Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took his latest swipe Tuesday at President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, likening his trade war to “picking fights” with allies including Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
“You have a struggle for influence, both on the commercial side and on the national security side, between authoritarian regimes and democratic regimes,” McConnell, the former longtime Senate GOP leader, told Kentucky radio host Terry Meiners, naming China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and “Iran’s proxies” as the authoritarians.
“It’s important for America, in my opinion, to continue to be the leader of the good guys,” he continued. “I think that’s what we do very well, and I’m hopeful that we’ll quit picking fights with our allies and understand that people like Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted.”
Republican leadership on Capitol Hill has shown no willingness to claw back Congress’s tariff authority after Trump imposed a sweeping set of “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 that he later paused for all countries with the exception of China. But McConnell is one of a growing number of GOP senators willing to be openly critical. Earlier this month, he co-sponsored legislation that would sunset any tariff imposed by a president unless it is congressionally approved within 60 days.
“This is not just a current thing. I’ve said for years I’m not a fan of tariffs. We’ve been into the sort of minor league tariff fights over bourbon,” McConnell said, referencing his home state’s dominance over the popular liquor. “[Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)] and I, for example, typically who have some differences about how to approach things, agree that tariffs are, in fact, a tax increase because that additional cost is passed on.”
McConnell and Paul were among a quartet of Senate Republicans who voted with Democrats to roll back Trump’s more narrow tariffs against Canada in the Senate, but the legislation will not be taken up by the House. Paul is leading the Senate push to repeal Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs as well after the president sparked a global trade war and market turmoil.
The Trump administration’s stated goals for the tariffs have varied, ranging from combatting the flow of fentanyl into the United States to revitalizing domestic manufacturing. Conservative allies, such as Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), have publicly wondered “what his end goal is, what he’s going to be satisfied with.” Republicans, who’ve traditionally been free trade advocates, breathed a sigh of relief over the recent, 90-day tariff pause.
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McConnell also questioned “what an entirely American product is” in an era of globalization that allows foreign companies to partially build their products in the U.S.
“You take the Toyota, for example: 10,000 jobs in Kentucky. They got parts of those Toyotas from Mexico, from Canada, from Japan itself,” McConnell said. “So, what’s your definition of a — I’m just not a fan of tariffs.”