The 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff act. has been in the news more than it has in almost 100 years. Most economist and historian agree it was a disaster and helped to make the Great Depression worse. Of course President Trump, who is smarter than everyone else (and if you don’t believe that just asked him) disagrees, he thinks that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act would have been a success if only it had been left in tact longer. Of course that is not something you can prove or disprove because you can not go back in time and change things, that is not how history works. Trump knows this, he also knows that because he has said it there are a certain group of people who will believe and defend him.