Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said President Donald Trump’s proposal for $12 billion in aid to help to farmers hurt by tariffs was a “Depression-era program.”
Partial transcript as follows:
BRENNAN: You are really softening your criticism that you voiced earlier this week. You sent a letter to the White House saying there’s already permanent damage to the U.S. from the trade war. You said it’s becoming more and more like a Soviet-era economy.
JOHNSON: Well, surely the $12 billion is a Depression-era program which improves Ronald Reagan’s maxim that the closest thing to eternal life on earth is a government program. That’s not going to work in any government’s hands. My hope is that by calling a truce by moving forward to completing these deals we never even have to try to implement that $12 million program. That would be a mess. My responsibility is to stay in touch with my constituents then convey harm being done by these trade wars by these tariffs, and $12 billion shows the president is listening. President Trump is trying to shock the world trading system because ever once World War II America has been very generous, our partners have taken advantage of our generosity.
BRENNAN: Do you support the $12 billion in aid or you don’t?
JOHNSON: No. No. Hopefully it never gets implemented. What I’m supporting is President Trump’s goal of free trade, fair trade, reciprocal trade and we haven’t had it. He’s trying to shock the system. I think the signal that he called a truce, that he at least understands there’s harm being done he’s trying to some way to mitigate that harm. The best way to mitigate the harm concludes the trade dealing with Europe, with Mexico, with Canada. conclude NAFTA then as a united trading world we can go to China and demand that they stop stealing our industrial secrets, military secrets, start abiding by the World Trade Agreement because China represents more than 60% of our trade deficit. They are the primary problem. I just don’t agree with the fact if we’re at war with everybody we’re going to adequately be able to address the main problem which is China.
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