“If it’s prolonged, it means higher prices for all of you for everything,” Sen. McConnell said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is warning of the cost President Donald Trump’s trade war could have on your wallet.
At the Kentucky State Fair’s Country Ham Breakfast in Louisville on Thursday, the soon-to-be retired Republican leader said a prolonged trade war could have serious impacts on Americans, pointing to how tariffs have hurt the bourbon industry.
Trump insists his trade policies will boost the economy and lower prices for Americans, but McConnell said history does not favor that view.
“Put me down as a guy who hopes the trade war isn’t very long because if it’s prolonged, it means higher prices for all of you for everything,” McConnell said.
He’s also concerned the tariffs also put America at odds with the nation’s allies and divides us when we should be working together, citing Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and China’s growing economy.
McConnell isn’t running for reelection next year, and as the election season ramps up, he also addressed his popularity in Kentucky during the breakfast.
According to an Associated Press poll in 2024, McConnell was the most unpopular elected leader with only 28 percent of people having a “favorable” opinion of him.
“There’s always a lot of talk about who’s popular and who isn’t,” McConnell said. “Let me tell you how to measure popularity. It’s winning elections. Thanks to you, I won seven Senate race, nine leader races — I’m undefeated at the end of my long game.”
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