On Thursday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) stated that the same people in the Trump administration who want permanently high tariffs, which are “just taxes on the American people” are also pushing for tax increases on the rich “And that would be a tax on every small business, every job creator. And you know what? That’s what Kamala Harris campaigned on.”
Co-host Joe Kernen said, “Senator, maybe the same group that’s whispering in the president’s ear about what to do with the tariffs — the permanent tariffs, maybe they’re the same ones talking about not extending all the tax cuts from 2017. There are some that are talking about a millionaire tax, which is a Democrat idea. They forget that small businesses use that. They would get a tax increase under that. And then, this most favored nation idea for drug pricing for Medicaid, that’s akin to importing drug price controls from Europe, which hasn’t innovated on a drug in I don’t know how many years, maybe Wegovy or Ozempic or something.”
Cruz responded, “So, Joe, you are exactly right. It’s the exact same people in the administration that are arguing, number one, for high tariffs forever. And, look, they’re fundamentally, — tariffs are taxes. If you leave tariffs in place forever, they’re just taxes on the American people. So, I’m all for tariffs as leverage to get lower tariffs from other countries and to open up their markets. That’s good for Texas. It’s good for America. But there are those in the administration who just like tariffs and want trillions in new taxes. And they’re the exact same people who are saying, gosh, we should raise taxes on the top level. And that would be a tax on every small business, every job creator. And you know what? That’s what Kamala Harris campaigned on. That’s what she promised. And I’ve got to say, the folks in the administration, they’ve decided to call themselves populists. But just being a Democrat and wanting higher taxes and more regulation, that’s not populist, that’s embracing the failed ideas of Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden. Let’s not do that. Let’s be real populists, which means fighting for blue-collar workers and jobs. That’s what I’m doing every day, and I think that’s exactly what President Trump is doing as well.”
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