Newsmax host on Trump's tariffs: “You're going to have some suffering”
Rob Schmitt: “But the truth is, this is painful. This is a painful change, shifting anything.”
Published
Citation
From the April 2, 2025, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight
ROB SCHMITT (HOST): So let's talk about the tariffs. It was interesting to see them roll out today. He feels like he's softening a bit. He's saying, you know, we're only going to be going at about half of what they do to us to try and reinforce that idea to the American people that this isn't just — you know, he's not just trying to gut the economy. He's really trying to do what's right for this country. Right?
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (GUEST): Yes. And I understand where the president is coming from. I understand his objective. I share it. America is the wealthiest country in all of human history. We buy a lot of stuff. Every business and every foreign country wants to sell stuff to Americans. What the president is saying is, if you want to sell stuff to Americans, move your business to America and hire Americans and contribute to our economy, don't just sell us stuff. And I agree with him.
In the long run, he's right. But in the long run, we're all dead. The short term matters as well, and the truth is that we don't know what the impact will be short term on the American economy. I've heard a bunch of economists over the last month, some say that it will cause the economy to grow exponentially, others say the tariffs will tank the economy. My experience with Washington economists is that they make those late night psychic hotlines look respectable. Nobody knows the impact of these tariffs. We're just going to have to wait and see. Not short term anyway.
SCHMITT: And that's understandable. I mean, what you're saying is, you know, the harsh truth of I think doing anything politically bold in this country, is that do you have enough time? Is there enough time before the midterms where it won't cost us anything?
But the truth is, this is painful. This is a painful change, shifting anything. I mean, this country, our economy is like the Titanic. Flipping it in a different direction is difficult to do. It takes time to get it done. And in that time you're going to have some suffering. But I don't know that that means that we should just continue to move on this way as a country that's tremendously in debt, a country that is — you know, I think he's proven pretty well, has taken advantage of. Isn't it right to at least try to do the right thing and not think about politics?