Walz slams Trump tariffs as White House defends trade war policies

The White House defended President Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policies Tuesday as Gov. Tim Walz, Democrat of Minnesota, blasted the president during a Democratic National Committee press call for prioritizing a “ridiculous trade war” against American farmers.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Fox News Digital: “If the American people cared about the views of the idiotic buffoon known as Tim Walz, they would not have resoundingly rejected him and his giggling running mate on Election Day in November. »

Last week, Trump floated the idea of ​​imposing additional 100% tariffs on China starting November 1, as the United States and China remain locked in a brutal trade war since the president declared April 2 “Liberation Day,” seeking reciprocal tariff deals around the world. Walz said Tuesday that global competition is keeping U.S. prices low and that Trump’s tariffs on China are driving up costs for U.S. farmers.

“All of these things are at risk because of Donald Trump’s ego,” Walz said. “This is a ridiculous trade war… you can’t write this and be more of a mess than to impose these tariffs, put our farmers at risk, our family farms, turn around and bail out another country and Argentina, who took their markets.”

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., walks near the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Oct. 7, 2025. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)

TRUMP’S SECONDARY RATES DEADLINE COMES; US-RUSSIAN RELATIONS ARE IN BALANCE

China has halted its purchases of American soy this spring, in retaliation for tariffs imposed by Trump to gain leverage in trade negotiations by shifting purchases from U.S. producers to countries like Brazil and Argentina. China is the world’s largest importer of soybeans, accounting for 61% of global soybean supplies traded over the past five marketing years, according to data from the American Soybean Association.

TRUMP’S GLOBAL TRADE RELATIONS RESET WILL REMAIN IN FOCUS THIS WEEK

Walz criticized Trump’s tariffs Tuesday because they force U.S. farmers to lose exports to China.

“It took decades to establish these markets,” Walz said. “China didn’t just sign one-year contracts with Argentina. They signed some of them for up to ten years, and it will take us years to get those markets back.”

The White House has relentlessly defended the administration’s “Liberation Day” tactic as a strategy to level the playing field in the global economy.

“President Trump’s trade and tariff policies reset decades of America Last free trade policies that decimated American industry and hollowed out American communities,” Desai said in a statement on behalf of the White House. “This includes American farmers who are unfairly excluded from foreign markets, a wrong that President Trump’s historic trade deals with the UK, EU and Japan are righting.”

President Donald Trump signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 25, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But Walz said U.S. exports provide economic stability and, with China choosing to buy goods from Brazil and Argentina, “all of that is at risk.”

“Everything Donald Trump does is transactional,” Walz said. “And unfortunately, this transaction must benefit him personally.”

The failed vice presidential candidate blamed Republicans, who he said “could solve this problem.”

“My God, this is Republican orthodoxy,” Walz said. “Free markets lift all boats, allow people to compete, allow them to leave. It’s capitalism 101. And what we get out of it is an economy run by an authoritarian leader who picks winners and losers. And who loses is American producers, American rural communities and American consumers.”

Earlier this summer, foreign policy experts criticized Walz for asserting that China could be the voice of “moral authority” following Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leadership.

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., addresses delegates at the South Carolina Democratic Party convention May 31, 2025, in Columbia, South Carolina. (Meg Kinnard/AP Photo)

“Now, who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement on this? Who has the moral authority? Who has the capacity to do it? Because we are not seen as a neutral actor, and we may never have been,” Walz said of the U.S. role in de-escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Walz said Americans must face the reality that the “neutral actor” with the “moral authority” to lead negotiations in the Middle East “could be the Chinese.”

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The Minnesota Democrat, who is seeking a third term as governor next year, criticized Trump’s trade and tariff policies Tuesday just as the president returned from negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza that led to the release of the still-living hostages.

Eric Revell of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.