In an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, anchor Maria Bartiromo pressed former President Donald Trump about the economic implications of his tariff strategy, raising concerns voiced by some economists that his proposed 200% tariff on imported cars could increase consumer prices and worsen the national debt.
Trump has placed tariffs at the center of his economic agenda as he eyes a potential second term in the White House. During the interview, Bartiromo asked pointed questions about how his broader economic proposals would be funded.
“You’ve talked about eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay, and introducing a 15% tax rate to encourage American production,” Bartiromo noted. “But how will you pay for it? The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says your plans will increase the debt by $7.5 trillion.”
Trump responded by dismissing the report, saying, “But they don’t know…”
Bartiromo pushed further, citing The Wall Street Journal, which suggested that Trump’s proposals could exacerbate the deficit even more than plans proposed by Vice President Kamala Harris.
In defense of his tariff strategy, Trump emphasized the threat posed by foreign car factories being built in Mexico, which he claimed would severely harm the U.S. auto industry if left unchecked.
“If I get elected, I will put a 200% tariff on every car [from Mexico]… and you will never sell them into the United States,” Trump declared. He argued that without aggressive tariffs, cities like Detroit and South Carolina’s economy would be devastated by competition from Mexican-made vehicles. “The autoworkers are way down… They’re doing this ridiculous electric mandate. Electric is great, but not for everybody.”
Trump went on to describe tariffs as a crucial tool to revitalize the U.S. economy.
“It is a beautiful word. It is a word that will make our country rich again. Without tariffs, we have a busted country.”
Watch the full interview here:
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You obviously didn’t watch the interview, as he very clearly said that he would pay for his proposals with “growth”. Your headline makes it appear that Maria disagreed, and then you compound the “misinformation” by not using his answer, but try to infer that President Trump just said others don’t know what they are talking about. You’re probably better suited to write for the Huff Post, or The Daily Beast.
Before they imposed Taxes on us, the government ran on Tariffs!! We were pretty must self-contained with our own production systems. Tariffs kept it that way for years! Now with many of the manufacturing being performed abroad, it makes sense to bring tariffs back into play!! You put the cost of imports out of reach, the domestic production will increase and those prices will come down!!!