A senator who serves on the Finance Committee quickly dismissed President Donald Trump's approach during a CNN interview with viewers on Thursday evening. determine tariffs — calling it "nutty."
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) appeared on “Anderson Cooper 360” on Thursday and referred to it as a " devastating day for our economy And for our American friends, as the stock markets plummeted, dragging down millions of retirement accounts along with it.
Smith referred to the economists at JPMorgan Chase who called the tariff announcement the " largest tax increase that we have witnessed in our nation since the 1960s."
Looking for additional up-to-date political updates? Tap here for the newest stories from Raw Story.
Smith stated that nobody in her home state understands "what's happening," yet they perceive "nothing" in Trump’s actions as providing them "any clarity about the future."
ALSO READ: "Not much I can do": Republican senator abandons battle against Trump's tariffs
The senator highlighted conflicting statements within the Trump administration, with billionaires disagreeing on whether Americans should consider the tariffs seriously at all.
"She cautioned that this ambiguity could be entirely detrimental," as she indicated towards Minnesota farmers who are currently uncertain about what amount they should allocate for their input expenses.
When questioned regarding her insights into the approach the White House employed to enforce the extensive tariffs, Smith criticized the Trump administration's grasp of economics.
The president appears to think that whenever we experience a trade deficit, it negatively impacts America, whereas it benefits the nations purchasing our goods," she started. "It looks like they've created some kind of bizarre equation to determine each country’s tariff individually based on this calculation.
She went on, "This doesn’t add up for me, nor do I believe it resonates with the markets or the capital markets scrutinizing this situation and casting their vote through today’s performance in the stock market. Keep in mind, these are people’s retirement funds we’re talking about—their 401(k)s have plummeted dramatically. This isn’t just a single off-day event; it’s been an exceptionally tough period over the last few months for both Americans and Minnesotans alike."
View the clip below or at this link .
View the video at this URL.
Recommended Links:
- 'The sense of urgency nearly audible' at Fox News as Trump's tariffs harm the economy: analysis
- 'Real adversaries of America': Trump ridiculed as tariffs affect small island nations — including those without human inhabitants
- 'Breathtaking': Trump's 'game show' styled tariff announcement was put together in mere days
- 'Crazy behavior': Nobel laureate economist stunned by Trump's tariffs and extremely inaccurate statements