GOP's Kennedy compares dire Trump tariff predictions to 'late-night psychic hotlines'
"I followed what all these economists are saying. Most of them make these late-night psychic hotlines look respectable," Kennedy told Fox News Digital at the Capitol. "They don't know any more than anybody else. We're in uncharted waters here."
According to Schumer and Luján, Americans can likely expect to see costs rise enough to equate to a $5,000 per year tax on American families.
Stephen Miller Says Americans Have To Understand How 'Badly' We've Been Ripped Off As A Country
"When the average American family sits down and tries to figure out how they're going to pay for things, and they hear they may pay $5,000 more than they've had to pay before — and they may not be able to buy a new car, they may not be able to support that new drug that grandma needs, they may not be able to take that vacation they were planning for a year — they're going to be outraged," Schumer told reporters.
"It's a huge tax on American families. All – all – to help billionaires get a tax cut."
Read On The Fox News App
Luján seconded the sentiment from Schumer, pointing to the economists that Kennedy blasted as less respectable than a "late-night psychic hotline."
Trump's China Tariffs Face Legal Challenge From Conservative Group Calling Them 'Unlawful'
"There's no question that the American people are the ones that are going to be paying the brunt of this," Luján argued. "The actuaries that have been putting out reports and other economists are suggesting that this is going to be a national sales tax on the American people of about 5,000 bucks year. That's just not right.
"If the president would be open to using targeted tariffs as a tool — something that I'm open to and I think others are — that's one thing," Luján added. "But when he's arbitrarily just going across the board and trying to slap on numbers … I'm very concerned for my constituents that are going to be paying out of pocket."
Kennedy argued such projections had no basis in fact.
"The truth is we don't know. These economists don't know," Kennedy insisted. "These are uncharted waters. We've not had these kind of tariffs in a long time. It may be a net positive. President Trump implemented tariffs in his first term. Didn't seem to hurt the economy. It could be a negative. All I'm saying is that in Washington, D.C., for every economist, there's an equal and opposite economist, and they're usually both wrong."Original article source: GOP's Kennedy compares dire Trump tariff predictions to 'late-night psychic hotlines'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
13 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Europe's heat waves intensify
An opinion essay in Le Figaro, a conservative newspaper, defended air conditioning because 'making our fellow citizens sweat limits learning, reduces working hours, and clogs up hospitals.' Libération, a left-wing daily, countered such arguments, writing that the technology was 'an environmental aberration that must be overcome' because it blows hot air onto streets and guzzles up precious energy. Advertisement 'Is air conditioning a far-right thing?' One talk show asked provocatively, reflecting how divisive the issue had become. While France's heated discussion of air conditioning cooled along with the temperatures in the weeks that followed, increasingly hot summers in Europe mean that the issue is not going anywhere. Decades ago, bickering over air conditioning might have seemed strange in Europe, where there was historically little need for it and where keeping homes warm is still a top concern. But times are changing fast. An analysis of daily temperature data from Copernicus, part of the European Union's space program, shows that much of Europe is now experiencing longer periods of severe heat than it was just 40 years ago. So while many derided air conditioning for years as an unnecessary — and American — amenity, it is now increasingly seen as a necessity to survive scorching summers. Advertisement Despite rising temperatures, only about half of homes in Italy today have air conditioning, according to Italy's national statistics institute. In Spain, real estate data indicates the share is roughly 40 percent. And in France, only an estimated 20 to 25 percent of households are equipped with air conditioning, according to the country's Agency for Ecological Transition. In 2023, 62.5 percent of energy consumed by households in the European Union was used to heat homes, versus less than one percent to cool them, according to EU statistics. Energy costs are also usually higher in Europe than in the United States, where almost 90 percent of homes use some form of air conditioning. The dense architecture of European cities is ill-suited to ungainly air conditioning units, and in places such as Paris, securing the necessary approvals for old or historical apartment buildings can be complex. 'Air conditioning still scares some — many still have in mind countries like the United States, where homes and shops are extremely conditioned,' said Baudouin de la Varende, the co-founder of Ithaque, a French consulting firm that helps households with energy-efficient renovations. But even he said that weatherproofing would help only so much in the coming decades. 