A CNN panel got heated Monday after Republican strategist Scott Jennings explained how President Donald Trump used the threat of tariffs to make deals with Mexico and Canada over border security and fentanyl.
Trump signed proclamations to levy 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada Saturday to address border security and fentanyl before reaching deals with both countries to delay the tariff for 30 days. Jennings pointed out to CNN analyst Bakari Sellers and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell that the tariffs were not levied.
“No tariffs were levied. None were levied. Zero,” Jennings said, with Sellers replying, “But it’s the uncertainty and the chaos.”
“It’s one day!” Jennings shot back, with Rampell claiming, “Trump is trying to repackage the status quo as a victory. That’s what the leaders of these foreign countries are learning. You don’t actually have to give Trump anything.”
Mexico agreed to deploy 10,000 troops to help prevent illegal immigration in order to secure a 30-day pause in the tariffs. Almost 22,000 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the U.S. border in fiscal year 2024 with another 4,537 pounds being seized in fiscal year 2025 to date, according to statistics released by United States Customs and Border Protection, most on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Drug overdoses killed 105,007 Americans in 2023, down from 107,941 in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized over 55 million fentanyl pills in 2023 alone, CBS News reported.
China is a source for precursors to fentanyl, but did not reach an agreement before a 10% tariff kicked in.
“You have to let him announce victory on TV. Second of all, it’s not actually back to the status quo. It is worse than the status quo. As Richard points out, we have tarnished our relationships with our allies, whose help we need to rein in China, which I know you care about,” Rampell said. “Beyond that, think about the additional uncertainty that’s being added to the business environment right now. If you are a company and you don’t know if tariffs are coming or they’re not coming, you don’t know if your input costs are going to go up or they‘re not going to go up, why would you invest? Why would you invest in oil pipelines, for example, to Canada? I know you really care about the Keystone pipeline, for example.”
“You mean the one that Biden killed?” Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York shot back, with Jennings adding, “Yeah, that one.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to spend $1.3 billion to secure the U.S.-Canada border, including $200 million to combat fentanyl and the appointment of a fentanyl czar in exchange for a 30-day pause on the 25% tariff.
“We have — we have a deal,” Jennings said, with Rampell claiming, “We have a 30-day deal for nothing.”
“You guys — you guys write your talking points 12 hours ago. It‘s 10:00. Look what happened in the interim period,” Jennings responded.
Story by Harold Hutchinson of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
