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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Charlie Kirk Explains Why President Trump's Liberation Day Tariffs Are America's Last Chance to Rebuild Manufacturing
Charlie Kirk breaks down President Trump's Liberation Day tariff strategy and why it represents America's final opportunity to reverse four decades of industrial decline. With the US trade deficit exceeding $1.2 trillion and 60,000 factories closed in just 12 years, Kirk argues that the nation faces a critical choice: endure short-term market turbulence to rebuild domestic manufacturing, or accept permanent status as a consumer colony dependent on foreign production. Kirk examines how free trade absolutism decimated the muscular class, why it now takes 62 weeks of work to support a family of four compared to 30 weeks in 1985, and how China gained superpower status while America lost 5 million manufacturing jobs.
President Donald Trump has declared Liberation Day, announcing a comprehensive tariff strategy targeting every country that imposes tariffs on American goods. The Trump administration is planning its biggest round of tariffs yet, implementing reciprocal measures against nations that have long restricted American exports. Beyond existing tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a major wave of reciprocal tariffs is coming—tariffs imposed as retaliation for similar restrictions other countries have placed on American goods.
Examples abound: India imposes massive tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Japan restricts big screen TV imports. The principle is simple: if America is going to be tariffed, then we will tariff back. The US trade deficit with the rest of the planet passed $1.2 trillion last year—a record high with no signs of improvement without dramatic action. America has been becoming a country that produces nothing and only buys. That trajectory ends in national bankruptcy.
A Geopolitical Restructuring on American Terms
We are witnessing a geopolitical restructuring on our terms. America faces a choice: ignore the obvious rebalancing of the international world order and continue as a consumer economy, or take action. If you are strictly a consumer economy, you are subservient and held hostage to internationalist and globalist forces. America is tired of being cheated, and President Trump has talked about this issue for decades.
As Trump has said, the messenger matters when delivering such policies. One person might say "We're going to tax you 25%" in a weak manner, while another delivers the same message with strength and conviction. We have one shot and one shot only to fix this. We have one opportunity while we are still the wealthiest nation in the world and the incumbent economic player.
The Post-World War II Consumer Economy
Post-World War II, America decided to become a consumer economy. We don't really make much in this country anymore. We make mobile apps, build homes, and have a banking sector that is robust and the best on the planet for now. But what else do we actually physically make? Some small manufacturing companies have persisted, but we signed a series of trade agreements—the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), allowed China into the WTO in the late 1990s, and decided to eliminate almost all tariffs over the last 30 to 40 years because we believed that free trade would make us richer.
While free trade has allowed us to get more stuff, has it actually made us a richer country? The political question is not just whether or not we are getting economically wealthier. It's whether or not our communities are strong, our families are staying formed, whether an average worker can afford his or her part of the American dream, and whether we have a vibrant and connected culture in our country.
The Devastation of American Manufacturing
We have lost 5 million manufacturing jobs in the last 20 years. When we lose those manufacturing jobs, when those factories are closed, there is a wage reduction for that worker by 11 to 22%. This was a bipartisan study done by Congress. When a factory worker is no longer building a dishwasher, big screen TV, or pickup truck and they find a replacement job, their wages drop significantly.
Wages for the bottom 10% have only risen 4% over the last 30 years since the World Trade Organization entrance of China and since NAFTA was passed. We have closed 60,000 factories in the last 12 years. The muscular class of this country has been completely and totally decimated, eliminated.
The American Family Economic Crisis
In 1985, it took 30 weeks of work to support a family of four—to have housing, health care, send kids to school, get a car, and save money. That meant a wife did not have to go into the workforce. She could if she wanted to, but if she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, it made financial sense.
Now it takes 62 weeks of work for an average worker to support a family of four. This means one of two things must happen: the family has to go into debt to support a family of four, or the wife has to go into the workforce, which means the kids go to daycare. While daycare is necessary for many people, it's not ideal for many families. Many moms would prefer to be with their kids during those formative years when they're 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 years old. They would prefer to be stay-at-home moms during those critical years.
Free trade absolutism has hurt our nuclear families. It has weakened our communities.
