Hassett on Trump’s Tariffs: I Don’t Think That You’re Going to See a Big Effect on the Consumer in the U.S.

RUSH EXCERPT:
HASSETT: "I actually saw in this story that you just gave, George, there’s kind of a logical disconnect between the stories, the competing stories, that your team is using to attack President Trump. On the one hand you’re saying the countries are really angry. They’re going to have to retaliate. On the other hand, you’re saying consumers are going to bear the cost and this will drive inflation up. If U.S. Consumers are bearing the cost, there’s no reason for the countries to be angry. So the fact is the countries are angry and retaliating and, by the way, coming to the table, I got a report last night that more than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin negotiation. But they’re doing that because they understand that they bear a lot of the tariff. And I don’t think you’re going to see a big effect on the consumer. The reason we have a persistent long-run trade deficit these people have a supply. They’ve been dumping goods into the country in order to create jobs, say, in China. And, George, I promise you, I’ll answer your question directly and not filibuster. I’ll stop with that."