White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday said that President Trump plans to fund the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border by imposing a 20 percent tariff on Mexican imports. And while Spicer reportedly backtracked the claim, telling NBC News' Peter Alexander just one hour after revealing the plan that it was simply an "example of options" of how to pay for the wall, not a concrete policy proposal, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to warn of the dangers of imposing such a tax on Mexico.
"Any tariff we can levy, they can levy," Graham wrote, noting that Mexico is the U.S.'s third-largest trading partner. And then he offered this explanation for why imposing such a high tax on Mexican imports would be "mucho sad":
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Born this wayOpinion 'Born here, citizen here' is the essence of Americanism
-
What does Trump's immigration crackdown mean for churches?Today's Big Question Mass deportations come to 'sacred spaces'
-
Who is Charles Grassley?In the Spotlight The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman in charge of Trump's legal agenda
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US SteelSpeed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
