The risk for Warren and Sanders is that a little symbolic distance may not be sufficient if Trump’s tariffs become reviled and the entire concept of protectionism becomes discredited. Already, a bloc of critics is resisting the president’s burgeoning trade war: not Trump-haters, but farm-staters. And Democrats from those states are starting to get the message.

Missouri produces soybeans and pork, which are now being targeted by China in retaliation for the announced tariffs. So while Sen. Claire McCaskill is acutely aware she needs to woo Trump supporters to win re-election in the Show Me State this year, she did not hesitate to criticize Trump’s strategy because “our agriculture producers and manufacturers need stable, consistent leadership when it comes to negotiating those deals, and I agree with my Republican colleagues who’ve said the administration needs to scale back this escalating situation.”

Another red state Democrat in an uphill re-election fight, Montana’s Jon Tester, slammed the tariffs in an interview with North Dakota radio host Joel Heitkamp (who happens to be the brother of Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp). “These tariffs are punching us right in the nose,” Heitkamp informed Tester, speaking for many anxious farmers. The senator, also a farmer, readily agreed, “There’s always retaliation and ag products are always the first thing that countries retaliate on.”