Sen. John Kennedy is confused by Donald Trump’s tariff strategy, but the Louisiana Republican claimed that might be the administration’s strategy.
Trump chaotic tariff policy has caused wild market swings since he took office in January.
Multiple times now, Trump has imposed tariffs on other nations only to pause, rescind and re-implement them within days.
He first did it with Canada and Mexico in February. Trump took it a step further earlier this month when he imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on nearly 60 countries.
He later paused those tariffs for 90 days, with the exception of China where he increased tariffs to 145%. But by Friday, the US Customs and Border Protection said smartphones, computers, and other tech devices and components including semiconductors, solar cells, flat panel TV displays, flash drives, and memory cards were exempt from tariffs.
Several Trump administrations officials then spent the weekend saying there would be exceptions before, Trump himself undercut them on social media saying that there was no tariff exceptions.
On CNN’s The Lead Monday, Kennedy admitted he has no idea what is going on but claim that might be Trump’s negotiation tactic.
“I think I know what’s in the president’s heart, but I don’t know what’s in his head,” Kennedy told host Jake Tapper. “The administration has not given one clear rationale for its tariffs. I think that’s intentional. I don’t know, but my guess is, it’s intentional. And that it’s part of the president’s negotiating strategy. don’t want to feign understanding. I don’t know.”
