‘What President Trump Is Doing Is Insane’: Exasperated CNBC Host Loses It Over Trade War With Canada

CNBC’s Steve Liesman has had it with President Donald Trump’s ever-changing trade policies.

On Tuesday, Trump announced he would hike tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel while once again claiming that the U.S. northern neighbor become “the 51st state.”

“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State,” the president said. “This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”

Trump has authored a series of 180s that began in February when he announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, only to pause them two days later before implementing them again – except on automobiles. Trump subsequently halted tariffs on imports compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which he signed in his first term.

The whipsaw action is a bit much for Liesman.

“I’m going to say this at risk of my job,” he said. “But what President Trump is doing is insane. It is absolutely insane. It is about the eighth reason we’ve had for the tariffs. And now he’s saying he’s putting 50% tariffs on Canada unless they agree to become the 51st state. That is insane. There is just no other way of describing it.”

Liesman went on to say that Trump’s posturing toward Canada demonstrates that this Trump administration is much different from the first, “where there were people around him who seemed to, I don’t know what the word is, but smooth over some of the edges now.”

He added that the president’s policies by and large have been “bad for the attraction of capital.”

“We need massive amounts of capital if we want to fund our deficits, pay for the things we want to pay for, sell our bonds, and have high stock prices. And it seems as if this administration is doing everything it can to chase foreign capital away,” Liesman continued. “Insanity’s not a strategy. I’m sorry.”

Shortly after Liesman’s rant, Trump said he “probably” would not go forward with his latest announced tariff increase.

Watch above via CNBC.