DGA Statement on Donald Trump and Republicans’ New Cost-Raising Tariffs

DGA Statement on Donald Trump and Republicans’ New Cost-Raising Tariffs

Following Donald Trump’s announcement of a new round of cost-raising tariffs, DGA Communications Director Sam Newton released the following statement on how the tariffs will continue to be a “lethal issue” for Republicans running for governor: 

“As Donald Trump continues to jack up prices on everything, including this new round of cost-raising tariffs, Republicans running for governor have continued to tout this deeply unpopular agenda that is making life more expensive for families. While Trump and Republicans play games with people’s pocketbooks, Democratic governors and candidates have been running on real plans to lower costs and make life easier for families in their states. That contrast is another major issue for Republicans running for governor who will now have to answer for how Trump’s latest tariffs are costing Americans every single day.”

See more below on how the tariffs are a massive liability for Republicans running for governor:

• The Associated Press covered how in governors’ races across the country, Democrats are making tariffs a “lethal issue” for Republicans, whose support for cost-raising tariffs will be a “motivating issue for many voters.”
• In Nevada, Joe Lombardo, the most vulnerable governor, said he thinks Nevadans should “feel a little pain” from Trump’s tariffs that have dealt “a heavy blow to a state economy still so reliant on tourism.” Workers “are seeing reduced hours, smaller tips and layoffs,” on top of an unemployment rate that “remains among the highest in the nation.”
• In Georgia, Rick Jackson bragged that he made money off Trump’s tariffs and has refused to speak out against Trump’s latest round of tariffs. Georgia families have already spent $1,200 more on average, business owners are calling the tariffs “a gut punch,” and “auto exports dropped significantly” out of the Port of Savannah.
• In Wisconsin, Tom Tiffany has been outspoken in his support of the tariffs, doubling down by saying that he’s “in support of the president’s policies.” Top economic development leaders are warning that the latest round of tariffs will have “serious consequences for Wisconsin’s economy”, and farmers and ranchers have already spoken out about how the last round of tariffs could push them to “go under.”
• In Iowa, Zach Lahn has defended the tariffs, saying they “work as intended.” Meanwhile, Iowa farmers are under “extreme financial distress” and “on the verge of a crisis” as the tariffs send fertilizer prices up.
• Michigan’s John James has voted multiple times to keep the cost-hiking tariffs in place and has said they “level the playing field” even though “increased costs from tariffs were as much as $3,200” for the average household in Michigan. An economist recently warned, “No region of the country is more exposed to these risks than the Midwest. And no state is more exposed to these risks than Michigan.”
• In Arizona, Andy Biggs has repeatedly voted to protect and expand the cost-hiking tariffs and called them “a brilliant economic strategy.” He even said they were “not inflationary,” despite small businesses suffering from the rising cost of food and fuel and “cotton farmers taking a major financial hit” from the tariffs.

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