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REAL NEGATIVE. IN THE SYSTEM. IN THE SYSTEM. YEAH. NBC's CHRISTINE ROMANS, YEAH. NBC's CHRISTINE ROMANS, thank you so much. Greatly appreciate it. Let's bring in now Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. He serves on the Banking and Budget Committee. Senator, very, very grateful for you to be on today to talk about tariffs. Talk about the economy. But let me start where I was talking with Christine Romans. When you have oil going below $60 per barrel, that starts impacting states like Louisiana, Texas, an awful lot. About a quarter, as you know, a quarter of your Louisiana's economy comes from jobs in the oil and gas industry, up 300,000 employers. You can go on and on. But the bigger problem is that suggests that some of the smartest minds across the world are betting on a recession. What are you saying to your business leaders when they're calling you about where this goes next?
WELL, this is what I'm telling them. With tariffs and eye for an eye just leaves both people blind. When a government imposes a tariff, it's putting its thumb on the scale. It interferes with people's freedom to exchange goods and services. Some countries, China, the best example, have used trade barriers as a weapon to hurt the American economy. You said it. God created the world. Everything else is made in China. President Trump decided to try to change this. And he, as we know, has imposed dramatically higher American tariffs on these countries. But then, at least for me, an extraordinary thing happened. We have 195 countries in the world. Probably 40% have come forward. And instead of bowing up and fighting, they've said, we want to lower our tariffs. Will you lower yours? I frankly never saw that coming. I think it is a wonderful opportunity. Now I don't want to feign understanding. I do not know what the President is going to do next. There's an internal debate and going on inside and outside the White House. I can just tell you what I would do, Joe. I would pounce on this opportunity like a ninja, and I would use this as an opportunity to reduce or in some cases, Taiwan, Vietnam, European Union go to zero. Reciprocal tariffs, and then we can have free trade, let the best product at the best price win. But I don't want to mislead you. I don't know what the President's going to do next.
I know what I hope he does. Yeah. You know, Senator, on national news shows like ours and the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, obviously they're focusing on the losses on Wall Street. I'd love for you if you could tell our friends that are watching right now, what's the impact on Main Street in Metairie, Louisiana? In Shreveport, all across your state? If these trends continue, what's the impact on family-owned businesses? Well, the stock market matters. Wall Street and Main Street influence each other. What we've seen in the stock market, of course, has been painful. You know, if you celebrate that, you know, you hate little warm puppies. It's painful for two reasons. Number one, people lost a lot of money and they worked hard for it. But number two, you have to worry about the wealth effect. What does that mean? There's not reliable data that shows for every $1 that the stock market drops, many consumers spend $0.25 less.
And when you've got 62% of Americans exposed to the stock market, the danger is that they start spending less. And 70% of our economy is consumer driven. And if you're not careful with it, it can lead to a slowdown. Now here's the good news. If you've watched the intraday swings, you'll see that every time the President talks positively about making a deal, the stock market goes up. And every time he backs off, the stock market goes down. That tells me that the fundamentals in the stock market are sound, but it tells me that the market is uncertain about the President's next step. So, Senator, there's an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today about the Republicans who forgot their economics. There's really no need to highlight those that the Wall Street Journal was talking about, because I grew up in the Republican Party and all of my friends that I've had most of my adult life in politics that are Republicans believe in free trade. Once I came in with believed in balanced budgets, being fiscally conservative with a small c, I've got to believe that most Republicans like you believe in fair trade, but also believe in free trade. Where are they right now? And do you believe that Republicans and the Article One branch should step forward and take back some of this power to round off maybe some of the roughest edges on these tariffs that are going to hurt people in Main Street, USA?
Well, I've been preaching for two weeks on the Senate floor. I don't want to be at war with Canada. I've been preaching for two weeks at Canada. And America should go to zero reciprocal tariffs. Here's my point from one perspective. From my perspective, you may not share it. President Trump has one. We have an opportunity here. I hope he seizes it. But I don't know whether he will seize it or not. To answer your question, though directly, I have not joined the Grassley bill. I'm not likely to join the Grassley bill. The Grassley bill will not pass. And if it passes, the President will veto it. I was not here when Congress gave away its power. I would not have voted to give away our power, but we did it. If we get on the Grassley bill, we'll just spend a year fighting with no result. And sometimes we can spend a year in Congress getting nothing done. And I just think it's a distraction. The most immediate question for me is the President is a pit bull. He's one he's caught the car. The question is, what's he going to do with the car? I know what I'd do.
