‘Declaration Of Victory’: Senate Republicans Cheer Trump’s Tariff ‘Pause’

Senate Republicans are praising President Donald Trump’s announcement of a pause on certain reciprocal tariffs to most countries that did not issue retaliatory tariffs.

Trump announced Wednesday afternoon that he authorized a 90-day pause on tariffs on more than 75 countries that did not retaliate against the United States, while keeping in place his 10% baseline tariffs. Republican Senators applauded the president’s pause announcement as a good opportunity for the administration to negotiate with countries around the world to lower their trade barriers.

“I don’t consider it to be a pause, I consider it to be a declaration of victory,” Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told reporters Wednesday shortly after Trump’s announcement. “No person with an IQ that’s greater than his age or her age can think that half of the world’s country would have come to the American people and say ‘we want to lower our trade barriers’ had President Trump not done what he did.”

“Trump haters will not like that,” Kennedy said. “But that’s just a natural fact.”

Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has sought to rein in the president’s ability to unilaterally impose tariffs without congressional approval, also approved of Trump’s decision to pause tariffs.

Trump also announced a tariff hike on China to 125% “effective immediately.” This came after China raised tariffs on American imports from 34% to 84% overnight.

“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A, and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump