Dear Mr. Trump,

There you go again, lying to and hurting the very people who helped you get elected. No, I don’t mean the Russians. You’re too scared of them to lie to them. They have the goods on you.

I mean that you’re lying to and hurting primarily the voters of Midwestern manufacturing states, states such as Michigan, where you promised to help autoworkers.

How? By your imposition of tariffs on Mexico, which even Republicans in the Senate recognize is irrational and illegal. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley lambasted you as follows: “This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent.”

Or, as the president of consulting firm Desrosiers Automotive Consultants remarked in utter frustration, “It’s a nightmare scenario … the biggest hit will be on the U.S. …There would be a serious shortage of supply into the United States … so the prices of all vehicles would go up quite radically…. It’s so outrageous and so negative to the U.S….”

But not only will the price of everyone’s cars skyrocket; American autoworkers will be laid off. You’re hurting all those blue collar workers who you promised to help.

Your foolish actions will also hurt the economy in general. That’s undeniable, because the stock market took a dive immediately after you announced these tariffs.

So let’s review basic economics. A tariff is a tax on the consumer, short and simple. It’s paid initially by the importer, then passed along to the consumer, to me and to the voters in every state. The net effect of your tariff? Big jump in taxes, big jump in the cost of goods, big jump in unemployment.

That’s what believing a liar does, unfortunately. When you trust someone who doesn’t truly care about whether you have enough food to put on the table, you get burned.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger