'The Dumbest Trade War In US History': Elizabeth Warren Absolutely Lights Into Trump Over Tariffs

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During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spoke about President Trump's tariffs.

Transcript

00:00President. The senator from Massachusetts. Mr. President, President Trump took a strong

00:07American economy and broke it in less than 100 days. Right now, Republican senators are at a

00:15crossroads. Will they vote to stop Trump's chaotic tariffs and save our economy, or will they continue

00:22bending the knee to Donald Trump? That is the vote that we are forcing tonight. When he ran for

00:28office, Donald Trump promised over and over and over that he would lower costs on day one. Those

00:35were his words. Lower costs on day one. In fact, he said after he was elected that it was one of the

00:42main reasons that he won. But as soon as the election was over, he ignored that promise.

00:49Instead of working to lower costs on day one, he has decided to start the dumbest trade war in U.S.

00:57history, which is already increasing costs for American households and damaging our economy.

01:05So let's take a step back and talk about what's happened since Trump started this trade war.

01:11The stock market took the biggest plunge since the early days of the pandemic,

01:16sinking millions of Americans' retirement accounts. Businesses have begun hiking prices

01:22and laying off workers. Americans are worried they won't be able to survive a cratering economy.

01:29And just today, Americans woke up to the news that Donald Trump single-handedly shrunk our economy

01:36in three months and raised the cost of their groceries. The warning lights are all flashing red.

01:44We've seen this before. But this time, our economy is teetering on the edge, not because of a mortgage

01:51meltdown or a one-in-a-century virus, but because of one man alone, the President of the United States.

02:02Unless we reverse course quickly, many economists believe that a recession is inevitable.

02:08And, like all recessions, the pain will fall the hardest on working families.

02:14Many Americans will face the one-two punch of job losses on top of overwhelming debt burdens.

02:22A cascade of defaults, foreclosures, and personal bankruptcies could follow.

02:28With so many indications that American families are in serious trouble,

02:33our government should be throwing them a lifeline. Instead, President Trump is throwing them an anchor

02:41while he carves out exemptions for a few well-connected billionaires who have bent the knee.

02:50This is the moment for Congress to step up. And where are the Senate Republicans?

02:57Watching? Waiting? Hoping it doesn't get worse?

03:01Hoping maybe somebody else will step up.

03:04Well, I'm here to say it is up to us in the United States Senate.

03:10No one else is coming to save us. We are the ones who have to act.

03:16If Republicans care about the American people, they will vote yes on our resolution today

03:24and turn off the fake emergency that Donald Trump is using to impose his on-again, off-again, red-light, green-light tariffs.

03:34The tariffs that are pushing our economy off a cliff.

03:38Let me repeat. Congress can end this economic threat today.

03:43All we need are some Republican Senators to join us to vote down the President's abuse of emergency authorities.

03:54Unless we take action now, millions of people will lose their jobs.

04:00Families will be destroyed.

04:02And our economy will take years to recover.

04:05But this time, it will be the President of the United States who destroyed our economy.

04:13And it will be Congressional Republicans who helped him do it because they didn't have the spine to stand up to Donald Trump.

04:24So I say to my Republican colleagues, let's get this done.

04:28You have a choice.

04:29You can either continue to enable Donald Trump's tariff chaos, or you can actually stand up for your constituents.

04:36It is truly that simple.

04:39The chaos and corruption of Trump's first 100 days can be curbed.

04:46The President is no king, and he only has as much power as Congress is willing to let him keep.

04:54It is time for us, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, to step up and head off a crisis before millions more American families are hurt.

05:08We have the power.

05:09We just need the courage to use it.

05:13Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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