Letters to the Editor: What history can teach us about President Trump's tariffs
She could have added that more than 1,000 economists signed a petition warning President Hoover of the dangers of the act, imploring him to veto it. Henry Ford made a personal visit to the White House, calling the bill "economic stupidity." J.P. Morgan's chief executive, Thomas Lamont, wrote that he 'almost went down on my knees to beg Herbert Hoover to veto the asinine Hawley-Smoot Tariff.'
While Hoover himself called the bill "vicious, extortionate and obnoxious," he signed it anyway, saying it was his duty to the Republican Party. It didn't take long for other countries to retaliate with their own tariffs, turning a recession into the Great Depression and victimizing the very people it was supposed to protect. Sound familiar?
Spencer Grant, Laguna Niguel
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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Costa, who said he saw the posts, rejected that notion and said the wording did not convey the message Republicans were trying to attach to it. Shapiro was asked about it during a public appearance on Wednesday, and he brushed it off. "Here is what I know to be true. The Republicans will nominate someone to run against me for governor. Let them play that out - that deals with their politics on their side. I am going to continue doing my job, governing for all Pennsylvanians," he said. That response drew more fire from Republican women in the Senate, who believed he failed to address the issue. Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington, said it was a "masterful" dodge of the topic. Shapiro's win by more than 700,000 votes over Mastriano in 2022 came after the senator was the top vote-getter in a bruising, nine-way primary. The state Republican party wants to avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenario. Its communications director, James Markley, said the GOP is working to narrow Democrats' registration advantage, which he put at less than than 70,000 "active" voters. The goal, he said, is to provide the eventual nominee with "the strongest infrastructure possible" for the campaign. Garrity worked at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. in Towanda in Bradford County for decades - eventually becoming a corporate vice president - but also served a full career in the Army Reserve, with three deployments. Markley said Garrity has produced "real results" in multiple aspects of her life. And Borick, the pollster, said an opt-in from Garrity would set up a fascinating match. "We don't see this very often in Pennsylvania politics - where you get two clear party stars to face off." _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
