CNBC’s Rick Santelli on Wednesday called out ABC News’ presidential debate moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis for not “drilling down” on the aspects of tariffs to host Andrew Ross Sorkin.
During Tuesday evening’s presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the former president explained how his economic plan will include hefty tariffs. Appearing on the “Squawk Box,” Santelli stated tariffs are a “bargaining chip,” as he called out the ABC News debate moderators for not making any “economic sense.”
“You know how I feel about tariffs? It’s a bargaining chip, and many of the tariffs with China are still on. Once again, the moderators don’t drill down on two aspects of tariffs, but they do drill down on other areas that make no economic sense whatsoever,” Santelli said.
“Listen, prices are going up no matter what, Andrew, whether you do it on the tax side, whether you do it on the tariff side. Our policies are silly that we can’t be Santa Claus. All of those programs aren’t policies, they’re promises that never get by Congress, and each one of them has a cost we can’t afford because we’ve done this before,” Santelli continued. “When you pre-pay and you make policies that don’t make economic sense, you may think you’re getting a benefit.”
Santelli continued to state how younger generations will “feel the pain” of rising prices, asking Sorkin if he believed homeowners could handle the increases in home insurance. (RELATED: ABC Debate Moderator’s Fact Check Ignores What Tim Walz’s State Can Do To Infants Born Alive After Attempted Abortions)
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“Look at what we learned yesterday. Finally, wages reached 2019, but doesn’t reflect how much they’ve gone up since 2019. If you’re out there and you’re a young person, study up, you know, study up,” Santelli said.
“All of these superstars that made recommendations in such a timely fashion yesterday, maybe they don’t feel the pain of what’s going on, but I feel bad they can’t buy houses and insurance,” Santelli said. “You think these prices of insurance are going to go down, Andrew? You think people in Florida that can barely hold on to their homes could afford 300% increases in their insurance?”
While Sorkin began to respond to Santelli’s remarks, he jumped in, questioning the host why nobody is talking about the issue as he compared the debate moderators to a “turkey shoot.”
“Right, so why don’t we talk about it? Why don’t we talk about it?” Santelli questioned. “What issues? What issues did you learn last night? The vice president’s smart, and she can memorize that Trump takes the bait, but the ABC people are like the turkey shoot!”
After unveiling her economic plan in mid-August, Harris received major backlash from political pundits, specifically calling out her proposal to place a federal ban on “corporate price gouging” in attempts to decrease high grocery prices. Critics have stated her plans could not only drive up prices but also create black markets.
The vice president has also received pushback on her proposal to give first-time homebuyers up to $25,000 in down payment assistance. Former aide to Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Matt Gorman, warned on CNN in August that the housing credit will just add to the price of homes throughout the U.S. and drive prices up.
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