Bernie Sanders questions why Trump ‘lies all the time’ in a scathing takedown
Senator Bernie Sanders slammed President Donald Trump for exaggerating numbers regarding border crossings and fentanyl. While Sanders agreed with securing the border, he called Trump out on his blatant lie.
Senator Jamieson Greer, Trump’s trade representative, attempted to justify the president’s decision to place a 25% tariff on Canada. Sanders pushed back against this claim at the Senate Finance Committee. “President Trump said, Mr. Greer, that he ‘had no choice’ in terms of Canada… He had no choice but to bypass Congress and to impose a 25% tariff on Canada to stop the “massive” amount of fentanyl and the “millions and millions” of undocumented immigrants coming from the northern border.”
Sanders refuted Trump’s claim by presenting facts. “Unfortunately, that’s a lie. The truth is that the US Customs and Border Protection reported just 43 pounds of fentanyl seized at the Canadian border last year, representing just two-tenths of one percent of the total.” Trump’s assertion would give him “incredible power,” according to the Vermont senator.
Moreover, Sanders also disproved Trump’s belief that “millions and millions” of undocumented people are crossing the Canadian border to the United States. The senator stated that only 24,000 people crossed, not millions. “First question, really. We can argue about tariffs. But why does the president have to lie all of the time in order to make his point?”
“The president, very rightly, hit on this issue of fentanyl [and] migration coming from the northern and southern borders, and it’s a real emergency,” Greer responded. This still doesn’t quite answer why the numbers need to be exaggerated to target Canada.
Disregarding Congress
Sanders also emphasized that Congress had no authority in the tariff policies. Trump has been exercising his emergency powers to impose his outlandish rates. To this, Sanders said, “Do you think Congress should be completely left out of the process? What, does the president have emergency power to do anything he wants with regard to tariffs?”
Greer retorted that his staff have conducted “over 200 meetings with congressional offices in the past two months to consult” members of Congress. This is more of an informal consultation and still disregards congressional authority over tariffs. “Congress has long enacted laws authorizing the President to adjust tariff rates on goods in certain circumstances,” congress.gov states. Therefore, Trump isn’t completely out of line, but declaring a “national emergency” makes these tariffs dubious. What circumstances prompted these tariffs other than Trump’s egotistical desires?
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is a justification President Trump uses to impose his sweeping tariffs. IEEPA gives the president the ability to limit economic transactions with other countries by declaring a national emergency. President Trump has often expressed being “cheated,” “ripped off,” and “invaded” by foreign partners. He may feel that way, but it’s no excuse for the way his tariff policies affect everyone else.
(featured image: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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