Top MAGA allies knife Trump on tariffs and warn of 'political bloodbath'

The MAGA movement faces a turning point as loyal conservatives publicly question whether Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff plan will cause them a 'political bloodbath.' 

The White House announced a baseline 10 percent tariff on all imports, effective April 5, with higher rates for countries imposing steeper duties on US goods.

Trump called it a 'declaration of economic independence' in a fiery speech, slamming 'friend and foe' for 'ripping off' America but the markets have seen a steep downturn since they were announced.

Republicans, particularly moderates, have been skeptical as the plan has been rolled out, with several joining a DOA Democrat bill to stop Trump's tariffs.

Now, however, some of Trump's fiercest defenders are coming out of the woodwork to trash the economic plan.

Ben Shapiro called the tariffs 'probably unconstitutional' and ripped how it was 'dropped on the market unilaterally.'

'[It's] one of the biggest tax increases on American consumers in the history of America.'

He added that trade wars are 'not good' or 'easy to win' if 'you don't have a plan' and that trade deficits aren't important, noting America's trading surplus was high during the entirety of the Great Depression. 

Shapiro also appeared on the All In podcast and called the plan 'a pile of rakes' to be stepped on by Trump, saying that the rollout 'was probably as bad as you could do.'

'The way that it was rolled out, with essentially kind of a surprise announcement... replete with contradictory justifications, statistics that are labeled one thing but are really not that thing. It opens itself up to all sorts of critiques from every side.' 

While on the All In podcast, Shapiro noted that Trump has made himself open to ridicule for taxing the McDonald Islands which has no human population and is inhabited by penguins. 

A meme going across the internet shows JD Vance and Trump lecturing a penguin, who has been photoshopped in the place of Ukraine President Zelensky.  

It wasn't just limited to commentators, as Texas Senator Ted Cruz - who ran for re-election calling himself Trump's 'strongest supporter' in the Senate - warned the agenda could 'hurt jobs and hurt America.'

On his own podcast, he said that he's not a fan of tariffs and was wary of Republicans defending Trump just to defend Trump.  

'I'm seeing a lot of Republican cheerleaders reflexively defending what the White House is doing,' Cruz said. 

Cruz warned that nations reciprocating Trump's tariffs for lengthy periods of time could hurt the country. 

'If we're in a scenario 30 days from now, 60 days from now, 90 days from now, with massive American tariffs, and massive tariffs on American goods in every other country on earth, that is a terrible outcome.' 

He said that while 'the upside could be massive,' Republicans running to keep their seats next year may face a hostile environment if the plan doesn't work.

'If we go into a recession — particularly a bad recession — 2026 in all likelihood, politically would be a bloodbath,' he said.

Ahead of the announcement, Trump tore into four Republican senators who oppose his tariffs late Tuesday.

The president urged Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, as well as Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski to get on board with his tariff proposal.

Trump claimed in a post to his Truth Social account that these four senators are responsible for 'allowing fentanyl to pour into our country unchecked' and he warned them against voting with a Democrat bill aimed at stopping the new tariffs on Canada.

'What's wrong with them,' he questioned, claiming the four are 'suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.'

'The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four,' Trump claimed. '[I]t is not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it.'

Just hours before Trump prepares for the announcement of new tariffs on Wednesday, he took to his social media to tell his supporters in Kentucky, Maine and Alaska to reach out to their senators to urge them to support tariffs for Canada.

Trump and his allies have often referred to more moderate Republicans or those who ever break with the party as a 'RINO' or Republican in Name Only. 

While he didn't use that term in the post on Wednesday, the president did allude to the fact that these four Republican senators are traitors who will face backlash if they vote to block his tariffs. 

'They have been extremely difficult to deal with and, unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself,' Trump said. 

Paul, Collins, Murkowski and McConnell all ended up voting for a Tim Kaine-backed bill to undo tariffs Thursday. They would need 60 votes to override a presidential veto. 

Trump made the announcement Wednesday afternoon in the White House Rose Garden, unveiling broad 10 percent tariffs — with even higher rates for certain countries. This includes 34 percent on China, and 20 percent on the European Union.

The president used aggressive rhetoric to describe a global trade system that the United States helped to build after World War II, saying 'our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered' by other nations.

He has promised that factory jobs will return back to the United States as a result of the taxes, but his policies risk a sudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes on autos, clothes and other goods.

'Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,' Trump said in remarks at the White House. 'But it is not going to happen anymore.'

He condemned 'foreign scavengers.' And he talked of other nations that had 'pillaged, raped and plundered' the U.S. and 'foreign cheaters' who 'ransacked' American factories.

Wall Street had its worst two-day wipeout in history - with $5 trillion wiped off the value of US stocks.

Stocks crashed again on Friday as it looks increasingly likely that President Donald Trump's tariffs will cause a global recession.

US stocks have lost about $9.6 trillion in value since January 17 — the Friday before President Trump began his second term, according to MarketWatch analysis Dow Jones Market Data. 

Roughly $5 trillion of that was wiped out on Thursday and Friday alone — marking the biggest two-day loss of shareholder value ever recorded, according to the data. 

Markets have seen bigger percentage drops, such as in 1929, but never as much in dollar terms. Wall Street's biggest two-day plunge came during the 1929 crash, when the Dow tumbled around 25% over October 28 and 29.

The carnage  has hit ordinary Americans whose retirement savings, including 401(K) are tied to the market. 

The flagship Dow Jones index of America's 30 biggest companies plunged an astonishing 2,200 points, its biggest daily drop since June 2020. 

It came after China imposed fresh tariffs on all US goods in response to the Trump's sweeping levies, escalating a global trade war.

But panicking Americans checking their 401(K)s, IRAs and trading apps were advised to sit tight for now and not panic sell. They should speak to the experts managing their investments and seek out a financial advisor if they do not have one.