Following Donald Trump’s announcement of massive tariffs — and the significant stock market drop directly resulting from this announcement — MSNBC’s Chris Hayes expressed his concerns during Wednesday’s “All In,” stating he was “struggling to communicate just how absurd this all is,” comparing the situation to Trump having “waterboarded the economy.”
“Donald Trump is single handedly, unilaterally and without justification, driving America into an economic crisis,” Hayes asserted. “I have never witnessed anything like this in my decades of covering politics.”
Hayes reminded viewers that Trump “promised to do this repeatedly during his campaign, and despite the hopes and justifications from Wall Street traders and CEOs that it was mere campaign rhetoric, Trump has now confirmed he is imposing tariffs and a national sales tax on all imports, along with additional double-digit taxes on goods from numerous countries.”
“This was essentially the worst-case scenario,” Hayes added.
He pointed out that if these tariffs are implemented, “prices of everything, including smartphones, computers, cars, clothing, shoes, and even avocados, are set to rise for everyone,” elaborating on how Trump strategically waited until after the stock market closed to make this announcement in “an incoherent and genuinely alarming performance,” which “imposed a $6 trillion tax hike on Americans, something unprecedented in American history.”
Hayes then summarized the misleading claims Trump made to justify these tariffs, particularly the assertion that the European Union imposes a 39% tariff on the U.S.
“It’s absolute nonsense,” Hayes explained. “The claim that the European Union charges the U.S. a 39% tariff is utterly absurd. It’s completely fabricated. We have no idea where that figure originates.”
He continued, “Aside from the fact that they fabricated all the numbers to justify this retaliation, economists are warning this will severely hinder American growth. It’s likely to cause price inflation, a potential recession, or even a combination of both leading to feared stagflation.”
“In fact, prior to Trump’s announcement, many were calculating the potential impacts, and the worst-case scenario projected by the credit rating agency Moody’s, which involved a 20% blanket tariff on all imports, estimated up to 5.5 million job losses, a rise in unemployment to 7% — the highest since the Great Recession — and a GDP decline of 1.7%,” Hayes stated.
“However, today’s announcement appears to exceed that, marking the worst since COVID,” Hayes emphasized. “I must reiterate, I’m struggling to convey just how outrageous this situation is. It’s challenging to comprehend the full implications of this all.”
You can watch the clip below:
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