MSNBC host Chris Hayes described his alarm at Donald Trump’s apparent “pathological obsession” with tariffs, after the president ignited a trade war by placing duties on imports from China, Mexico and Canada.
“He understands that, like, conflict drives attention, so he’s picking fights, because that is what drives attention,” Hayes said on an MSNBC panel Sunday. “But the scarier thing here, and this is the thing that hasn’t set in — it hasn’t set in when you talk to Republicans, people on Wall Street — he has a pathological obsession with tariffs.”
“Like, he genuinely, truly believes,” he added. “Like, yes, it’s part stunt. Yes, it’s part demonization. But also, you can’t move him off this idea, this rock-headed idea, that tariffs are the solution to all of America’s problems.”
Trump on Saturday declared an economic emergency and said he was placing tariffs of 10% on all imports from China and 25% on those from Mexico and Canada, following through on campaign threats and roiling global markets. It sets up a scenario that economists warn could easily drive prices up for American consumers.
Hayes said it was “so strange” that Americans cited inflation and high prices as a top election concern, but Trump won after “explicitly running on an agenda and campaign promised to raise prices.”
“This was clear as day, and for some reason, no one, like, listened,” he said. “The Wall Street, up until yesterday, was saying the tariffs aren’t going to happen. He clearly believes in tariffs.
“He also seems to have a vendetta against our closest allies,” he added, questioning the lesser tariff on China versus Canada.
Fellow MSNBC host Alicia Menendez argued Trump’s tariffs are “not really about trade.”
“This is about him trying to villainize some of our greatest trade partners and allies, and especially, I think, in the case of Mexico, to sort of reframe this as a question that’s really about immigration and fentanyl, when it has nothing to do with that,” she said.
Watch their analysis below.