Former Vice President Mike Pence Calls Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs ‘Harmful’

Former Vice President Mike Pence criticized President Donald Trump’s recent efforts to raise tariffs, describing them as “harmful” to consumers.

“The initial reciprocal tariffs that he unveiled would be the largest peacetime tax hike on the American people in the history of this country,” Pence said in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press.

Pence argued that Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” in April was nothing of the sort. The new tariff regime included a baseline 10% tariff on all imported goods, with significantly higher rates applied to specific countries.

Trump paused most tariffs days later. Pence praised this action, saying he was “glad” it happened.

But when asked about Trump’s idea that other countries pay for tariffs, Pence was not having it.

“What I see in this administration is a steady drive toward a baseline of maybe even 10% tariffs that I think would be harmful to jobs in America. It would be harmful to consumers in America,” he said. “When Americans buy goods overseas, the company that imports those goods in this country pays the tariff and more often than not passes that along in higher prices to consumers.”

Since Trump’s “Liberation Day,” tariff rates have fluctuated erratically based on the president’s whims. The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index plunged in April due to the threat of tariffs, and economists predict it will continue to deteriorate amid the tariff uncertainty.