Right. You you. Also, I got a quote here that I'm going to have to put into my lexicon. You say he caught the car. He's got these foreign nations up to the lick log, as they say on the farm. What do we do next? I'm going to use that lick log. That's a good one. But you know, Senator, I don't know that I would say the President's one yet because we just don't know how like you like you said, we don't know how this is going to shake out, but he certainly has South Korea, the EU. He's got some of our strongest trading partners, Japan saying let's make a deal. It seems to me the President actually has proven his point, hasn't he, that except for China and maybe has to keep fighting China for a while, but for our allies, hasn't the President already sort of made his point? And these people now want to come to him and negotiate?
Well, number one, your grandmother in Georgia will know what a nickel is. You might have to explain that. You might have to explain it to Mika, but and to Willie and to Jonathan. But definitely, number number number two, when I say the President's won, here's what I mean. Would 40% of the 200 countries in the world be coming to America now trying to reduce their tariffs? If President Trump had not done what he did? No. Every fair-minded American knows that. I just don't know what's going to happen next in terms of China. Look, China wants a deal for them right now. It's not about the economy. It's about saving face. China wants a deal. China's economy is in worse shape. I'll be glad to talk about it, if you want, than it's been in 25 years. They can't afford trade war. They will. They are quietly seeking a deal with President Trump, as are 40% of the countries in the world. I mean, the President's one. This wouldn't we wouldn't have this opportunity but for what he did. All I'm saying is let's take, you know, let's take it. Let's pounce on it like a ninja. I would be on this deal like a like a hobo on a ham sandwich, man. I'd have them lined up at the White House.
Write that one down, too. So let's go to Jonathan Lemire. The Massachusetts New Englander, who I think you are correct, Senator, has no idea what a lick log is. But but, Jonathan, I just want to underline a point that the Senator made real quick before your question, because of what President Xi has done over the past five years, basically because what he did in Hong Kong, because what he's done with people like Jack Ma, because he's encouraged his best minds, his best thinkers, his best entrepreneurs to leave China. Senator is exactly right. China is not exactly in a strong position right now. No, no question. China's economy has also struggled of late, particularly in recent years, particularly post-COVID. I did get the reference in hobo on a sandwich, that one I got. So, Senator, on that idea of wanting to take this deal, President Trump, you know, to this point, you know, has not suggested he'd want to he suggested this trade war could occur, could be prolonged for weeks or more. Your your state obviously went strongly for President Trump in this last election. There's no question there. But are you as you talk to your constituents who are watching their 401Ks, who are watching their retirement accounts, who are bracing themselves for higher prices, you know, seemingly escalating by the day, what are they telling you? What do you think their patience level is there and their pain threshold is going to be?
Well, they're like me. They're uncertain. My people are very supportive of President Trump, and I think they see what I see, which is that we wouldn't have this opportunity had he not been like a bulldog with these other countries. But now the question becomes, we have this opportunity. What are we going to do with it? I've heard the President make comments publicly and frankly, privately. I've been in meetings with him on both sides here, and I've heard his people on TV all weekend make comments all over the map. Frankly, that's part of the problem. Some of them need to stop talking, or at least before they speak talk to their boss. I just think we're at a critical moment. I don't I don't I don't want to feign understanding. I have no idea what the President's going to do. I just know what I do. And if you do it, if you do it, you'll see the market. You'll see the market go back. Okay. And if he doesn't, I guess, you know, you've said you won't get on the Grassley bill, but what can you and other member of Congress do? And at what point will you act on behalf of your constituents?
Well, here's the world we find ourselves in. Congress gave the executive branch all of its power on trade. So it's up to the President right now. You can we can spend all our time trying to move a bill taking his power back, but maybe it won't pass. And number two, it's right now. It's a distraction. All we can do is make our case. That's what I'm why I'm here. I'm making it publicly. I'm making it privately. I would take the deal. I don't know how else to say it. I I can't I can't predict the future. I have to wait for it like everybody else. But I do think that we'll look back a year from now if we take this deal and say what I'm saying today is that President Trump, he's won this fight. Now let's let's don't let's don't let's don't lose it by not taking the opportunity. Yeah. Don't don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Seems to be your message, Senator. And again, just for those watching, of course you'd have to get 60 votes in the Senate to pass anything and then override a Presidential veto, which, as the House, as the Senator said, is highly unlikely. Go ahead.
Senator. Yeah, I was just going to say you made the point, Joe. You know, pigs may fly someday, but I doubt it. It's just we can get off on a trade bill. But, man, I'm just telling you, it's just going to be a bunch of partisan pageantry. All right. Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, we