Fox News’ Neil Cavuto Debunks Donald Trump On New Taxes, Says ‘China Isn’t Paying These Tariffs, You Are’
Donald Trump bragged to White House reporters that the United States was making billions of dollars from China thanks to his tariffs, but one Fox News anchor couldn’t let the misinformation stand. According to Newsweek, Neil Cavuto laid into the president’s claim, telling viewers in no uncertain terms that Trump is wrong.
The president was speaking with reporters on the White House lawn on Friday when he took to defend his tariff’s policy. He told reporters that farmers in the United States supported his trade war with China, including his latest move to add $300 billion in tariffs.
“China is devaluing their currency. They’re also pouring money in. Their currency’s going to hell. But they’re also pouring money in. And that will totally pay for the tariffs. The tariffs are not being paid for by our people. It’s being paid for by China,” Trump said.
Trump also told reporters that the U.S. is “taking in billions” of dollars from China and giving a portion of it to farmers. He claimed that those farmers are now completely compensated for any losses incurred by the trade war.
Shortly after making the statements, Cavuto appeared on air where he set the record straight for his viewers. In a fiery segment where he directly contradicts the president, the Fox News host told viewers that Americans pay these tariffs.
“I don’t know where to begin here,” he began.
“China isn’t paying these tariffs, you are,” he continued. “You know, indirectly and sometimes directly. It’s passed along to you through American distributors and their counterparts in the United States who buy this stuff from the Chinese and then have to pay the surcharges. Not the Chinese government.”
Cavuto didn’t stop there. He went on to attack the president’s language, saying that he wasn’t sure what Trump meant when he spoke about “devaluing” China. He also criticized Trump for the latest round of tariffs, which he says consumers will carry the weight of.
Cavuto has been critical of Trump more frequently lately, something that is uncharacteristic of the Fox network in general. He got into an argument with Lou Dobbs, a Trump-supporting host on Fox Business over the national debt and deficit, which has ballooned under the current administration.
Fox’s Neil Cavuto repeatedly presses Lou Dobbs on what Trump’s done about debt and deficits https://t.co/6NDJuRWhkn pic.twitter.com/JkQ7934OxY
— The Hill (@thehill) July 31, 2019
The president announced that he was hitting China with another wave of tariffs starting on September 1. As The New York Times reports, the move is expected to impact consumers in the U.S. on the cost of everything from Christmas toys to high-end jewelry.
