Trump’s trade policy was never just about tariffs or protection. It became a system for distributing risk broadly while reserving relief for those closest to power. What emerged is not populism, but something colder: an economy organized around access, where loyalty matters more than performance and proximity determines who pays—and who is spared. Donald Trump did not use tariffs to protect American workers. He used them to decide who would bear risk—and who would be spared it. For years, tar...