Is protectionism a thing of the past?

Things have gone global. With that said, is the United States capable of a protectionist backlash against Japanese automakers in the 21st century? When Toyota, even though we assume it was said with best intentions, says, "We'll up our prices to help Ford and GM" they can't help but ruffle a few feathers in corporate suits and UAW work shirts. Japanese plants are all over North America and their cars and trucks have won over millions of buyers. Could there ever be a huge pushback on their products? Things need to be done to stop the massive bleeding of manufacturing jobs in America, but taking it out on foreign automakers is not the answer. Most telling quote in this article is uttered by an auto analyst, ""Ultimately, U.S. consumers are consumers first and citizens second."