The chair of the Dallas County Iowa Republican Party said the fallout from President Trump’s tariffs has hurt her family’s investments, but that she did not panic, though she wanted to.
Kelley Koch said Mr. Trump has earned the unwavering trust of her and others who elected him to shake up things in Washington, so they are doing what Mr. Trump asked: hanging tough amid the global outcry.
“We took a hit, but we are loyal,” Ms. Koch said. “We know the plan. We trust the plan. We trust his vision. I think he is playing four-dimensional economics 101.”
This is exactly what Ms. Kock voted for.
“We voted for a disrupter and change to stop the trajectory of where our country is headed and he is doing that,” she said. “He did not unintentionally crash the stock market. It is intentional. It is shock and awe and a massive reset for the country.”
Mr. Trump’s tariffs have rattled Wall Street, which experienced another volatile day of trading on Monday. It adds to fears that he is steering the nation into an economic recession.
“Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth,” Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, wrote Monday in his annual letter to shareholders. “The quicker this issue is resolved, the better, because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse.”
The word of caution underscored the economic uncertainty following Mr. Trump’s decision to impose a 10% baseline tariff on imports and reciprocal tariffs on specific countries that the administration argues have benefited from lopsided trade relations with the U.S.
Mr. Trump said he would not back off his tariffs and could hit China with higher tariffs if Beijing further retaliates with tariffs against the U.S.
“We’re going to have one shot at this,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. “And no other president is going to do what I’m doing.”
Mr. Trump’s loyal supporters echoed the sentiment.
“Most, if not all of my Republican friends, are like, ’Hey, we have to let this work,’ and if you are relying on your investments to live right now, that is tough, but most people I don’t think are living off your investments,” said former New Hampshire GOP Chair Chris Ager. “Overall, I don’t think it is as big a deal as some people make it out to be on television.”
“Nobody brings up, ’Oh my God, what is this tariff thing?’” Mr. Ager said.
Ms. Koch said there are signs the tariffs are working, with the Trump administration claiming that several countries are working to strike new trade deals that will be more favorable to the U.S.
She also said a core group of conservative activists was having a strategy meeting Monday night to “slay the dragon” by devising a message to help calm the nerves of people rattled by the tariff alarmism.
“The loyalty to President Trump is ginormous,” she said.
