Wall Street Journal Warns Trump Tariffs Could Turn Texas Into a Political Liability for Republicans
Key Takeaways
- •A Texas Public Policy Foundation poll found 54% of Texans disapprove of Trump's tariffs, including 69% of Hispanics and 68% of independents.
- •Trump won 55% of Texas's Hispanic vote in 2024, a coalition the editorial board says tariffs now endanger.
- •Texas is one of the nation's largest exporting states, and Mexico is its biggest trading partner, so tariffs directly affect jobs in manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics.
- •Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico leads a majority of polls against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
- •Democrats have not won a statewide office in Texas since 1994, the longest such drought of any state.
The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board has issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump: his tariff policy could put Texas at risk.
The board pointed to a Texas Public Policy Foundation poll showing "that tariffs are unpopular in the Lone Star State, especially among Hispanics." The survey, the board wrote, "shows that Texans overall disapprove of his tariffs, 54% to 46%. Texans who didn't vote in a party primary — generally independents and folks who are less partisan — disapproved of them, 68% to 32%. Hispanics gave them the thumbs down, 69% to 31%."
According to the board, figures of this kind pose a serious problem for the GOP, "because Mr. Trump won 55% of the state's Hispanic vote in 2024, no doubt in part owing to frustration with Democrats' handling of inflation. But Hispanics also strongly oppose the President's blunderbuss border taxes targeting trade partners like Mexico and Canada, which raise costs for consumers and businesses."
That sensitivity is rooted in the state's economy: Texas is one of the nation's largest exporting states, and Mexico is its biggest trading partner, so border taxes fall directly on cross-border commerce that supports jobs in manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics across the state.
The editorial board has been among the sharpest and most vocal critics of Trump's tariffs on the right since the policy's inception. Its warning comes as Texas Democrats field one of their most competitive slates in years. Texas has long been viewed as a "white whale" for the party: Democrats have come close to competing in the nation's most populous red state on several occasions, but they have not won a statewide office there since 1994 — the longest such drought of any state in the country.
This cycle, Democratic candidates are polling closer than ever, with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico leading a majority of polls against state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The bottom line, the board wrote, is that "the tariffs have become an albatross for Republicans in close races across the country, including Texas" — and that "Every time he threatens more tariffs, Mr. Trump is making Democratic leader Chuck Schumer's day."
