Trump’s 'terrible' proposal is 'a preview of the corruption to come': columnist

President-elect Donald Trump’s signature economic plan of raising tariffs on imported goods could cause more harm to the economy than good, and offer a pathway toward a corrupt second administration, a columnist wrote Wednesday.

Trump has long considered increased tariffs on certain foreign countries a “brilliant” strategy, but the reality is they could lead to disastrous effects and showcase how his first administration “could pale in comparison to his second” in terms of corruption, Paul Waldman wrote for MSNBC.

“Trump believes that tariffs can do almost anything — force other countries to their knees, bring prosperity to the nation, even restore your sense of manly virility,” Waldman wrote. “Best of all, they can provide an avenue for him to reward those who please him, hurt those who fail to bend the knee, and maybe even use his office to make a few more bucks.”

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The columnist built his case in his Friday opinion piece by offering readers as an example the “uneven rollout of tariffs” in Trump’s first term when the administration became “besieged by lobbyists, who filed thousands of requests for special exemptions and carve-outs to allow their clients to import goods and parts without paying the tariffs.”

Waldman said Trump’s new proposal on tariffs, which promises to be more comprehensive than what he’s seen through in the past, “is a preview of the corruption to come.”

“In a second term, Trump won’t just be doling out favors; he’ll also deliver punishments,” Waldman wrote.

He concluded by reminding readers that the public is familiar with how personal Trump's views are toward companies and their CEOs, with the “determining factor” being “whether they treat him like the king he imagines himself to be.”

“Firms looking at this history might reasonably decide that making good products isn’t enough to succeed; they also must win the goodwill of a petty and mercurial president, just as companies do in dictatorships around the world,” he wrote.