In an interview on Thursday, CNN host Sara Sydnor debated Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York) about former President Trump's plans to increase tariffs and Vice President Harris' plan to increase corporate taxes.
In a heated exchange, Lawler vigorously defended Trump's tariffs and slammed Harris' plan to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, which Sydnor noted is lower than the rate proposed by President Biden.
“Donald Trump basically bankrupted Iran in his first administration. Why? Because he threatened to impose tariffs if China bought Iranian oil. So guess what President Xi Jinping did? He didn't buy Iranian oil. So Iran went bankrupt. So tariffs can work,” Lawler told Sydnor in an interview.
He criticized Harris' proposal to raise corporate taxes, saying, “Do you want to see the quickest way for companies to move manufacturing overseas? That's the way to do it. That would be devastating to the economy.”
When Sidney pointed out that Harris' offer was lower than Biden's, Lawler countered, “But you think 28% is good?”
“Most Americans are paying 28 percent,” Sydnor said, interrupting Lawler.
“It would cripple our economy,” he said, vehemently opposing increased spending, saying, “Kamala Harris' policies would push our country into recession. There's no question about it.”
The conversation grew increasingly heated as Ms. Lawler and Mr. Sydnor clashed over the extent to which economists have criticized Mr. Trump's tariff proposals, with Mr. Lawler pressing Mr. Sydnor to name specific criticisms.
“Economists disagree. They say Donald Trump's plan, particularly the tariffs, could be a huge tax on consumers,” Sydnor said, responding to Lawler's reference to the economic downturn.
“So you disagree with all the economists who have said it's going to make it harder to buy goods coming from China and other countries? That's what they're saying,” Sydnor said, after Lawler defended the tariffs as “a way to keep countries like China from buying Iranian oil.”
“All the economists? Name some. Name some. Who are all the economists? Here's the reality: higher taxes,” Lawler said.
The two men went at each other, with Sydnor quoting Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi as saying tariffs were a “very bad idea,” saying: According to CNN:“If there's one thing most economists can agree on, it's that tariffs are bad.”
Lawler denied the criticism, suggesting it was not as widespread as Sydnor said.
“Please stop cherry-picking and quoting anonymous economists,” he said.
“They're not anonymous,” Sydnor said, cutting him off.
She noted that Goldman Sachs also expressed concerns about Trump's tax policies and warned that his tariffs would shrink the economy. Goldman Sachs predicted that Harris' policies would grow the economy.
“I'm not just saying this,” she said. “Look at all the headlines, look at the companies whose chief economists are saying the same thing.”
Lawler returned to Harris' policies.
“Raising the corporate tax rate is going to have a much bigger impact on the economy, OK?” he said.
During a campaign speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Harris proposed imposing a 28% capital gains tax on people making more than $1 million, up from the current effective rate of 23.6%.
Harris' proposal marks a departure from Biden's July budget proposal, in which he proposed a 44.6% tax rate. Harris' smaller tax increase proposal signals her attempt to move toward the political center and perhaps differentiate herself from the Biden administration's policies.
President Trump spoke to the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, outlining his economic policies and suggesting that his second term may be roughly the same as his first when it comes to taxes and tariffs.
Trump said he would push for an extension of the personal tax cuts enacted in 2017 that expire in 2025. He also said he would push for a cut in the corporate tax rate even further than in the 2017 law, from 21% to 15%, and he also revealed plans to use tariffs more aggressively to target companies that outsource jobs or don't manufacture products domestically.