The Hardware Renaissance Window
We have one shot to fix this. There is going to be a hardware renaissance the same way we have seen a software renaissance. Advanced robotics and advanced manufacturing is going to be the new economic growth curve. Where are these tools of the future going to be built? The hardware renaissance to build the rockets, potential flying cars, and autonomous vehicles—President Trump understands that there is this window, this momentary window where we can finally rebalance and course correct the mistakes of the last 40 or 50 years.
You can only do that while you are still the incumbent economic player. As that window is starting to close, President Trump is trying to run right through it. That is what he means by Liberation Day.
The Reciprocal Tariff Question
Germany does not allow us to sell Ford vehicles in Germany without ridiculous tariffs. So why should we allow the importation of VWs, Mercedes-Benz, and BMWs? Japan is the same—why should we allow the importation of Toyota and Honda? South Korea the same—why should we allow Hyundai to dump their products into the United States?
What is about to ensue is turbulence ahead. There will be some bumps coming. But on the other side of these bumps is a recalibration of how we finance our government and how our economy is structured. If we do nothing and continue to engage in the cheap money spigot brought by unfettered free trade policies, we will have no manufacturing base. We'll be nothing but a consumerist economy where we are just a colony that buys stuff.
A country is definitionally strong based on whether or not you make stuff in your nation. If you don't, you're no longer a country. You're simply a colony that barters goods. It is a geopolitical restructuring on our terms, and President Trump has the political courage and mandate to make it happen.
The UAW and Redomiciling Manufacturing
The head of the UAW, the United Auto Workers, confirmed the power of tariffs as a forcing function to allow companies to redomicile. Companies have told the UAW point blank that they're going to have to bring product back to America if those tariffs are implemented. These companies might have to bite the bullet, say no to their McKinsey consultants, and bring manufacturing back to America.
The Johnstown, Pennsylvania Story
A 1992 Frontline report from Johnstown, Pennsylvania showed what happened when one of those 60,000 factories closed. For ages, hot molten steel had been the lifeblood of Johnstown, pumping dollars and jobs through the city's veins. But then the pulse of the community went into cardiac arrest. Bethlehem officials announced it was simply not cost-effective to run the mill any longer, citing fierce foreign competition and the national economy for their demise.
For Bethlehem employees, the news was shocking. One worker advised others: "Don't rely on a corporation that don't want you in a sense and they don't care. You're only a number." Multiply this story by 60,000, and we handed China global superpower status. We handed China the opportunity to become our greatest enemy because we wanted cheaper plastic and trinkets, and the Wall Street class wanted to make an extra couple hundred million bucks through firms like Bain Capital.
The Manufacturing-Design Connection
It used to be that you could build an automobile, computer, skyscraper, ocean liner, or fighter jet entirely with parts manufactured in the United States. The era when you could do that was the apex of American success and power. Now, the country that can build all those things on its own is China. Is it any surprise that they're now our number one rival and probably our enemy? Is it any surprise it looks like they are winning?
When you make things, you learn how to design them. When you stop making them, you forget. The brain power, design power, skills, and ability to fix things and build things—all gone, vanished. President Trump is now maximizing this opportunity we will never get again.
Senator Rick Scott on Protecting American Jobs
Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who built the largest hospital company in the world and then built manufacturing companies producing Corvette outer bodies, John Deere tractor chains, and recreational vehicle chassis, emphasized the importance of American jobs. He was competing against China, which subsidizes their companies, doesn't comply with trade deals, and often produces horrible quality products.
If we want good paying American jobs, we have to protect American manufacturers. What Trump is doing with fair trade protection policies is saying that if countries like China won't let us compete fairly in their markets, we're going to put tariffs on them to protect American jobs. If we go to war, we need to know we can build things in our own country—drugs, military equipment, everything we can built in this country to protect American jobs.
Trump is doing exactly what he said he would do on the campaign trail: protecting American jobs.
Japanese Companies Planning US Expansion
Japanese executives are already responding to the tariff strategy. A survey from a Japan-based news agency polled executives at 144 major Japanese corporations, and around 30% said they were expanding their operations in the US, with another 20% exploring options for expansion. President Trump's 25% tariffs on imported cars and car parts, expected to start soon, are already having an effect.
