Commerce secretary spins himself in circles trying to sell Trump's tariffs

President Donald Trump’s embattled Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on CNN Thursday to defend Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which the president announced in a rambling speech on Wednesday.As the stock market took a nosedive after Trump’s announcement, Lutnick told CNN’s Pamela Brown that everything is just fine ... er, that things will be fine in the future if they weren’t actually fine now.“So, you've got $5 trillion committed to be building factories in America. If you divide that by a $30 trillion economy, that's a whole lot of growth. And you're going to get that starting in the fourth quarter,” he said.The “fourth quarter” begins in (checks notes) October—quite a kick of the can down the road.xxYouTube VideoWhen Brown pressed him on Trump’s promises to lower costs for Americans, Lutnick boasted about “no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax increases.”“That’s not even in effect yet,” Brown responded.xxYouTube VideoLutnick then launched into a series of lies about other countries’ trade policies, leading to this fun exchange: Lutnick: Europe won't let us sell beef. Australia won't let us sell beef. Why?Brown: Because of hormonal chemicals.Lutnick: Yeah, no, no that’s not why—xxYouTube VideoTrump’s tariffs are widely viewed as a poorly enacted policy. Economist Mark Zandi called it a “lose-lose” for U.S. jobs and industry. The forecast is so grim that even 4 GOP senators joined Democrats in rebuking Trump’s tariffs.Lutnick is likely working so hard to sell Trump’s tariffs because his job is at stake, with White House insiders saying he’s likely to be the fall guy as the economy continues to tank.Campaign Action

President Donald Trump’s embattled Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on CNN Thursday to defend Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which the president announced in a rambling speech on Wednesday. As the stock market took a nosedive after Trump’s announcement, Lutnick told CNN’s Pamela Brown that everything is just fine ..

. er, that things will be fine in the future if they weren’t actually fine now. “So, you've got $5 trillion committed to be building factories in America.

If you divide that by a $30 trillion economy, that's a whole lot of growth. And you're going to get that starting in the fourth quarter,” he said. The “fourth quarter” begins in (checks notes) October—quite a kick of the can down the road.

x x YouTube Video When Brown pressed him on Trump’s promises to lower costs for Americans, Lutnick boasted about “no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax increases.” “That’s not even in effect yet,” Brown responded. x x YouTube Video Lutnick then launched into a series of lies about other countries’ trade policies, leading to this fun exchange: Brown: Because of hormonal chemicals .

Lutnick: Yeah, no, no that’s not why— x x YouTube Video Trump’s tariffs are widely viewed as a poorly enacted policy. Economist Mark Zandi called it a “lose-lose” for U.S.

jobs and industry. The forecast is so grim that even 4 GOP senators joined Democrats in rebuking Trump’s tariffs. Lutnick is likely working so hard to sell Trump’s tariffs because his job is at stake, with White House insiders saying he’s likely to be the fall guy as the economy continues to tank.

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