Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stepped up his claim Trump will not follow through with his threat to impose tariffs on Mexican imports next week.
The president is simply looking for an off-ramp, Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday.
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“There are many examples of the president taking a maximalist position before eventually backing off and announcing some different solution,” Schumer said in a Senate floor speech. “But the president needs a way out of his bluster. That may well be true with the tariff issue.”
Schumer first questioned Trump’s commitment to the tariffs on Tuesday. Trump responded on Twitter:
“Can you imagine Cryin’ Chuck Schumer saying out loud, for all to hear, that I am bluffing with respect to putting Tariffs on Mexico. What a Creep. He would rather have our Country fail with drugs & Immigration than give Republicans a win. But he gave Mexico bad advice, no bluff!”
The president is threatening tariffs in an effort to get Mexico to block hundreds of thousands of Central American migrants from flowing into the country and making it to the U.S. southern border.
Lawmakers are hoping high-level talks between a Mexican delegation and Trump administration officials will yield some kind of deal that satisfies Trump enough for him to call off the threat. Trump hasn’t backed off the threat yet.
“So publicly, the president has continued to talk tough on tariffs with Mexico,” Schumer said. “He responded to my statement on the floor with a tweet last night. But ultimately, I continue to believe that he’ll ultimately back off. That’s been his m.o [modus operani].”
Schumer said Trump could help solve the immigration surge at the border by agreeing to a bill sponsored by Democrats that would allow Central American migrants to apply for asylum in their home countries. The measure would also provide significant funding for the countries to combat gang and drug violence that the migrants say they are fleeing.
