President Donald Trump is focused on curtailing global trade imbalances, but one of the Democratic Party’s top potential 2028 contenders is calling out the administration’s “quixotic” approach.
Although the administration locked in a trade deal with Britain and says it has others on the horizon, Trump’s tariff policies have spurred on market volatility and been met with skepticism from many Americans, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Golden State governor shared his take on Trump’s trade agenda Friday, arguing the administration is taking an “inconsistent, chaotic approach” to trade.
“Even if I was going to be charitable, I would say his inconsistent, chaotic approach does the opposite. It freezes investment, consumer confidence, small businesses, large, medium-sized businesses. Everybody I talk to feels very similarly,” Newsom said on “Kudlow.”
“This chaos is not the kind of predictability and stability that would ultimately inure, I think, to Trump’s favor in terms of, again, making his case.”
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Since April, Trump’s trade war has shaken up financial markets and raised fears of a recession, with central bankers and business executives wrestling with often chaotic policy-making that is rippling through world supply chains and a host of industries.
The Trump administration announced widespread tariffs for multiple countries on “Liberation Day” in April, following criticism that other countries’ trade practices are unfair toward the United States.
The administration later adjusted its initial proposal and announced in April it would immediately impose a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, while reducing reciprocal tariffs on other countries for 90 days to a baseline of 10%. China responded by raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%.
Newsom, who said he was not an “absolutist” when it comes to the tariff policy, argued Trump’s “quixotic,” “destructive” approach is “having a profound impact on our confidence and our relationships around the globe.”
“If it wasn’t so chaotic, I would at least engage in a very reasonable conversation about addressing those issues with a little bit more muscularity, but this is recklessness,” he added.
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The Democratic executive also warned the impacts on businesses, consumers and the global supply chain “can’t be unwound quickly and easily.”
Newsom expressed he also fears Trump’s decision-making “seems to come on news cycles, not on the basis of a grand strategy,” arguing it is “the great impediment in terms of getting to the place we all want to go.”
FOX Business host Larry Kudlow also pressed Newsom on China as the Trump administration plans for negotiations with China in Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend. While hopeful, Newsom fears the talks will not be successful.
Trump on Friday suggested an 80% tariff on China, which would be significantly lower than the current 145%, but ultimately the final number would be up to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer are set to meet with Chinese economic tsar He Lifeng in Switzerland over the weekend.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press briefing Friday, “That was a number the president threw out there, and we’ll see what happens this weekend,” adding that Trump wouldn’t unilaterally lower the tariff and China would be required to make “concessions.”
As the trade war with China is set to reach a crossroads this weekend, Newsom said Trump’s approach to trade and tariffs have put “a chill on the ability to make wise decisions” economically.
“It’s a very serious moment. There’s a better approach. If he wanted to take it, he hasn’t taken it yet,” he added.
Although not sharing concrete details, Newsom championed a “step-by-step” approach to alleviating the chronic trade imbalance with “worker-centered industrial policy.”
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace, Brie Stimson and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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