GOP strategist and Executive Director of Principles First Brittany Martinez joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss President Trump's tariffs and the Congressional response.
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00:00The economy shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, and that's the first time the economy
00:07contracted in a couple of years. But President Trump is saying, hey, this isn't my economy,
00:11that is not my fault. I want to read exactly what he posted on Truth Social. Quote,
00:16this is Biden's stock market, not Trump's. I didn't take over until January 20th. Tariffs
00:21will soon start kicking in and companies are starting to move into the U.S. in record numbers.
00:26Our country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden overhang. This will take a while,
00:30but it has nothing to do with tariffs, only that he left us with bad numbers. But when the boom
00:36begins, it will be like no other. Be patient. When do you think this tariff boom will happen,
00:42if at all? Economists aren't saying this message. They're not singing the same tune. They're saying,
00:47hey, with tariffs, a recession is more likely than not. They're saying, hey, rising prices could
00:54happen because of tariffs will happen. There will be less disposable income. So there's a major
00:59disconnect between what President Trump saying and what everyone else is saying. What do you think
01:04about his post right there? I mean, I'll be honest, I think the president is a pretty stubborn man. He
01:09doesn't want to be proven wrong. He's going to go full guns blazing on this. I don't know that I don't
01:15know what would change his mind other than very, very poor approval ratings. And I think we're on our
01:20way there. And, you know, I think he thinks he knows best and has sort of put himself around
01:26people. He surrounded himself this term with folks who may be are not as qualified from the first
01:32term. Think about all the people who ended up getting fired and then, you know, they're on his
01:36bad list. Right. And so now he wants to be surrounded by people who trust him, believe in him, say
01:43whatever he says is fine and great and will go out on TV especially and support him. And so I think
01:49that's I don't know what he can do other than to remove the tariffs and say, you know what,
01:53we tried it. It was wrong. Also, it's really rich coming from a billionaire who says it's going to
01:59hurt a little bit. Oh, kids, instead of having 10 toys, maybe you'll just have two toys and they
02:03might be a little bit more expensive than they normally would be. I mean, it's giving Jimmy Carter
02:07vibes. And that's not how you want to be starting the beginning of your presidency.
02:11And that's messaging that people didn't like coming from Democrats when Democrats were saying,
02:16no, the economy is doing well. If you're just thinking it, it's that it's not doing
02:21well is essentially all in your head. And that's a large reason why they lost in 2024.
02:26A bipartisan resolution to undo Trump's tariffs failed in the Senate this week. It doesn't seem
02:32like while Republicans or while Democrats rather in Congress are more vocal about opposing tariffs,
02:38it doesn't seem like Republicans want to really get involved or get in Trump's way.
02:43That's at least something that Congressman Mike Levin said to me earlier today. He said,
02:49Republicans are saying one thing privately, a different thing publicly. Do you think there
02:53needs to be congressional action here when it comes to President Trump's tariffs?
02:57I think so. And Congress all about signed away that power about a month ago or so when they said,
03:02oh, you know what, Trump can have control of the tariffs. But the thing is, is that our founders
03:06created three separate but equal branches of government so we can have checks and balances. I think they'd be
03:12rolling over in their graves if they saw what we'd done on this tariff thing.
03:16And yeah, I think Congress needs to check the president on this and especially Republicans.
03:21You know, it's one thing for Democrats to oppose. But when you're on the opposite side,
03:25you're generally going to oppose when it is a Republican who brings forth actual concerns.
03:29I think that brings credibility to the issue that, hey, this isn't just something
03:33that the liberal lunatics are worried about, which is what the Trump administration has called
03:38some of the people going out and protesting. It's like normal Republicans and people who are
03:42fiscal hawks saying, you know what, this isn't the way to do things and this isn't going to help
03:46the American people.