A famous Ferris Bueller’s Day Off scene has gone viral after President Donald Trump’s all-out tariff war went into effect.
Dazed students in a classroom listen as their boring high school teacher explains the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act—one of the most catastrophic bills in American history, which is being compared to Trump’s current tariffs plan.
“In 1930, the Republican controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone,” the teacher says in the movie. “Great Depression. Passed the... anyone? anyone? The tariff bill. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act. Which... anyone? Raised or lower?... Raised tariffs in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone?... Anyone know the effects?... It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression.”
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Although he got the name wrong, the history was very real. In 1929, the stock market crash collapsed the economy. Despite the crash, Senator Reed Smoot and Rep. Willis Hawle, both Republicans, continued to press for tariff hikes which they had proposed when the economy seemed strong.
President Herbert Hoover, a Republican, signed the raises into law in 1930. Economists and historians say the dramatic tariff increase deepened the aftermath of the crash into the Great Depression. Politically, it was the end of the Republican era: Franklin D. Roosevelt won overwhelmingly in 1932 with a trifecta in the House and Senate which he used to pass the New Deal, transforming the role of government. Smoot and Hawley were among those who lost their seats, and Republicans lost the House and the Senate until the 1946 election and the White House until 1952.
On Monday night, Trump went through with his tariff threats, imposing 25 percent hikes on both Mexico and Canada. An additional 10 percent tariff was given to China. The stock market plummeted immediately after the announcement.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum both promised vengeance—officially starting the tariff war.
“Because of the tariffs imposed by the U.S., Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs,” Trudeau responded. “Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship.”
Maybe it’s time for a rewatch of the iconic movie.
“Quite frankly any life situation can be broken down to the plot of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” one X user posted.
“I never thought in a million years a one-off scene in Ferris Bueller would ever be relevant to American politics in 2025,” another commented. “But here we are.”