According to a list released by the White House based on Reuters reporting, Honda will be producing its new Civic hybrid in Indiana instead of Mexico. Hyundai Motor and Stellantis have also announced plans to set up shop in America. The way to avoid a tariff is simple: make your goods here by building a factory in Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, or Florida.
Congressional Action to Support Manufacturing
Senator Scott outlined how Congress can empower deregulation to build factories and support manufacturing. The biggest hurdle to manufacturing in America is not wages—it's the regulatory hurdles and the cost of building. Agencies can eliminate regulations that have been put in place over the years and make it easier to get permits. Right now, dealing with the Corps of Engineers is like a black hole—you don't even know how to get a permit, and it takes forever.
Congress has passed legislation in the past that makes it harder to do business in the country. We have to recognize we're competing globally and can't have rules and regulations that don't make sense. State governments and local governments have to do the same thing. Some changes can be done by the Trump administration on their own, some through Congress. It's all hands on deck.
When Scott was governor of Florida, the state added 1.7 million jobs in eight years after losing 800,000 jobs in the four years before he became governor. The key is solving companies' problems to get more great American paying jobs.
The Two Conceits of Globalization
There were two conceits that our leadership class had when it came to globalization. The first was assuming we could separate the making of things from the design of things. The idea of globalization was that rich countries would move further up the value chain while poor countries made the simpler things. You would open an iPhone box and it would say "designed in Cupertino, California"—the implication being it would be manufactured in Shenzhen or somewhere else.
Some people might lose their jobs in manufacturing, but they could learn to design, or to use a popular phrase, "learn to code." But we got it wrong. It turns out that the geographies that do the manufacturing get awfully good at designing things. We assumed other nations would always trail us in the value chain, but as they got better at the low end, they also started catching up on the higher end. We were squeezed from both ends. Separating design and manufacturing into two completely different things was a fundamental mistake.
The Revenue Potential of Tariffs
The administration estimates the Trump tariffs will bring in $600 billion in the first year to the Treasury General Fund. The president's extra 25% tariffs on autos alone are expected to generate $100 billion on top of the reciprocal tariffs. Those tariffs on just about all countries are meant to level the trade playing field. The extra 25% tariffs on autos and other critical industries are meant to protect seven industries the president has deemed critical: autos, semiconductors, lumber, steel, aluminum, and others.
When you look at the entire picture and analysis, it's very clear that we hold the cards. We still hold all the cards. But that window is going to close. If President Trump delays this even two years, China could surpass us. This is the only window where we could do this.
Wall Street Versus Long-Term Thinking
Wall Street types are getting very jittery about potential market declines. People's 401ks and savings are important considerations, but markets will recover and will recover with strength. Wall Street has become short-term thinkers. What built the West? Christian values built the West, a belief in the divine, but also a Christian principle that is directly at odds with third world nations—a principle directly at odds with why people stay poor.
If you had to distill all the reasons why somebody stays poor, there is one major reason: instant gratification versus delayed gratification. It's one of the main reasons people stay poor. There are cycles of poverty. Third world nations consume what they grow immediately. They don't save for the future. The West was largely built on a principle of delayed gratification: I might suffer today, but my children will prosper. I might struggle today, but my children will flourish. I might have a tough day today, but my grandchildren will live in a free society.
We have now assumed the instant gratification mindset, the very same one that is at odds with our birthright. China is our chief foe. They think in terms of 50, 100, and 250 years. In order for us to compete, we need to think longer than your 3-month 401k Wall Street portfolio. We need to have the intergenerational maturity to say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The Stakes of Success or Failure
If we fail to rebalance, to reconfigure, to redomicile, we will never be able to bring back that domestic industrial base. We have to set right four decades of degradation—four decades of Wall Street raping 60,000 factories, of the moneyed class parachuting in and telling union labor that worked with their hands, "You're done. It's closed. It's going to mainland China, to Wuhan, to Xiaoying, to Shanghai."
We have to teach America to make things again. We have to applaud the people who shower before work and after work. We've lost those 5 million jobs in the last 20 years. We are on a precipice of a hardware renaissance. We have to make America make again.
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