Kentucky Senate Republican candidate Rep. Andy Barr has stopped opposing President Donald Trump’s tariff policies now that he is running for Senate.
Barr now says that Trump’s tariff plans will serve as “jet fuel” for the American economy.
“In the short term, there’s obviously turbulence with this. We need the turbulence because in the long run, we’re going to have access to markets and we’re going to have less disruption and we’re going to have more free trade,” he explained in May. “Thank goodness he’s doing it because it gives us the chance to level the playing field.”
But during the 2018 midterm elections, Barr was asked during a debate with his Democrat opponent if he is “standing up to the president on these tariffs.”
The Kentucky Republican said, “I am. I absolutely am. And I am a co-sponsor on a bill that the administration opposes – the Global Trade Accountability Act.”
At an event with then-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Barr said in October 2018 he prefers there to be no tariffs.
“My view and I think the Speaker’s view as a long-time free-trader is that the ideal level of a tariff is zero. A tariff is a tax. So where I want to go with these negotiations eventually is zero tariffs on all sides of every border,” he explained.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), whom Barr has described as his “mentor,” penned an op-ed in April claiming that Trump’s tariff policies would raise the cost of living in Kentucky by $1,200 per year.
McConnell was also one of four Republicans to break GOP ranks in April and vote to undo President Trump’s tariffs and deal an “embarrassing blow to Trump,” according to the Hill.
“At a time when Americans are tightening their belts, we would do well to avoid policies that heap on the pain,” McConnell said in a statement at the time. “We ought to strengthen our friendships abroad, and reinforce our allies as pillars of American prosperity and security.”
In contrast to Barr, Nate Morris, a pro-Trump Senate Republican candidate from Kentucky, cheered how Trump’s trade policies helped bring a $2.5 billion investment from Apple to manufacture all iPhone and Apple Watch glass in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Morris said in a statement:
It’s great to see that Apple is investing $2.5 billion into Kentucky to manufacture the glass for their iPhones and Apple Watches. It’s also great that we have a President who rejects globalist trade deals that ship jobs overseas and actually cares about creating good-paying manufacturing jobs for American workers. President Trump’s America First policies are benefiting Kentucky every single day.
Don’t let anyone else take the credit for these new jobs coming to Kentucky – this is happening strictly because of the leadership of President Trump. It’s also a good reminder that RINOs who have openly attacked Trump’s tariffs over the years, like Andy Barr and his “mentor” Mitch McConnell, couldn’t have been more wrong.
He added, “These jobs are coming to Kentucky because of the President’s America First tariffs, and it’s a disgrace that Andy Barr once bragged that he was ‘standing up to Trump’ to fight against his tariff agenda.”
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