‘Needs to be strategic’: Americans talk Trump tariffs

I’m Dr Frank Luntz, and welcome to the latest edition of America speaks right here at straight aerial News. Today, the conversation is about one of the most controversial issues in economics, the role of tariffs. We have a president who clearly supports them and discusses them often, and not just about countries who mean us ill will, but our neighbors into the north, Canada and to the south in Mexico. So my question for the American people, and in this case, individuals who have voted for and against Trump in the last three elections. Are tariffs a good thing or a bad thing? So let’s get right to it. I’m going to start with Brittany overall in a couple sentences. When you hear the word tariffs, are you thinking good or bad? Brittany from Michigan, Europe.

I am on the fence, but I lean more towards good only because we get charged tariffs as well when we go to other countries, will New Jersey, a tariffs, good or bad? Generally, they’re just a tax. So that’s bad. It blocks free trade and free mobility of goods, and consumers just end up paying more.

Genesis from Washington State, your opinion on tariffs,

I lean more towards the bad side, just because we end up paying more.

Thomas from Washington DC, your opinion,

I think tariffs can be used strategically, particularly against countries that are hurting us, but I think overall, just throwing out tariffs will increase the cost of goods.

Joseph from New York,

I believe they’re good, but I would just like to see the math behind the scenes.

Can you explain what you mean there? I would like to see how we’re going to benefit from them.

Tiffany from Texas, I think they’re bad. And I would also like to see the long term high will be effective.

Rose from California. I believe tariffs are good. It’s going to bring our economy stronger.

I think tariffs can be good in certain scenarios, but in a time of inflation where it’s going to add to the price, particularly to our neighbors on either side. It’s a bad idea for them.

Chris from Florida,

yeah, I concur. I think tariffs can be used strategically against bad actors, but ultimately, you know, broad based tariffs are going to create trade wars that are going to benefit nobody.

Edward from Georgia,

tariffs really highlight. We have a huge difference between the export and import. It is going to gain concessions from Canada and Mexico, which I believe will help the economy. By the way, Edward, I give you credit for having the best backdrop of anyone.

I love that book collection behind you. Selassie tariffs, good or bad? Well, they can be very good, depending on how it’s being implemented. So it can go either way, but most of the time is good. So yeah, Michelle, Florida, tariffs are bad because we’re already dealing with high prices due to inflation.

Robin from Nevada, they can be good,

but not if they’re going to make prices that we pay as consumers higher. I’d like to show you a clip from the address that President Trump gave to Congress last week, and I’m going to ask you to be more specific about how Trump is talking about tariffs and applying tariffs to various economic entities and to various countries. So let’s take a look what Donald Trump had to say if you don’t make your product in America. However, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases, a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries, on average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India,

Mexico and Canada. Have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It’s very unfair. There’s clearly a division in Congress. There’s clearly a division.

In America, how do you evaluate the way the President talks about tariffs, the way that he dangles them? Talks about it in terms of Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, China in particular. Does the President use tariffs effectively as an economic tool, or is he more ineffective by issuing threats without backing them up? Anyone who wants to go but I do want to start with Eric from Ohio, because your state is at the middle, at the center of this tariff discussion. Eric, you’re up first, and then we’ll go to Chris. Think the way he uses them is effective, because he’s trying to get something out of it, but I don’t know in the short term if where we’re at with the economy every day, middle class people can swallow the pain that’ll come with it. In the short term,

he acknowledges Eric that there’ll be some pain.

They

explain that vaguely. He had one sentence in the speech that kind of hinted at it. He didn’t go into detail. There’s a lot of risk and uneasiness, I would say, for a lot of middle Americans that hear that.

