The Week Magazine March 21, 2025

The MAGA movement has long dreamed of going global. If populists could only win power across the West, the thinking goes, they could join forces and overthrow the liberal world order that has so cruelly restrained the American colossus. And so former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, billionaire wrecking ball Elon Musk, and an assortment of perma-tanned chaos agents have spent years boosting far-right parties and demagogues in Europe and the Americas, hoping to spark a nationalist awakening. Well, the MAGA crowd has finally succeeded in doing just that…on our doorstep. Trump’s trade war against Canada has led our northern neighbors to buy up maple leaf flags in a patriotic fervor and to yank U.S.-made wine and bourbon off store shelves. It’s even turned Mark Carney, the new leader of…

What happened President Trump this week imposed sweeping 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the U.S., doubling down on trade policies that have shaken stock markets, alienated allies, and raised fears of an economic downturn. Trump said the tariffs—which apply to both raw metals and the thousands of products made with them, including nuts, bolts, and soda cans—were needed to take back wealth “stolen” by other countries. Canada, which supplies more of the metals to the U.S. than any other nation, retaliated with 25 percent tariffs on American steel and aluminum along with $21 billion in new duties on U.S.-made computers, sports equipment, and other consumer goods. Canada “will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect,” said the country’s new prime minister,…

Another round of tariffs, including those postponed last week, are planned for April 2, said Ana Swanson in The New York Times. Trump “has vowed not to grant” exemptions. But since he did just that in his first term, foreign governments and lobbyists are trying to woo a president who can seldom resist “the allure of cutting a deal.” Certain U.S. industries want carve-outs, with General Motors executives arguing last week that planned tariffs on cars and parts from elsewhere in North America “could have devastating consequences” for U.S. automakers. Expect Trump’s “tempestuous trade policy” to continue roiling markets, too, said Eric Boehm in Reason. Stock markets are ultimately “a reflection of what investors believe the economy will look like in the future,” and Trump’s planned levies on Canada…

What happened The Trump administration lifted its pause on intelligence sharing and military assistance for Ukraine this week after Ukraine agreed under pressure to a possible 30-day cease-fire with Russia. At negotiations in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. also said it would assist with humanitarian relief, while Ukraine agreed in principle to a deal to develop its mineral resources, with revenue going toward a reconstruction investment fund that the U.S. would partly own. Conceding territory to Russia—which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had once vowed never to do—is on the table, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “That’s the only way this is going to end,” he said. “There’s no military solution.” He said it was now up to Russia, which was not at the talks, to accept the cease-fire. Ukraine…

■ David Kraning recently closed his video-rental store in Pocatello, Idaho, but he still found a way to support his most loyal customer: Christina Cavanaugh. The 35-year-old patron with Down syndrome came in three times a week with her mom to rent movies. So Kraning cleared out a corner at his nearby convenience store, brought over about 200 DVDs, and turned the space into a mini rental store he calls Christina’s Corner. “You can see that it means a lot to her to have that routine continue,” he said. ■ Jackie and Shadow, a pair of bald eagles in Big Bear Valley in California, had two chicks hatch after trying for three years. The world has known Jackie since 2012 as the valley’s first bald eagle hatchling, and a…

The reviews are in, said Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling in The New Republic, and the “so-called resistance” to President Trump’s second term is officially a flop. A new poll from Blueprint, a liberal research firm, found that 40 percent of registered voters think the Democratic Party “doesn’t have any strategy at all” for opposing Trump, while another 24 percent believe Democrats do have a strategy “but it’s not working.” Only 10 percent think the party has “a good strategy.” What’s even more depressing is that this poll was taken before Trump’s speech to Congress last week. While Trump boasted and lied, Democrats expressed their opposition with a “confused” series of gestures. Texas Rep. Al Green, 77, shouted “No mandate!” and waved his cane—which got him escorted from the House chamber…