CNN's Brianna Keilar made things awkward for Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) after he said he was supporting President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Mexico even as he admitted they would hurt the American economy.
During a contentious interview, Keilar pointed out that Trump's tariffs faced significant opposition from within his own party, and she said that many of them had described it as a kind of "economic ransom" in which the president held American businesses and consumers hostage to get Mexico to change its behavior.
"I disagree with that assessment," Reed said. "What is being deployed are trade tools to change behavior."
Keilar then asked Reed if he believed that American businesses and consumers would wind up being hurt by these tariffs.
"Well, obviously," he conceded. "If you're going to have increased tariffs, someone is going have to pay for them, and at the end of the day that goes to the... consumers in all the countries that are impacted."
This seemed to confuse Keilar.
"Why is shooting yourself in the foot a good tool?" she asked.
"Well, it's not just shooting yourself in the foot," he said. "I wouldn't agree with that."
He went on to explain that it would be worth causing some short-term pain if it resulted in better trade agreements and immigration policies.
"So then it sounds like you're saying it's shooting everyone in the foot, but it's OK because it's a means to an end," she responded.