So you have that risk, you have that unease. Yeah, I can’t swallow the short term pain of what tariffs would cause as most middle class people wouldn’t Trump and his businesses can’t swallow short term pain. Middle class people might not be able to Chris, your evaluation of Trump and tariffs? Yeah, I think the way he talks about tariffs is incredibly irresponsible. I think he has to realize his words matter and it creates economic instability. The markets have been very volatile. Businesses don’t know what to expect on what they’re going to import from different countries, and that’s going to get that’s going to make other countries closer to China economically. And so predictability is very important. And also, you know, he uses this as some sort of, you know, threat, and he wants to get concessions. But the last few times you’ve done this, the concessions haven’t been significant. They haven’t been sometimes, they’ve just been repeat commitments that from the past. And you know, all it’s doing is hurting our reputation as as an economy, and, you know, creates that instability and unpredictability that’s going to hurt us in the long run. That’s a pretty negative assessment of Trump’s strategy. I want to go to Rose, and I want to go to Joseph, because the two of you have articulated a relatively positive perspective about Trump. Do you think he’s using tariffs effectively? Would you tell him to stop rose. We’ll start with you, and then Joseph, I think this is more of a scare tactic and to wake our allies up, because we have the goods, we have the liquid gold, as he says, and we also have production that other countries want. So if they want to bring their product over here, we gotta charge and vice versa. Now they’re responding saying, Well, if we’re going to have tariffs, they’re going to actually

offer tariffs as well. So it’s more of this, like political threat, I think all cut

if a country is taxing us and we’re not taxing that, I think it’s unfair An eye for an eye, I think it should be even for every country. So on four, two that he mentioned for all for same tax that they’re charging us, we should be charging them.

Brittany, Michigan is also ground zero for products, particularly the automotive industry, that would be affected by tariffs, how do you evaluate how President Trump uses tariffs, both in a policy and communication perspective?

I think that

it’s it needs to be methodical and it needs to be strategic on how he does it. Because, you know, that is the automotive industry. However, a lot of the automotive has been taken out of the cars and everything like that has not been made in the not really made in the US, the companies that’s really, actually have taken over,

like Chrysler is think Fiat, but then I think they got bought. But yes, I think that the terrors can be good, because I think that it needs to be done both ways.

So Lassie, your reaction to Trump’s application of tariffs, what he says and what he does, I think it’s a good thing. I just don’t like the way he is very voice

demanding, like it’s almost like an attack. But I also agree with Rose, you know, I think tariffs will help America the long run.

But I just wish that he will approach it in a more diplomatic form, you know, but definitely a knife one eye, Michelle, you’re up.

I think tariffs are going to make this country even more unstable.

Things are really bad right now for a lot of people, financially, and I think Trump is using the tariffs as a

sort of revenge or a bullying tactic for Canada, especially.

Why do you think he’s gone after I’m just curious. You’re the state that’s furthest away of Canada, of any state in America, and I’m about to ask you, what is your reaction to the fact that he’s been going after Canada.

I have no idea why, because I’ve always known Ken. I know people from there, and I feel like Canada is our biggest ally. So I think he has some sort of vendetta against Trudeau.

Robin, your reaction to Trump and tariffs?

I think he’s a good negotiator, and he’s using that. He puts, he says he’s going to do something, he puts a timeline that he extends it. I think he’s just using it as a negotiation tactic. But I think you know, if they’re going to have tariffs on us, it’s only fair that we do it back. Frank, you’re another state that would be affected by tariffs. I’m less interested in what you think of tariffs, and more interested in how Donald Trump is using them. Can you evaluate how he communicates it and how he seems to adopt the policies around tariffs? I think I understand the question.

I think tariffs can be effective, but what Donald Trump is doing is he’s weaponizing and he’s weaponizing them to two of our closest allies, our border neighbors. You know, if you want to weaponize it, use it against a country that we’re not so close with, but he’s using it in the wrong way. It can be a bargaining tool, but not weaponized in a threat sort of fashion, the way he states it.

Tiffany, I know that you seem to like them, but

tell me about how Trump uses them. Is that something you agree with?

Um, like Miss Robin said earlier that he’s a great negotiator. I don’t know if I would agree with that, because being a great negotiator, you can get things done. So he calls a bluff with negotiating, and then, as Eric kind of mentioned before, that is going to Chris mentioned before, that is going to affect the middle class people. So my thing is the time frame, yes, it’s going to be painful, but can they withstand the pain? And what do you think? What’s your answer that question? I don’t think so. I think it’s going to be horrible,

horrible to people like you. Yes,

by a show of hands. And Chris, I’ll get to you in a moment, by a show of hands. How many of you think you will personally be hurt significantly if Donald Trump’s tariff policy becomes law,

okay, I see five of you, Thomas and Genesis, why do you think you’ll be hurt by the President’s tariff policy?

