Fox Information host Kayleigh McEnany claimed that Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was incorrect when criticizing Donald Trump over threatened tariffs towards Colombia, however then needed to admit on-air that the congresswoman’s remark was correct.
McEnany, who was a press secretary throughout Trump’s first administration, made the slipup throughout an episode of the conservative community’s “America’s Newsroom” program on Monday.
The controversy started when Trump threatened Colombia with elevated tariffs after its president, Gustavo Petro, stated migrants being despatched to that nation deserved to be handled with dignity. (Migrants had been restrained on a latest flight to Brazil.)
“To ‘punish’ Colombia, Trump is about to make every American pay even more for coffee. Remember: *WE* pay the tariffs, not Colombia,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to the menace. “Trump is all about making inflation WORSE for working class Americans, not better. He’s lining the pockets of himself and the billionaire class.”
On Fox, McEnany responded, saying, “She said this, which is factually untrue.”
Then McEnany paused mid-sentence and appeared to understand the congresswoman was in the proper. “[Tariffs] could lead to inflation,” she admitted (with out conceding Ocasio-Cortez’s argument was correct).
“There’s also a universe in which people lower their prices, other countries lower their prices, and the prices could come down because they want access to the U.S. market,” McEnany added, detailing a particularly unlikely response to a tariff improve.
McEnany then pivoted to an unrelated (and out of nowhere) assault on Ocasio-Cortez, alleging that different Democrats who might probably run for the presidency in 2028 have been extra “muted” of their criticisms of Trump.
Regardless of the deflection, latest historical past backs up Ocasio-Cortez. Tariffs imposed by Trump when he was first president led to elevated prices which have been handed on to customers. A tariff isn’t a penalty shouldered by a international authorities; it’s as a substitute paid by the individuals who use the product in query. Within the case of Colombia, that might be staples like espresso, flowers, and petroleum.
The factual misfire was simply the most recent episode Fox and the remainder of conservative media lashing out at progressive leaders, like Ocasio-Cortez. However primarily based on her monitor document since taking workplace, it’s unlikely that complaints from Fox will deter the New York consultant.
