A senior House Democrat slammed President Trump’s threat of tariffs on nations that don’t fall in line with his plan of acquiring Greenland, saying the levies would only hurt Americans.
Rep. Ted Lieu, California Democrat and vice chair of the Democratic caucus, called the president’s threat “ludicrous,” citing a study that said 96% of tariff costs are passed onto the American consumer.
“This is how ludicrous Donald Trump’s idea is. He’s saying, ’If I don’t get my way in Greenland, I’m gonna punish American people even more.’ And how dumb is that?” Mr. Lieu told reporters Wednesday at the caucus’ weekly press conference. “By enacting even more tariffs, he’s just going to hurt the American consumer even more.”
He added, “We’re asking the president — focus on America, not on Venezuela or Greenland, and focus on reducing costs to Americans.”
On Friday, Mr. Trump threatened to impose an extra 10% tariff on the countries not on board with his plan to buy Greenland. He has maintained that the U.S. needs the Arctic island for national security.
The president said new tariffs would affect the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. They would start at 10% in February and could rise to 25% by June if the U.S. doesn’t consummate the Greenland deal.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, California Democrat and chair of the Democratic caucus, said there’s not much the minority party could do to stop the tariffs.
“Ultimately, the speaker controls the functions of the House floor. I’m uncertain some days whether Donald Trump is the speaker or Mike Johnson is the speaker, but whoever it is, he controls what happens on the floor, which includes offering privilege resolutions when it comes to use of military force, as well as privilege resolutions pushing back against the tariffs,” Mr. Aguilar said.
Mr. Trump renewed his call for buying Greenland while at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, and ruled out the use of military force to acquire it.
He did say there would be consequences if Denmark doesn’t sell the land.
“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Mr. Trump told the forum’s business and government leaders. “They have a choice: You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember.”
