Mike Huckabee: If trade agreement passes, workers would 'take it in the backside'
In an MSNBC interview, 2016 Republican presidential candidate and ordained Baptist minister Mike Huckabee used some salty language to argue against fast-tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
"I’d like to think the U.S. government would stand up for the U.S. workers rather than let them take it in the backside and somehow just have to tough it out," Huckabee said.
Going against Republican orthodoxy, Huckabee argued that a trade deal could lower American wages, adding that "free trade is about going both ways." Politico notes that Huckabee's position on the trade deal aligns him with politicians on the left, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), but puts him at odds with many Republicans.
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.