This is an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 25 episode of “Morning Joe.”
On Tuesday in Georgia, Donald Trump delivered what was billed by his campaign as a speech on the economy. During those remarks, Trump continued to pitch tariffs as a way to lower costs for Americans. He called tariffs “one of the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard” and “music to my ears.”
That speech came just one day after the former president threatened tariffs on John Deere, following the company’s announcement that it would shift some of its U.S.-based production out of the country.
“As you know, they’ve announced a few days ago that they are going to move a lot of their manufacturing business to Mexico,” Trump said on Monday in Pennsylvania. “I am just notifying John Deere right now that if you do that, we are putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States.”
Business owners, conservatives and even The Wall Street Journal editorial board have not been shy to say what they think of Trump’s tariff proposal. On Tuesday, the WSJ editorial board laid out their thoughts clearly, publishing a piece titled, “A Deere in Trump’s Political Headlights.” The first sentence reads, “Hard to believe, but Donald Trump is giving U.S. companies a reason to think Kamala Harris might be better for their business.”
Yes, you read that right. The conservative-friendly Wall Street Journal editorial board says Trump’s incessant talk of tariffs is making business owners think a Harris administration would put forward economic proposals that would be friendlier toward their companies.
Trump has dumbed down his already inane economic policies, so that now it all comes down to tariffs. If you ask him about child care, he talks to you about tariffs. If you ask him about jobs, he talks about tariffs. If you ask him about the deficit, he talks about tariffs.
He says tariffs will not hurt middle-class people, that they won’t be inflationary. Yes, they will. Trump can’t reverse the laws of economics any more than he can reverse the laws of physics.
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW's "Morning Joe" alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls "revolutionary." In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is "The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again."
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.