Donald Trump went against the advice of some of his top advisers (Gary Cohn among them) and instituted tariffs on steel and aluminum this afternoon at the White House in a ceremony that included steelworkers complete with hard hats.  We thought this was about the economy but before signing the papers today Trump said, “Today I’m defending America’s national security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum.”

While Trump excluded Canada and Mexico from the tariffs (and says he may exempt other countries down the road), our biggest ally, the United Kingdom, is still on the list. That doesn’t really play into Trump’s argument that he is doing this for national security reasons. As for our allies in Europe, they are ready to retaliate.

Many in the media, politicians and Trump supporters are quick to point out what a bad idea this is and one Trump doesn’t seem to have fully researched or thought out.