Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted the global tariffs President Donald Trump is planning to implement starting this Wednesday.
In an interview with WABC radio in New York Sunday, the Kentucky Senator cited opposition in his home state from auto manufacturers and the bourbon industry — among other sectors he believes will be hurt by the tariffs.
“I think tariffs are bad for any country, and I think they’d be bad for America, and economically, I think it’ll hurt us,” Paul said. “The stock market… there’s millions of people voting every day with their pocketbook and the stock market’s very skittish, afraid of tariffs.”
Paul believes the argument from Trump officials that the tariffs are vital for national security does not hold water.
“This is just something I disagree with President Trump on,” Paul said. “I’m not for the tariffs and will continue to speak out on it because really international trade since World War II has made us phenomenally rich. President Trump thinks in another way. He says we’ve been taken advantage of. But I just — I really, really strongly disagree because trade has made us so rich and really has made the world a better place. The more we trade, I think the less we fight.”
New polling out Sunday from CBS shows 64 percent of Americans do not believe the Trump administration is sufficiently focused on lowering prices. Senator Paul shares that concern — particularly if the tariffs are enacted this week as scheduled.
“If he puts the tariffs on now, there’s some people estimating that a car can cost five to ten thousand dollars more because of tariffs,” Paul said. “We still have some inflation left over from the Biden years. There are people who are struggling to get a car. There are some people struggling to buy a house because of interest rates. And I just don’t think it’s a good idea to put tariffs on now because I think it’ll add to the price of everything.”
Listen above, via New York’s WABC radio.
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