(NewsNation) — Geraldo Rivera said President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have the potential to backfire in an extraordinary way.
“It’s a ‘but,’ but if it’s BS, if the numbers are fake, if they’re political numbers, then this whole thing is going to blow up in his face,” Rivera said on “NewsNation Now.”
Trump announced plans for sweeping tariffs Wednesday, saying “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Trump unveils ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, raising trade tensions
Trump held up a chart while speaking, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.
Rivera questioned whether Americans who have experienced three recessions since 2001 will be willing to accept higher prices for his global trade war.
“People hate pain,” said Rivera. “You don’t mind people paying charges and so forth if it’s not you. But if it is you, then you look at it and you say, ‘Why am I paying that?’”
Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs: Here’s how much countries are getting hit
The president said the tariff rates he’s imposing, steep as they are, don’t match the levies that some countries impose on U.S. exporters. He’s calling the rates he chose the “discounted reciprocal tariff.”
Rivera agrees with Trump that the U.S. is “being ripped off” in trade deals and said he “applauds” the president in calling for tariffs but also “hopes he’s right.”
