Democrat Chris Coons signals support for some Trump tariffs

It has only been a few days since President Donald Trump announced his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariff plans, and Democrats across the country have wasted no time in assailing the move in apocalyptic terms.

However, Trump did find some liberal support for tariffs – at least to a limited degree – from frequent foe Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), who suggested on Friday that certain such sanctions could be a benefit to the nation, as Breitbart reports.

Coons weighs in on tariffs

During Friday’s installment of On Balance from NewsNation, Coons offered insights into the sort of tariffs he might find acceptable, even as the rest of his party continues to rail loudly against Trump’s recent trade moves.

According to Coons, he could get on board with placing tariffs on “dirty steel from China and Russia,” suggesting that such actions would amount to “leveling the playing field.”

Coons continued, “So I don’t necessarily think tariffs are always bad,” adding that he will “have to see whether this is a negotiating tactic or whether they stay in place.”

The lawmaker did go on to say, however, “But I think tariffs on our close partners and allies should be used sparingly, if at all,” an apparent dig at the president’s wide-ranging tariff announcement of Wednesday, and he suggested that if tariffs are in place for the long haul, “prices will go up for millions of Americans and our markets will go down.”

Democrats vow to fight

Striking a far less measured tone than Coons were a number of Democrats who pledged to battle back against Trump’s tariff plans, promising to fight “tooth and nail” for their reversal, as ABC reported.

Leveling particular criticism of Trump’s tariffs was Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who said of Republicans, “They know [the tariffs are] a tax hike on the American people. They know that the stock market is in turmoil, risking people’s retirements.”

Schumer went on, stating his belief that the GOP understands that “consumer confidence is down and the odds of a recession – something people hate, it’s harder to find a job, keep a job, maintain your weekly budget if a recession occurs – and now our greatest financial prognosticators are saying the chances of recession because of these tariffs, this tariff tax, goes way up.”

Adding his voice to the chorus of liberal detractors was House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who declared that the tariffs imposed by Trump will cause untenable spikes in prices for everyday goods.

“This is not Liberation Day. It’s Recession Day in the United States of America. That’s what the Trump tariffs are going to do,” Jeffries stated.

Trusting the process

Calling for cooler heads to prevail was Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said, “I trust the president’s instincts. We are fully supportive of his initiatives, and we’ll see how it all shakes out.”

Trump, for his part, appears as confident as ever, noting that the tariffs offer him “great power to develop deals with other countries, noting that “if somebody said that we’re going to give you something that’s so phenomenal,” he is open to discussions.

Progress toward Trump’s goals appears to already be underway, given that on Sunday morning, White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told ABC News, “More than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin negotiations,” seemingly vindicating that notion that the president’s decisive action has, as he put it, placed him firmly in the “driver’s seat.”