Paper blames newsprint tariffs for dropping Sunday comics

LUMBERTON, N.C. – Residents in a North Carolina town hoping to read “Rex Morgan M.D.” with Sunday coffee are in for a rude awakening. And a newspaper says it’s President Donald Trump’s fault.

The Robesonian in Lumberton announced it’s dropping an eight-page colour comics section from Sunday editions.

A newspaper editorial said it cut the comics because of rising costs spurred by Trump administration tariffs on Canadian newsprint. The newspaper says it’s “a decision that we really believe was made at the White House.”

Instead, the newspaper with a Sunday circulation of 6,200 will run a single page of black-and-white comics and puzzles. Rex Morgan didn’t make the cut.

Newspapers are reeling after tariffs put in place in March increased newsprint prices by 25 to 30 per cent. Newsprint is generally the second-largest expense for local papers.