Republican Senator Warns Trump’s Tariffs Could ‘Destroy Small Businesses’
Republican Sen. John Curtis (R-UT), who replaced Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate, sat down with CNN’s Manu Raju and offered an ominous warning about the fiscal state of the country.
Curtis spoke to Raju after delivering a speech on the Senate floor urging greater transparency in government.
Raju began the Sunday interview, noting, “One of the big things you talked about was telling the truth, telling the truth to the American public.”
“When you look at this place, you look at Republicans and Democrats. What issues are they not telling the truth about to the American public?” he asked.
“When it comes to debt and deficit, we’re not being honest,” Curtis replied, adding:
And we’re equally not being honest when we weaponize fear as if somehow we’re going to take away benefits from our vulnerable or seniors. We’re not, and talking about reforming these programs doesn’t mean that we have to take those away. It never has and it never will. Make decisions now, or we’ll have to enact drastic, draconian cuts later, and I want to make them now. Because it’ll have less impact on those who are really most vulnerable.
“We’re talking about the ‘big, beautiful bill’ in the house. You’re very concerned about the debt and deficit. It’s possible some projections suggest this could add trillions and more to the debt. Put maybe up to five trillion dollars and more to the debt. Could you stomach something like that?” Raju pressed Curtis on the Trump-backed measure.
“The debt? No. And nor do I see a bill that does. Yeah, and I think not only myself, but a number of us in the Senate have been very clear. We have to reduce the deficit. And quite frankly, the numbers we’re talking about are small fractions of what we really need to be taking a look at as a country,” Curtis replied.
“But it’s fair to say you want some serious changes to this proposal?” Raju followed up.
“Yes, two trillion dollars more per year. We don’t do that in Utah. It’s not the way we run our government there. It’s not the way we run our families. It’s not the way to run our businesses,” Curtis replied.
“Trump has taken a lot of controversial actions, some of which you may support. Some of which maybe you don’t support. You talk about speaking candidly to the American public. Which one of what he has done has caused you the most concern?” Raju asked.
“If we’re not careful, we’ll destroy small businesses with tariffs. And I understand you have to play the long game with President Trump and tariffs. And I’m not one to step in and outguess his negotiating style or technique. But I do think we have to be very, very careful with our small businesses,” Curtis replied, adding:
Particularly when it comes to these tariffs. I think I’ve been very clear on where I stand about Ukraine and President Zelensky. That Putin is not our friend. I’ve been very clear about that. But I think we should flip the coin, and maybe that’s where you’re going next. It’s remarkable what’s happened at the border. We saw an incredible inflation report a couple days ago. We’re seeing some stability internationally that I credit President Trump with. And so there’s clearly two sides to this.
“Given the concerns with small businesses, should he pull back from the tariff policy?” Raju asked.
“Well, you know… We’ve seen a huge pullback in a number of areas,” Curtis replied as Raju noted, “But not, you know, they’re still across the board.”
“I think what small businesses would ask for even more is consistency,” Curtis replied.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
