Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said Wednesday that President Trump firmly placed his stamp on the U.S. economy with his tariff policies and is to blame for the “uncertainty” and “chaos” that has followed.
Joining MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez, Michael Steele and Symone Sanders Townsend on “The Weeknight,” Baldwin agreed that “this is Trump’s economy now.”
“And he ran on lowering costs for people. That was the issue last year. And now every action he’s taking appears to be raising costs for families, whether that’s food at the grocery store,” the senator said.
“I talk to my farmers and my manufacturers and my small businesses every day, and they talk about the cost of the uncertainty and the chaos because of Trump’s tariffs,” she added.
Trump this week started sending letters to world leaders informing them of incoming tariff rates for their imports, targeting some key trading partners and poorer nations with steep duties on U.S. imports.
The moves have made financial markets wobble.
In early April, Trump unveiled “reciprocal” tariffs on numerous countries, using a calculation based on trade deficits. After stocks plummeted on the move, Trump dropped those rates to 10 percent for 90 days to give time to negotiate trade deals.
The stock market has bounced back despite Trump maintaining steep tariff threats, setting a new deadline of Aug. 1.
“Tech Stocks, Industrial Stocks, & NASDAQ, HIT ALL-TIME, RECORD HIGHS! CRYPTO, ‘Through the Roof.’ NVIDIA IS UP 47% SINCE TRUMP TARIFFS. USA is taking in Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday.
Trump has urged Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, given easing inflation. However, Powell has pointed to economic uncertainty around Trump’s tariffs, and the Fed has kept interest rates stable since Trump’s return to office.
When asked last week if Trump’s tariffs held up the Fed’s plan to cut interest rates, Powell affirmed.
“I think that’s right,” he said at a central banking conference in Portugal. “We went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs. … All inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs.”
As Trump publicly ponders firing Powell, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested he’d be open to leading the Federal Reserve as well.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
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