PoliticsDonald TrumpMike PenceRand Paul

Trump Gets Brutal Fact-Check From Conservatives As Markets Tank Due To Tariffs

Former Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Rand Paul and others slammed the tariffs as a tax hike on American families.
Ed Mazza
By 

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LOADINGERROR LOADING

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a sweeping set of tariffs on nearly every other nation on the planet, causing markets to plunge in after-hours trading and triggering fears of inflation and a recession.

And he was called out over it not just from his usual critics on the left, but even many conservatives, who spoke out on social media against the move.

Many pointed out the tariffs were actually tax increases ― including Mike Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president during his first term.

He wrote on X:

The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history. These Tariffs are nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence Administration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year. Check Out“Spoiling America’s Golden Age”@AmericanFreedom 👇 pic.twitter.com/2NghyDc8c1

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) April 2, 2025

Pence also tweeted:

69% of Americans in this @FoxNews Poll are Right. Tariffs on imports will make products you buy more expensive.

For more facts on Tariffs and Trade, check out this helpful summary by @AmericanFreedom🇺🇸 https://t.co/DfjjfBSOvP pic.twitter.com/aKnwXxhFqs

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) April 2, 2025

Others on the right also put Trump on blast over the policy, which they noted would be paid for by American consumers:

Tariffs are taxes https://t.co/6lpQ15mCPF

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 3, 2025

Even if you think Trump is right about this spectacular exercise in economic self harm, if you’re a Republican politician, odds are strong that you disagreed with what he’s claiming 10 years — and in some cases 10 hours — ago. Maybe you’ve been studying the flimsy protectionist…

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) April 2, 2025

One of the largest tax increases on Americans and done by fiat. Just wow.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) April 2, 2025

Are y'all seeing what's happening with overnight markets? Futures are signaling a rude awakening for #WallStreet and your 401(k) in the morning. So much for all that juiced up BS about "the markets are getting certainty" on this "Liberation Day". The only certainty is Congress… pic.twitter.com/u0RHYvS5og

— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) April 3, 2025

3.4% market plunge during the Trump’s announcement of the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history. Liberation = family financial suffocation. Tariffs are taxes. pic.twitter.com/oeBcwkHJ5s

— Joel Griffith (@joelgriffith) April 2, 2025

This was done in the name of working class populism, but there is no way in hell the working class voted for this. https://t.co/8R2sMyr4fb

— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) April 3, 2025

The Republican Congress could end this nonsense tomorrow by simply yanking back *their* tariff power that previous congresses stupidly handed over to the president. But they won't. It is their choice as much as Trump's to make this happen.

— David French (@DavidAFrench) April 3, 2025

Really great that this power, which is explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution, is being wielded by a single person who has no idea what he’s talking about, under the auspices of an “emergency.” https://t.co/oM60o4Bui2

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) April 3, 2025

Tariffs won’t revive the economy. We’ve seen this before: government trying to control what Americans can buy doesn’t work. Trump’s tax and deregulatory agenda helps growth, but this trade policy is a wet blanket on it all. pic.twitter.com/B67pAV4Ouk

— Marc Short (@marctshort) April 2, 2025

We finally really did it. pic.twitter.com/3Zp22mIowG

— Jeff Blehar is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) April 3, 2025

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