Tariffs Activated The Conservative Old Guard. Here’s What One Of Their Top Thinkers Sees Coming.

President Trump's vice grip on the Republican Party wobbled this week after tariffs turned allies into critics and his agenda’s big budget bill hit a snag with fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill.

These two setbacks for Trump showed how the old school, Reagan-types in the Republican Party are still alive and able to play spoiler.

One of the most powerful institutions frequently aligned with them is the American Enterprise Institute — a storied think tank where right-leaning captains of industry have long assembled to make their voices heard.

Now, like so many others, AEI’s wired thinkers and donors are trying to adapt to Trump’s new Washington.

POLITICO Capitol Bureau Chief Rachael Bade caught up with AEI’s president, Robert Doar, on Wednesday night for an interview for the Playbook Deep Dive podcast.

They talked about who in the White House is receptive to lobbying for free trade and American global leadership; how they’re trying to influence an administration that’s fixated on podcasters and TikTokers — not conventional policy papers; who the emerging leaders are on Capitol Hill that are carrying their message; and why Doar is so much more optimistic about the future than your average cable TV host.