 an hour, force them to work in unsafe conditions, and crack down on independent unions."

Jim McFerran, chair of the Wayne County Republican committee, said the politics are brutal because the case has never been made well: "If you've gotta explain what's going on in tariffs, the longer you explain it, the more you're losing." He said the president has done a poor job of laying out how Canada has been an unfair trade partner.

Gus Ghanam, chair of the Macomb County Republican Party, backed Rogers' stance but conceded defending higher prices in an election year is "a tough thing to say to somebody." His pitch: "You might have a little discomfort now, but in the end, you're gonna be happy."

Jason Roe, a Michigan GOP strategist and former state party executive director, said the tit-for-tat "further undermines [Republicans'] ability to make a strong argument on the affordability issue." He suspects the administration "would probably give Michigan Republicans a little bit of latitude" to break with Trump.

Jarrett Skorup, a spokesman for the free-market Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said Michigan Republicans are "trying to kind of take a middle ground" — arguing for tougher trade policy without defending every tariff, "particularly this latest round."