MSNBC's Joe Scarborough expressed shock at President Donald Trump's latest comments about the impact of his tariffs.
The president dismissed concerns about the economic consequences of his sweeping tariffs, saying Americans would simply have to make do with less and brushing aside fears of a recession. The "Morning Joe" host was stunned by his lack of concern.
"What's so fascinating is when we had [The Atlantic's editor in chief] Jeff Goldberg in the other day, he said, you know, we always talk about how Donald Trump will move anywhere and he doesn't really believe in anything," Scarborough said.
"The one thing Jeffrey Goldberg said while he's in the White House, he said, you can see it in his eyes. You can read it, like, he believes in tariffs. He's believed in tariffs since 1987, he's moving forward with tariffs. I think what is remarkable and what we have not heard other presidents say is, yeah, maybe we'll get go into, maybe we'll go into recession. Maybe your kids need to get by with less at Christmas, maybe you need to get by with less."
"Never heard any president say that ever, which may also lead to what you've heard from inside the White House, what I've heard from inside the White House and what he said yesterday," Scarborough added. "He's not running again, he's not running in 2028, so he's willing to play this out, and if there's some short-term pain, he's fine with it."
Trump has openly admitted that his tariffs would cause economic pain, just like his billionaire adviser Elon Musk has conceded that his government cuts would hurt.
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"It is absolutely fascinating," Scarborough said. "They've been very straightforward. The president's been very straightforward, saying you may have to get by with less, yeah, maybe we'll have a recession. We'll see how that plays out on the campaign. Elon Musk said we're going to have to go through a rough time, there's going to be — I'm sure he didn't realize that he was going to lose $125 billion to $150 billion, personally going through that rough time. But this is something they've all predicted."
"[Treasury secretary] Scott Bessent said something that suggests that maybe Scott Bessent doesn't have his, like, you know, you know, finger on the pulse, fingers on the pulse of America when he said, cheap consumer goods is not a God-given right," Scarborough added.
"Mr. Bessent, it may not be, Secretary Bessent, but the American people think it is. So we're coming to a time where there is going to be a real test if shelves are empty."
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