(DCNF)—Former Democrat Party strategist Dan Turrentine said Friday on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” that he doesn’t believe many Democrats are against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, claiming the party has “no economic agenda.”
Trump announced Friday that he was examining whether the administration could send rebate checks to Americans after the U.S. ran a $27 billion budget surplus in June. As Fox News host Jesse Watters raised the possibility of stimulus checks, he asked Turrentine if Democrats would oppose them.
“Absolutely not. Everyone’s for Santa Claus. I mean, it’s genius,” Turrentine said.
The U.S. surplus comes months after Trump announced his “Liberation Day” in April, which imposed a sweeping set of reciprocal tariffs on a handful of countries. While Trump later announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs, the initial move jump-started negotiations with various nations after a baseline tax rate of 10% had been imposed across the board.
“So you can be against the tariffs, but for the rebate checks? That the tariffs created?” Watters asked.
“I don’t think many Democrats are against the tariffs. They may criticize how Trump is trying to do the tariffs. But look, this is one of those things where we have no economic agenda,” Turrentine said. “Are we going to say, ‘No, we want to do free trade deals?’ Right now, the ball is completely in Trump’s court. And all we can do is nip around his heels and say, ‘Hey, you’re not doing it quite as well as we think.’”
Trump has secured major deals with countries like Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Iraq. Democrats have hesitated to praise the president’s success, with many opposing the initial tariffs. In April, 12 Democrat-led states sued the Trump administration over the tariff policy, claiming Trump imposed the tariffs on “whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority,” according to the Associated Press.
According to Reuters, however, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said July 8 that with the U.S. already having taken in about $100 billion in tariff income, it could potentially grow to $300 billion by the end of 2025.
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