Chris Hayes Lays Out The 'Scarier Thing' About Trump's 'Rockheaded' Tariffs

The MSNBC host said the president's tariffs are "part demonization" and "part stunt," but there's also another more worrying element at play.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes described his alarm at Donald Trump’s apparent “pathological obsession” with tariffs, after the president ignited a trade war by placing duties on imports from China, Mexico and Canada.

“He understands that, like, conflict drives attention, so he’s picking fights, because that is what drives attention,” Hayes said on an MSNBC panel Sunday. “But the scarier thing here, and this is the thing that hasn’t set in — it hasn’t set in when you talk to Republicans, people on Wall Street — he has a pathological obsession with tariffs.”

“Like, he genuinely, truly believes,” he added. “Like, yes, it’s part stunt. Yes, it’s part demonization. But also, you can’t move him off this idea, this rock-headed idea, that tariffs are the solution to all of America’s problems.”

Trump on Saturday declared an economic emergency and said he was placing tariffs of 10% on all imports from China and 25% on those from Mexico and Canada, following through on campaign threats and roiling global markets. It sets up a scenario that economists warn could easily drive prices up for American consumers.

Hayes said it was “so strange” that Americans cited inflation and high prices as a top election concern, but Trump won after “explicitly running on an agenda and campaign promised to raise prices.”