The Left’s Localvore Betrayal: Tariffs Expose Climate Hypocrisy
13 hours ago Charles Rotter
The progressive left has spent years sermonizing about the virtues of “buy local”—fewer carbon-spewing cargo ships, more jobs for American workers, a lighter footprint on Mother Earth. It was their climate gospel, right up there with electric vehicles (EVs) and organic kale. But now, with Donald Trump’s latest tariff push hitting foreign goods hard, the same crowd that once fetishized localism is clutching their imported lattes and crying foul. First, they turned on Tesla’s EVs, now they’re ditching “buy local”—and the irony is thicker than a smog cloud over Beijing.
Trump’s tariff offensive, rolled out with gusto in recent weeks, is designed to jolt American manufacturing back to life. The White House calls it a “liberation” for U.S. workers, targeting everything from foreign cars to cheap overseas parts. Tesla, with its factories humming in California and Texas, should be a winner here—more expensive imports mean a leg up for homegrown EVs. You’d think the climate crowd would cheer: fewer globe-trotting supply chains, less fuel burned, a win for their green utopia. After all, studies have long shown that local production can slash transport emissions—think of the diesel-chugging freighters idling off Long Beach. But instead of popping champagne, leftists are picketing Tesla dealerships and wailing about trade wars. What gives?
The answer’s simple: politics trumps principle. Tesla’s sin isn’t its carbon footprint—it’s Elon Musk, the man who dared to join Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and swing an axe at sacred federal programs. Protests that started last year with “Honk if you hate Elon” signs have escalated in 2025 to smashed windows and torched showrooms, with Trump blasting the culprits as “domestic terrorists” at a March presser. Never mind that Tesla’s U.S.-made EVs align with the localvore dream—progressives dumped them the second Musk’s politics went rogue. Now, they’re turning on tariffs too, despite the climate perks of keeping production stateside. It’s a stunning reversal for a movement that once claimed the moral high ground on emissions.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/04/05/the-lefts-localvore-betrayal-tariffs-expose-climate-hypocrisy/
