Fox News host Jesse Watters just handed Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) a rhetorical beatdown on live TV, and it was long overdue. The topic? President Trump’s bold, America First tariff policy that’s already shaking up the global trade order — and the GOP establishment’s refusal to get on board.
Let’s be clear: President Trump’s second-term tariff agenda isn’t just talk — it’s action, and the results are coming in fast. On April 5, 2025, Trump dropped a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports. Then, on April 9, he rolled out targeted reciprocal tariffs. The message to the world? The free ride is over. If you want access to the U.S. market, you play fair — or you pay up.
Trump took to Truth Social and made it crystal clear: “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN!” His goal is simple — bring back American manufacturing, crush the trade deficit, and stop relying on hostile foreign powers like China for essentials like steel and pharmaceuticals. And guess what? It’s working.
China, the EU, and even India are starting to fold. China slashed its own retaliatory tariffs down to 10%. The UK opened the gates for U.S. ethanol and beef. Countries from Israel to Zimbabwe are suddenly begging for tariff exemptions. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury has raked in $46.9 billion in tariff revenue — a 46.9% jump from last year. That’s a win, not a “panic.”
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But while Trump is out here swinging for the American worker, Rand Paul is busy waving the white flag on behalf of globalism. Paul, joined by usual suspects Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, pushed a Senate resolution to gut Trump’s tariffs — including those aimed at China. Thankfully, it failed in a 49-49 deadlock. But it was a close call, and it exposed just how many so-called Republicans still think we’re living in 1992.
During Monday’s segment on Fox News, Jesse Watters hit the nail on the head: “You were a Panican. You were against the tariff.” Paul responded with a lecture on free markets and consumer prices, but let’s be real — the “consumer pays the tariff” argument is straight out of the Chamber of Commerce playbook.
Watters wasn’t buying it, reminding Paul that national security and economic sovereignty matter. “You think our defense industry should rely on China?” Exactly.
Senator Paul may love the theoretical purity of free markets, but this isn’t Econ 101 — this is about survival. Trump’s strategy isn’t academic. It’s practical, it’s working, and it’s finally putting America first. About time the rest of the GOP figured that out.
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