I personally think because it’s going to increase our pricing, and I live in a state that, I mean, it’s a the cost of living is already ridiculously high,

and our cost of our income does not match our cost of living at all. Do you live in the Seattle area or different area? I live 20 minutes south from them, from Seattle, and do you think tariffs will be damaging to your standard of living, absolutely, because,

because it will be high, prices just will be too high, and what I bring home, I will be able to just

continue living the way I live.

Thomas, why do you think you’ll be hurt by Trump’s tariff policy. Well, I think his tariffs on Canada and Mexico in particular. I mean, he negotiated the US, Mexico, Canada Free Trade Agreement, and now he’s, you know, wants to put 25% tariffs. And I don’t know, you know. I mean, I certainly, I buy a lot of products from Canada and Mexico.

I don’t see that, especially with Canada. I don’t see the point. What’s the point? I mean, what? What are they? What have they? They don’t have any. They’re now they’re going to have tariffs against us on all these products. So, you know, and Mexico is going to announce reciprocal tariffs this weekend. So, I mean, to me, this is, this is, as the Wall Street Journal said, the dumbest trade war ever.

And I get two more of.

You who think you’re going to get hurt, personally, hurt significantly, and then we’re going to hear the other side. Two more of you tell me why you’re going to be hurt.

Calls are going

to increase again. I think when he was doing the tariffs in his first term, the end of Obama’s economy was much better than the state it’s in now, and he can’t Coast off of that, so he’s got four years. If one year goes bad and it gets tight and people really feel that, you know that there’s not as much time and runway this time for us to absorb that, and we’ve already done the last three years with the economy, okay, but that’s more about the nation. Why do you yourself think you’re going to get hurt? Eric

also going to continue to rise. I’m going to feel it every time I buy something. And what costs you particularly worried about

anything that I buy that’s not made in the US, which is probably 70 to 80% of the stuff that I consume in my daily life. Who

else thinks you’re going to be personally hurt significantly by tariffs? Can I get one more opinion from you?

Go

ahead, for me, I personally love exotic foods, right? And many of the items that I do purchase are from Mexico, Canada, you know, China. So I think you know cost of living is going to be expensive. It’s already expensive and real estate.

This is a fair program that provides both sides. Who thinks you’re going to be helped in the end, that you will actually benefit because of Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Raise your hands if you think you’re going to benefit from it.

I see Edward’s hand go up, and you’re the only one whose hand is going okay. And Selassie, so the two of you, Edward, why do you think you’ll personally benefit from it?

Because I believe that Trump will use it to negotiate lower rates for imports, considering that in both of the cases, we export so much to Canada and so much to Mexico that they will have to do so.

The last Why do you think you’ll benefit? I have to agree with, what is his name,

the last guy. Because, yeah, the importation tariffs are going to be very, very minimal, and at least

he’s going to help America. Going to help America, and this will actually bring more

benefits to the to everybody, especially for somebody like me, because, you know, if it because I felt like, if he’s implementing tariffs and to other countries and then getting taxes, you know, money from that that can boost the economy, and if the economy is Working, I feel like every American will feel it. So, you know that that is how I feel, like it could probably help if it’s done right, but it must. It must be done right. You know that way in for you to work. You know,

April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us other countries, we will tariff them. That’s reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us,

we will tax them.

If they do non monetary tariffs

to keep us out of their market, then we will do non monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. There’s a lot of that too. They don’t even allow us in their market.

We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars that create jobs like we have never seen before. I did it with China, and I did it with others, and the Biden administration couldn’t do anything about it because there was so much money, they couldn’t do anything about it. We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer. I can’t imagine to have done this segment even 10 years ago, but Americans have been informed about tariffs. They’ve debated it, they’ve discussed it, they’ve argued it. People have taken both sides of the issue. Over time, there was a time when Republicans were for free trade. Now they appear to be for tariffs. There is a time when the Democrats are for tariffs. Now they seem to be more free trade. So we had to shift. I’m going to ask you, as a way to close this segment, if you were president and could wave a magic wand based on where you are in society, how the economy affects you personally, what would be your tariff policy if you could decide? But I want you to personalize it, and I want you to.