'I'm a little saddened that the debate is often boiled down to for or against air conditioning,' he added. 'Most people are in the middle: Air conditioning is a useful tool.' Some of the debate is political posturing. Look beyond the sniping on social media, and there is broad agreement in France that air conditioning is necessary in spaces such as retirement homes, hospitals, and schools. More than 1,800 schools had to close during the worst of last month's heat wave. Few people are clamoring for a cooling unit in every home. Advertisement 'Air conditioning is not black or white,' Agnès Pannier-Runacher, France's environment minister, recently told reporters. 'We need air conditioning to give vulnerable people some respite. But we mustn't do it everywhere.' Much of southern Europe now experiences more than two months each year when daily high temperatures exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Madrid, Spain's capital, has had an average of 63 days above 85 degrees in recent years, up from 29 days per year in the early 1980s. In many places, the heat is not just longer-lasting but also more intense. 40 years ago, temperatures in Madrid rarely climbed above 90 degrees, but in the past five years, a typical summer has included 40 days above 90 degrees. Whether cultural resistance to air conditioning in France will persist in such conditions remains to be seen. Perhaps no one displays that ambivalence better than Christian Meyer, the head of a company near Strasbourg that installs air conditioning units. Despite having a vested interest in promoting air conditioning, he was recently quoted in a local newspaper saying that he wasn't a fan and that he didn't use it himself. For now, as the arguments continue, the government's official heat-related advice takes a middle road, of sorts. Air conditioning is on its list of the options to keep a home cool. But the guidelines warn that it is 'a solution that should be considered only after all other options have been exhausted.' Advertisement This article originally appeared in
Chicago Tribune
13 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Mexico expels 26 cartel figures wanted by US authorities in deal with Trump administration
WASHINGTON — Mexico has expelled 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks sending drugs across the border, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The cartel leaders and other prominent figures were being flown from Mexico to the U.S. on Tuesday, the person said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation that was still ongoing. Those being handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael González Valencia, a leader of 'Los Cuinis,' a group closely aligned with notorious cartel Jalisco New Generation or CJNG. Another person, Roberto Salazar, is accused of participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, the person said. Mexico's Attorney General's Office and Security ministry confirmed the transfers, which were carried out after a promise from the U.S. Justice Department that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty in any of the cases. It's the second time in months Mexico has expelled cartel figures accused of narcotics smuggling, murder and other crimes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs across the border. In February, Mexico handed over to American authorities 29 cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985. Those transfers came days before 25% tariffs on Mexican imports were to take effect. Late last month, President Donald Trump spoke with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and agreed to put off threatened 30% tariffs for another 90 days to allow for negotiations. Sheinbaum has shown a willingness to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico's cartels. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico's sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military. The Trump administration made dismantling dangerous drug cartels a key priority, designating CJNG and seven other Latin American organized crime groups foreign terrorist organizations. Abigael González Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, a top target of the the U.S. government. He was arrested in February 2015 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and had been fighting extradition to the United States since then. Alongside his two brothers, he led 'Los Cuinis,' which financed the the founding and growth of the CJNG, one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Mexico. CJNG traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and other countries and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption. One of his brothers, José González Valencia, was sentenced in Washington's federal court in June to 30 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to international cocaine trafficking. Jose González Valencia was arrested in 2017 under the first Trump administration at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name.
