The National Post reports in its Saturday, Jan. 31, edition that American politicians face a judgment day of sorts: this autumn's midterm elections. The Post's Tracy Moran writes that Democrats are campaigning against President Donald Trump's tariffs as a "tax on American families," and Republicans are defending the tariffs in a bid to retain control of Congress. While the trade deficit is not solely reliant on tariff levels, the U.S. trade deficit has dropped sharply. In October, it was at its lowest level since 2009. Andrew Hale, a fellow at Washington-based Advancing American Freedom, said he sees "no wins" from Mr. Trump's tariffs. "Tariffs have hurt manufacturing and employment." While Americans are notorious for ignoring foreign affairs on Election Day, they often vote based on pocketbook issues, so views on unemployment and inflation will matter. As a result, rather than being a boon for Republicans in the midterms, Mr. Hale predicts that tariffs will lead to continued declines in manufacturing and Republican losses. "This tariff war is not what a lot of these people voted for," Mr. Hale said. "Americans cannot understand why we're in this tariff war with Canada. ... This will have electoral effects on Trump."