Republican Ex-Governor Offers Warning on Trump Tariff Threats: ‘Someone’s Going To Call His Bluff’

Former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) predicted that at least one country will call President Donald Trump’s “bluff” when it comes to threats of a trade war.

Since taking office, Trump has threatened several countries with tariffs for various reasons. He has floated imposing them on Canada and Mexico because the U.S. runs trade deficits with those countries.

Trump has also suggested imposing tariffs on Denmark because it has rejected his overtures to acquire the territory of Greenland. Moreover, the president threatened Colombia because it rejected flights of migrants being deported from the U.S.

Sununu joined Monday’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports on NewsNation, where the host asked if Trump’s posturing is ill-advised.

“Is there a danger of one of these countries calling Trump’s bluff?” Elizabeth Vargas asked. “Because tariffs could hurt the U.S. economy, too.”

“There’s there’s no question,” Sununu replied. “I wouldn’t call it a danger, but someone’s going to call his bluff. Someone’s going to really hold out and drive kind of that wedge. And what the ultimate result of that wedge… we’ll have to kind of wait and see.”

Sununu took issue with Trump floating the idea of acquiring Greenland.

“Denmark doesn’t have to sell us anything,” He noted. “They own Greenland, right? They could just not sell us anything.”

Other Republicans have downplayed or dismissed the potentially deleterious effects tariffs would have on the price of imported goods.

“I’m not going to predict the outcome of, uh, first of all, which tariffs will be enacted and how it will affect prices,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Monday. “We’ll have to see.”

Watch above via NewsNation.