NBC News
14 minutes ago
- NBC News
Black mayors and leaders decry Trump's threats to deploy National Guard in cities
Black civil rights leaders and the mayors of several cities on Tuesday denounced the deployment of the National Guard to the nation's capital to combat crime, calling it 'fundamentally grandstanding' and 'a federal coup.' And by suggesting that other cities, also run by Black mayors, may be next, President Donald Trump was 'playing the worst game of racially divisive politics,' one rights leader said. Trump announced Monday that he would deploy 800 guard members to Washington, D.C., suggesting that the same could happen in New York City, Baltimore, Chicago and Oakland, California. 'When you walk down the street, you're going to see police or you're going to see FBI agents,' Trump said about Washington on Monday. 'And we will bring in the military if it's needed.' Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, said the president's actions and words were racially polarizing, considering crime rates in these cities are largely declining. 'This is a distraction at a time when these cities deserve credit because crime and violence are down in most American cities right now, and this is trying to distract from that success, and in effect, create a de facto police state in these cities,' Morial told NBC News. 'He's playing the worst game of racially divisive politics, and that's all it is,' Morial said. The Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader and head of the National Action Network, said in a statement that 'the people of Washington, D.C. ‒ especially those living on the streets, who need the most care ‒ will suffer, alongside the core principles of our Democracy.' And NAACP president Derrick Johnson questioned the declaration of an emergency in D.C., calling it a 'federal coup.' The White House responded to the criticisms in a statement to NBC News: 'There is nothing divisive about cracking down on crime in our nation's capital to make it safer and more beautiful for all residents and visitors from all around the world,' said White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers. 'Instead of criticizing the President's lawful actions to Make DC Safe Again, Democrat-run cities plagued by violent crime should focus on cleaning up their own streets. This is why Democrats continue to be so unpopular among everyday Americans — they think the President of the United States cracking down on crime in our nation's capital is a bad thing.' Trump federalized the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department over the weekend and called the nation's capital 'one of the most dangerous cities in the world.' It followed the fatal shooting of a congressional intern in July and the carjacking of a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer in D.C. last week, resulting in the arrest of two teenagers. Even with these violent acts, crime in D.C., has been declining for years and is currently at a 30-year low, according to the Justice Department. Nationwide, violent crime has declined, specifically murders, rape, aggravated assault and robbery, according to data released last week by the FBI. Black Americans are four times more likely to experience homelessness in their lifetimes than white Americans, according to a 2023 study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. The D.C. police union, citing staffing shortages and 'mismanagement,' said it supported the federal takeover, but only in a limited, temporary capacity that resulted in a better resourced department. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Trump's move, which he had hinted at for months, is 'unsettling and unprecedented.' The administration forced the removal of the Black Lives Matter street painting that had been prominent in the city since 2020 by threatening to hold back millions in funding if it remained. On Monday, Bowser said that the city's police chief maintains authority over the police force. But Trump said that he had appointed the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Terry Cole, as the head of the Metropolitan Police Department. Morial said that while many National Guards are his friends, 'this is not an assignment they were trained for. This is not an assignment they signed up for. They're being used as political pawns. 'What the White House should be doing is restoring the SNAP cuts and restoring the Medicaid cuts, which are going to do damage to Washington, D.C., and other urban communities,' Morial said. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott was not happy Trump mentioned his city as a potential place where the National Guard would be deployed. 'This is the latest effort by the president to distract from the issues he should be focused on — including the roller coaster of the U.S. economy thanks to his policies,' Scott said in a statement Monday. 'When it comes to public safety in Baltimore, he should turn off the right-wing propaganda and look at the facts.' Homicides are down 28% in Baltimore this year alone, reaching the lowest level of any year on record, with overall crime rates lower than it's been in more than 50 years. 'We still have real work to do to build on this progress—but that work starts and ends here in Baltimore with the local, state, and federal partners who have gotten us this far.' And as Scott pointed out, 'it's not just Baltimore.' In Chicago, violent crime also is down by more than 30% and shootings almost 40%. Mayor Brandon Johnson said the dramatic reductions occurred even as Trump cut ' $158 million in funding for violence prevention programs in cities like Chicago,' as well as Los Angeles, New York, D.C. and Baltimore. Those cuts, he said, are on top of the Trump administration dismantling the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and terminating hundreds of grants for anti-violence programs across the country. 'If President Trump wants to help make Chicago safer, he can start by releasing the funds for anti-violence programs that have been critical to our work to drive down crime and violence,' Johnson said. 'Sending in the National Guard would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts.' The mayor of Savannah, Georgia, Van R. Johnson II, president of the African American Mayors Association, said that while he respects the federal government's responsibility over ensuring national security, deploying the National Guard in D.C. 'may not be the most productive approach, especially when local leaders and law enforcement are already making significant strides in reducing crime and improving community trust.' Johnson implored the Trump administration to work with mayors and to 'support solutions that strengthen law enforcement partnerships and community engagement.' Republicans backed Trump's move. Rep. James Comer, of Kentucky, chair of the House oversight committee, said in a statement: 'For years, the D.C. Council's radical soft-on-crime agenda has emboldened criminals and put public safety at risk in our nation's capital.' Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, the House Democratic leader, vehemently disagreed, saying the action will be a negative force against 'the city's youth and homeless population.'
