President Donald Trump formally announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a move that was met with retaliatory tariffs from the United States’ neighbors. (Trump also announced tariffs on China as part of his order.) 

Economic analysts warn that the tariffs will lead to higher consumer prices, could potentially “sabotage economic growth,” and could cost the average American household “the equivalent of $1,170 in income.” Trump himself even acknowledged that Americans might feel “some pain” from his tariff decision. 

Yet Fox News figures are jumping in to defend Trump’s trade war. They are also accusing America's allies and neighbors of taking advantage of the country.

While some Fox figures attempted to justify Trump’s tariff moves by claiming Trump was acting in the name of balancing trade and stopping the flow of drugs into the country, Trump went onto Truth Social to threaten Canada, saying once again that our northern ally should become “our Cherished 51st State.” 

• Fox & Friends Weekend host Rachel Campos-Duffy: “Our neighbors are not playing nice with us.” Fox host Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is the wife of Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, argued that while we might not want to “have antagonistic relationships with our neighbors,” Canada will get hurt more in this game of “chicken,” and argued “we do have, still have, the economic upper hand in this, and Donald Trump knows it, and he’s wielding it.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Sunday, 2/2/25]

• Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade justified Trump’s tariffs by saying Trump is “rebalancing trade to get the deficit down and get our economy rolling in the long term.” After Trump denied tariffs were as a negotiation tactic, Kilmeade said, “I personally think that's part of the negotiation.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 2/1/25]

• Former Trump economic adviser Steve Moore, appearing on Fox News Live, supported Trump’s tariffs “even as a free trade guy,” arguing they’d save lives in America. Moore claimed that the tariffs would make Mexico “​​start being more cooperative in taking on the drug cartels and saving potentially thousands of lives.” [Fox News, Fox News Live, 2/1/25]

• Fox News contributor Mike Pompeo: “Tariffs make sense when you have an objective.” Former CIA director and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “the tariffs are legitimate means of meeting an end,” and claimed that Trump was just demanding “fair, even, reciprocal trade.” Pompeo also suggested that “some of the risk of inflation that people talk about is likely overstated." [Fox News, Fox News Live, 2/1/25]