Raleigh – Senator Tillis, terrified of his primary challenge and a conservative base in open revolt, is caving to the far-right and offering his “unequivocal support” of President Trump’s disastrous planned tariffs on Mexico, saying, “Right now I’m giving the president a lot of leeway on these issues” and that “the President is right” even while separately acknowledging the tariffs “could act as a tax on Americans.”

Tillis’ rightward lurch comes as his Senate Republican colleagues signal “strong resistance to new tariffs on Mexico” and the resulting cost to consumers, potentially setting up a “major clash” with Congress. (Then again, most Senate Republicans don’t have a primary challenger…)

Meanwhile, North Carolina farmers, consumers, and businesses are set to feel the sting of any new tariffs. “Pork producers will be in cross-hairs” of the planned tariffs and have already lost $2.5 billion over the past year thanks to Trump-Tillis trade wars. Others are already feeling the crunch:

• Lillington, NC, hog farmer David Herring: “American pork producers cannot afford retaliatory tariffs from its largest export market, tariffs which Mexico will surely implement.”

• Goldsboro soybean farmer Lorenda Overman: “We have borrowed from our life insurance policy, that’s how desperate we are. We are desperate for something to happen. We need help.”

• Johnston County tobacco farmer Randy Edwards: “I also worry the ag(riculture) market won’t come back in time and our family would have to sell some of our land to be able to service the farm’s debts.”

“Now that Senator Tillis has surrendered to the far-right activists of his party, we can just assume that he’ll be a rubberstamp for President Trump’s most damaging policies, even when hardworking North Carolina farmers end up in the cross-hairs,” NCDP spokesman Robert Howard said. “Let this sink in: Senator Tillis is fine with effectively raising taxes on North Carolinians through new tariffs because he’s terrified of losing his seat to a primary challenger.”