Sorry, MAGA Crowd: Reagan Meant What He Said about Tariffs

Let’s clear the air on those Reagan tariff clips. Yes, different versions of his 1987 speech are floating around—some full, some segmented—but none are fake. Every clip, long or short, comes straight from the same address. If Trump or anyone else wanted to cry “out of context,” they’d have to explain why the entire speech—available unedited—says the exact same thing. It doesn’t. The full video only strengthens Reagan’s core message: tariffs are bad, and he only used them as a last-resort tactic.

Here’s what actually happened: Reagan imposed tariffs on Japanese semiconductors not because he loved protectionism, but because Japan was violating their free trade agreement—dumping chips below cost and shutting out U.S. competitors. His tariffs were strategic retaliation, a temporary hammer to force Japan back to the table and restore free trade. That’s it. No grand endorsement of tariff walls. No pivot to “America First” economics.

In fact, Reagan opened the speech apologizing for the tariffs. He knew his audience—free-market conservatives—would bristle. So he explained: “I believe in free trade. Tariffs are taxes. But when a partner cheats, you don’t reward them—you push back, briefly and precisely, to get them to honor the deal.” The whole point of the speech was to defend free trade while justifying a rare, targeted exception. He wasn’t abandoning principle; he was enforcing it.

So no, Reagan wasn’t “taken out of context.” The clips aren’t doctored. The segments aren’t inconsistent. Every version—full or partial—lines up perfectly with his purpose: tariffs are a necessary evil only when someone else breaks the rules, and even then, they’re a regretful, short-term fix.

Today’s tariff cheerleaders want to rewrite Reagan as a protectionist hero. He wasn’t. He was a free trader who used a scalpel once, then put it away. If you’re going to invoke his name, at least respect the man enough to watch the whole speech—and hear the apology he felt compelled to give.