Senator Rounds: ‘We’re Going To Support The President’ With Tariffs He Wants

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) signaled support over the weekend for President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs against a number of countries, saying that they can be used to fix the problem on the southern border.

Rounds made the remarks during a Sunday ABC News interview on “This Week” with Jonathan Karl when asked about Trump’s threats to impose tariffs against Mexico, Canada, China, and countries in the BRICS alliance — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia.

“Now he’s got everybody coming in and talking with him, talking about the concerns that he is expressing because he really does believe that tariffs can be a great tool for making sure that our economy grows and thrives,” Rounds said.

“One more thing, the one thing that I have noticed time and again is, is he cares about kids,” he continued. “And what he has seen at the southern border, he’s frustrated with. He doesn’t like to see people suffering. He’s seen what’s happened as these migrants have come north. He wants it to stop. He thinks it’s wrong. And he thinks that by suggesting these tariffs right now, he’s going to get the attention of the leaders in the other countries.”

He said that farmers and ranchers in his state support the tariffs as a tool to force countries like Mexico to stop the millions of illegal aliens pouring into the U.S. every year.

“When I talk to my farmers and to my ranchers about that, they’re concerned about retaliation,” he said. “You know what they tell me time and again? The borders are important. We’re going to do our part as well.”

“If we’ve got to have tariffs, so be it,” he continued. “We’re going to support the president. Let’s get this thing rolling again, and I mean, look. They believe in his America first approach. We want to give him an opportunity to be successful in that.”

WATCH:

President-elect Trump “thinks that by suggesting these tariffs right now, he’s going to get the attention of the leaders in the other countries,” Republican Sen. Mike Rounds tells @JonKarl. https://t.co/9UlAYBLvyW pic.twitter.com/kO3ssn4eNT

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 1, 2024