I don't know on what scale your clock runs on, but Bill Clinton's "Third Way" campaign was 35 years ago. China's admission into the WTO was under the Clinton administration. If 5 minutes is a generation, America isn't 2 hours old yet on your clock.
I thought the support was bipartisan? For instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93China_Re...
The argument used to be that low tariffs enabled shifting work to where labor and environmental laws were weaker, reducing demand for American labor. Effectively subsidizing pollution and human suffering.
But then someone came along and agreed. Can't believe something that he agrees with.
The opposition to tariffs doesn't stem from a kneejerk reaction to a certain someone wanting them. It comes from economic consensus.
Implementing targeted tariffs in a way that spurs domestic labor and secures vital industries is common practice.
What's not common practice or beneficial are the broad tariffs we're levying, which come from a place of ignorance. The implementers literally didn't think retaliation would happen, but it is/will. All these are accomplishing is increasing the cost of goods.
Democrats think lots of things that are "economic consensus" do not accurately describe how the world works in practice, or fails to capture important values. "Economic consensus" also is that VAT is the most efficient form of taxation and that capital gains taxes are harmful.
People love cheap shit. They absolutely love it.
Walmart and globalism didn't put Benny's General Store underwater, consumers choosing cheap shit did.