Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., expressed strong criticism of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy following the White House’s late Friday announcement that smartphones, computers, and chips would be exempt from the sweeping tariffs aimed at most trading partners.
In an interview on ‘This Week’ alongside co-anchor Jonathan Karl, Warren stated that Trump has no coherent tariff policy, referring to the situation as ‘chaos and corruption.’
‘Look, there is no tariff policy. It’s just all chaos and corruption. That’s all we have going on,’ she remarked.
Warren pointed to the contradiction in Trump’s messaging, citing his emphatic tweet stating he ‘will not back down,’ which he seemingly rescinded just hours later.
‘How many hours was that? 24 hours, 30 hours before he turned around and backed down?’ Warren questioned.
Warren further commented on the rationale behind these tariffs.
‘They talk about an emergency. They’ve got a 10% tariff on basically every country in the world, everywhere,’ she said.
‘What’s the emergency that we have with Belgium or the emergency we have with South Korea?’
Following the pause on tariffs by Trump, markets reacted positively, soaring immediately on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, many experts are cautious, warning of potential price increases for Americans and the looming risk of a trade war with China.
‘It’s like they’ve taken a 5-gallon bucket of paint and just thrown it across the economy and said, ‘There, that will take care of everything’,’ Warren continued, characterizing the Republicans’ approach.
She criticized the lack of a coherent plan regarding the all-encompassing tariffs they are trying to impose on various nations and products.
‘They are trying to put tariffs in place on every country, on virtually every product that they export to the United States, and they’re trying to do it all at once with no policy in mind,’ Warren asserted.
During the interview, the conversation shifted to legal implications surrounding the tariffs.
Karl noted that the law does not specify the president’s power to impose tariffs and mentioned the constitutional authority resting with Congress.
Warren acknowledged this concern, saying, ‘Right.’
Karl then asked whether she thinks the courts would intervene.
‘The courts may step in here, but we don’t have to wait for the courts to step in,’ Warren replied, emphasizing that Democrats are prepared to push back against the president’s current authority.
She expressed hope for bipartisan support, stating, ‘The question is whether or not the Republicans will join us in this.’
Warren mentioned a vote coming up in about 15 days, highlighting the choice Republicans face: to support Trump or to prioritize the American people’s interests.
She cautioned about the economic implications, saying, ‘We talk about what’s happening in the stock market, talk about what’s happening in the bond market. But a lot of economists are saying and a lot of folks on Wall Street is that we’re headed toward a recession.’
The discussion then turned to the historical stance of Democrats on tariffs.
Karl noted that there had been times when Democrats advocated for tariffs to protect American jobs and industries, asking Warren where the party currently stands on tariffs.
Warren clarified that while she has supported tariffs in the past, the current approach taken by Trump is not the right way to handle such economic matters.
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