Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) blasted President Donald Trump over his newly-announced tariffs, calling his economic approach outdated and damaging.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” Wednesday, the former vice presidential candidate warned that Trump’s trade war would have dire consequences for working Americans.
Calling the effect of sweeping tariffs “inconceivable,” Walz wondered why Trump seems so fixated on policies from a bygone era.
“You almost have to be an amateur psychologist on this,” he told Hayes. “It’s like Trump is stuck in the ’80s. His music, his clothing, his thinking.”
The governor dismissed the president’s long-standing support for tariffs and argued they simply don’t work.
“Every economist, conservative or liberal, will tell you they fail. We use them strategically, but he doesn’t fundamentally understand trade,” Walz said.
Gov. Tim Walz, here during SXSW in Austin, Texas, on March 8, tore into President Donald Trump’s trade policies on Wednesday night. Amanda Stronza via Getty Images
He then took aim at Trump’s self-proclaimed business expertise. Trump’s real estate ventures have filed for bankruptcy protection six times, though he has claimed those are strategic moves to avoid repaying debt.
“The biggest myth in this country is that Donald Trump knows anything about business,” he continued. “He’s bankrupted every single one he’s been in, and now he’s bankrupting the country.”
Walz echoed economic forecasts that warned the tariffs amount to a tax on working Americans.
“This is a tax hike we’ve never seen in our lifetimes, and it’s going to have a dramatic effect,” he said.
Not long after Trump debuted steep duties on global allies and adversaries alike, people witnessed stock markets across the world plummet.
By Thursday morning, global indexes — including those in Europe, Hong Kong, and South Korea — had dropped around 2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 tumbled even further.