Americans didn’t mince words when they got the opportunity to call out President Donald Trump live on air.
Voters across the political spectrum dialed into C-SPAN early Thursday morning to deliver scathing critiques of Trump’s self-induced conflict in the Middle East and sprawling tariffs as they reacted to the latest salvo in the U.S.-Canada trade war.
Max, a Republican in Florida, said Trump’s aggressiveness on trade just isn’t as menacing as it used to be.
“Right now, I think what we need to focus on primarily is Trump’s tactics on trade now compared to his first term, where his aggressiveness seemed to kind of yield results, whereas now I think nobody really buys it anymore,” he said. “I think everybody’s just like, ‘No, you’re not gonna really do anything.’ And frankly, I just find it all to be, uh, very disappointing that not even he seems to realize that and he’s just embarrassing himself. It sucks, and everything’s expensive.”
Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff threats, which he has been issuing since last year, have earned him a moniker on Wall Street: TACO, or Trump Always Chickens Out. He amped up his trade war against Canada this week, imposing 50 percent tariffs on a wide variety of products after negotiations broke down.
Canada hit back with its own slew of levies, while Trump dialed up the pettiness by renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America.”
Doug, an independent voter in Ohio, predicted that “the tariffs are gonna kill the American worker.”
“They’re going to hurt our economy,” he said. “And I feel the same way that Doug in Canada feels about Donald Trump: he’s about the biggest idiot ever made.”
“We lost in Iran, we’re gonna lose this trade war. What is his problem? And he wants to build a goshdarn throne room. He calls it a ballroom, but it’s his own throne room, and I don’t like any of it from this man that we got as president. He’s an idiot, and he’s gonna cause nothing but trouble,” he added.
Ryan, another caller from Florida, said he voted for Trump in 2024 but has since regretted that decision.
“Honestly, I voted for Trump in 2024. Starting to regret it,” he said. “You know, his policies are getting more and more draconian. I just do not like the whole direction where this is coming.”
Virginia, a Maryland Republican, expressed concern about tariffs on lumber and what they could mean for Americans already struggling with skyrocketing prices.
“This man needs to be removed from office, and Congress is just not doing their job,” she said.
Jack, an independent voter, said Trump “should be out of office and put up for treason or whatever the word is.”
“It is just ridiculous. We are not liked in any nation anymore,” he said.
When reached for comment, the White House launched into a defense of Trump’s trade war.
“President Trump pledged to end lopsided ‘free’ trade deals and finally put American workers, farmers, and businesses first,” White House spokesman Kush Desai claimed. “Robust factory construction job growth, rebounding manufacturing employment, and trillions in investment commitments as a result of the president’s economic agenda are all proof that the administration is delivering for American workers.”
