Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo raised concerns with a pair of officials that President Donald Trump’s big trade move could “undermine” the rest of his agenda, noting it’s “unnerving markets.”
Trump has announced stiff 25 percent tariffs against close U.S. trading partners Canada and Mexico, which are set to take effect Monday. The move has sparked widespread criticism and an admission from Trump that at least short-term “pain” for consumers could result from the policy.
On this week’s edition of Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures, Bartiromo expressed concern as she interviewed several Trump allies and officials.
In her interview with Trump EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, Bartiromo said she believes the policy is spooking markets:
BARTIROMO: Well, you sure do, Lee. And I’m going to zero in right there, where you said the economic agenda, because the economic agenda so far has been tariffs.
And this is unnerving markets, I believe, already. I’m looking at some research reports this morning, Piper Sandler, “the greatest show on earth.” TD — TD — TD from Canada, “The largest free trade zone in the world, USMCA, signed into law by Trump in 2020, appears to be no more,” with tariffs of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico sparking both of our neighbors to the north and south to promise retaliation.
And we’re going to hear that retaliation Monday. I suspect markets will react. Your reaction to these tariffs and the impact.
ZELDIN: President Trump has done this once, and it worked, will do it again. President Trump has thought this through.
We saw it with the USMCA from President Trump’s first term, which was a huge success, replacing NAFTA. And there is that moment where maybe it feels like friction and uncertainty, but President Trump’s leadership and the strength and power of the American economy, we have talented people who are working alongside of President Trump to implement this agenda.
And I’m confident that we will achieve the outcome and the vision that President Trump has. He is not going into this blind. He’s done it once. It worked. He will do it again. It’ll work this time too.
BARTIROMO: Well, that’s what President Trump said to me on Friday. I saw him in the Oval Office. And he said to me, look, there may be some disturbance. There may be some disruption, but, at the end of the day, we’re done getting taken advantage of and we are going to institute these tariffs.
She also asked Vice President JD Vance about the move, and asked Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) if it will “undermine” Trump’s agenda:
BARTIROMO: Senator, I want to ask you about tariffs, because we are expecting Canada and Mexico to retaliate dollar for dollar. Are you worried that this tariff plan of President Trump is going to undermine the other policies that are very positive out of this administration?
BARRASSO: No, I don’t, Maria, because the president has such a pro-growth group of policies, in terms of cutting government spending and government waste and the bureaucratic bloat that we have in our federal government right now, in terms of keeping taxes low, in terms of also getting rid of regulations, unleashing American energy.
All of these things are pro-growth, going to help the economy. So I’m not concerned with the tariff component of that today. Look, in Wyoming — and I’m in Wyoming now — our number one trading partner is Canada. So people are clearly looking at that. We’re keeping a close eye on it.
BARTIROMO: Yes, exactly. So do you expect that they’re going to retaliate tomorrow?
BARRASSO: Well, I would expect so.
But the president has every right to hold others accountable who do not treat us fairly, properly. I support what the president is doing. We need to get rid of the fentanyl.
BARTIROMO: OK.
BARRASSO: We need to tell China, as well as Mexico, as well as Canada, to get the fentanyl out of our country.
BARTIROMO: Got it.
Watch above via Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures.