Humanize it. Eric from Ohio, I’m going to start with

you 100% free trade. So anything you want to buy inside the US, I don’t think it hurts us. They tariff us if we send it there, whether somebody in the US wants to buy it or not. Don’t understand why they need to pay a tariff on it. It’s a good thing that consumers can buy things at the cheapest rate globally.

Frank from Arizona, what would be your policy on tariffs? I would apply tariffs only in situations where foreign entities or countries are invading our economy or interfering with our businesses by, say, cheap Chinese steel, for example. And I’m just picking that out and have anything where they’re coming in with unusually low prices and interfering with our economy. I might use it there. Other than that, no.

Thomas, if you could set policy, what would you set it up? I’m generally pro free trade. I think you can use tariffs strategically with people that are not our allies. I think trade wars with our allies will cause both sides to lose. They will put tariffs on us where none exist before, will pay more. They’ll pay more, and it will generally be devastating. And I don’t think you can fight you have tariffs on allies, tariffs on on on people were you know, who are, who are our adversaries. I think we will end up much weaker with much more expensive products in the store. Chris, you’re in charge. What would you do with tariffs? Yeah, I would be in favor of free trade. I would forget about these trade wars with Mexico and Canada. I would focus on China. However, I think China is a bad actor in trade. I think there’s certain things we can do in technology and other industries that you know could get them to the negotiating table to try to get some sort of trade deal so that trade with China is more fair. But otherwise, I would generally be in favor of free trade Genesis. You’re up your policy. What would it be? I am also on board with the free trade, and if needed, I agree that we should charge those to charge us. But there is way. There is ways of communicating,

and those would be

being polite and being being respectful. I think that’s the problem that is happening right now, that is, we’re just, well, we are not. He’s just attacking other countries, and he’s becoming sounding like a bully.

So but will, before I go to you, I just want to show of hands very quickly. Who think that Donald Trump’s language on tariff policy is inappropriate and ineffective. Raise your hands. I don’t care. We support him. Do you think his language on trade is ineffective and inappropriate? Raise your hands.

So it’s a little more than half of you. Okay, will what would be your policy? Yeah, so generally, for free trade, but only with Fair, fair players and players, I mean, countries where they are also engaging in free trade, like and they’re not like, an example would be like a China, like, undercutting prices just to

because they have that government assistance for that. So that’s that will be out against that.

So you’re putting tariffs on China, correct? Yeah, in the industries where I feel like they’re playing unfairly, but you’re not putting tariffs on Canada, or not Canada and not, yeah, there’s no evidence of them, you know, trying to destroy your industry, or, like, on the cut

another country’s prices, Edward, you’re up. What would you do, given the continually emerging concerns for safety and security, including cyber security, I would use tariffs to drive a number of the industries that we have lost to foreign companies back in the United States, where we actually can control the electronics and that is used throughout America.

And Michelle, you got the last word,

I would focus on free trade. And this would affect me, because I do intend to buy a new car this year, and I am concerned about what I’ve been hearing will be tacked on to these new cars.

Why don’t you buy a new car sooner rather than later?

I love my girl. I’ve had her a while, and I’m only going to buy one if I need to, but I anticipate I’ll have to. I hope not, though

we’ll see this is a great conversation,

because there is no clear cut answer. I would also point out to viewers that you could not tell someone’s politics who they voted for based on their opinions on free trade, which is not the same when you talk about Doge, it’s not the same you talk about taxes when it comes to the issue.

Issue of tariffs, you have Republicans and Democrats agree, and internally, Republicans and Democrats disagree,

and I’m sure that this issue is going to be forefront in the months and probably years ahead.

I’m Dr Frank Luntz, this has been America speaks here at straight arrow news. Thank you for listening, and we’ll be back soon. Thank you, all you.