Republican Warns Tariffs Spurred 'Worst Depression We've Ever Had'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Apr 06, 2025 at 2:47 PM EDT | Updated Apr 06, 2025 at 5:22 PM EDT


Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican working to curb some of President Donald Trump's tariff authority, said Sunday that his party's historic support of tariffs led to the "worst depression we've ever had," pointing to the economic crisis that started in 1929 and carried through the 1930s. "We learned from that, that tariffs and protectionism does not work," he told Margaret Brennan, host of CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday.

Why It Matters

Trump's April 2 announcement of sweeping global tariffs included new tariffs on all imported goods from 180 countries as well as a list of "reciprocal duties" targeting dozens of countries in an effort to reportedly combat trade imbalances and restore America's manufacturing industry. The president has hailed the tariffs as the country's "declaration of economic independence."

However, Trump's shakeup of international trade has rattled global and domestic markets, with Wall Street tanking over the past few days, marking the worst days for the U.S. stock markets since 2020.

Economists have warned of the likelihood of a recession, while the Trump administration has not ruled out the possibility, noting the transition period will be marked with some market "disruption." On Saturday, Trump urged Americans to "hang tough" amid market volatility and the announcement of reciprocal tariffs by other countries, including China.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/don-bacon-tariffs-spurred-worst-depression-ever-had-2056024

[Karasu]

1. Why the fuck do we have to learn the exact same fucking lesson EVERY HUNDRED YEARS?

[Skittles]

2. to be fair

the lesson THIS time should have been learned during Trump.1

[Magoo48]

14. Perhaps there's no lesson to be learned here, perhaps we're being softened up,

and everything is going as planned.

[OnDoutside]

3. Bacon has been strident at calling this out, I wonder if he

looking to exit at the midterms ? The MAGAs can't be too happy with him.

[Skittles]

4. yes, it is out character for the average repuke to put country above party

yes indeed

[GoreWon2000]

12. Bacon's district voted for Harris in 2024

and Bacon understands the history of the disastrous repug backed 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariffs.

[Jose Garcia]

13. But he can't win a general election if he has already lost the primary

[GoreWon2000]

15. He's a likely maga primary

[Javaman]

5. I keep saying, if we only have a recession, we'll be lucky. nt

[tanyev]

6. Well, some people learned from that.

Trump has proudly learned nothing from anything that ever happened before.

[Midnight Writer]

7. What are you going to do about it, Bacon, besides piss and moan?

You have the power to change all this. To save your country and your fellow citizens from the ravages of a depression.

All you have to do is get a couple of your like-minded buddies together and vote with the Democrats on some key bills.

A moment of courage, and it is done.

But I don't think you have the courage. What a sad man that is afraid to stand up for what he knows is right. Too afraid to save his country from the disaster that he obviously sees coming.

Patriot, my ass.

[Firestorm49]

8. "Spurned the worst depression". It's not about tariffs, my friends. It's about absolute power and how to obtain it.

[Mr. Mustard 2023]

9. Exactly.

[IbogaProject]

10. There were multiple depressions in the 19th xc

Back when tariffs were our primary tax.

[Blue Full Moon]

11. 1st was McKinley then Great Depression was Hoover