PRESS RELEASE
WATCH: Jocelyn Benson Slams John James for $6,400 Tariff Tax on Michigan
Last night, Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for Governor Jocelyn Benson called out John James on MS NOW’s The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell for backing Trump’s reckless trade war with Canada, and costing Michigan households more than $6,400 over the past year — the most of any state in the country. Michiganders are already struggling to make ends meet, and instead of fighting for Michiganders, James is rubber-stamping Trump’s failed economic policies, from the trade war to the Iran War.
Key Point: “I hear about the struggles of this tax: the John James Tax. My opponent needs to own this tariff. He has to own this tax on Michigan families that is hitting us harder than any other state. Because he has supported this. He has refused to stand up to Trump. He has refused to speak on behalf of the people who sent him to Washington. Instead he just does whatever Trump asks him to, even when it costs us here in Michigan more than any other state.”
In case you missed it…
Lawrence O'Donnell: Were you surprised to discover that the people of Michigan are the biggest losers in Donald Trump's trade war?
Jocelyn Benson: I was furious. Not surprised, because I hear about the struggles of this tax: the John James Tax. My opponent needs to own this tariff. He has to own this tax on Michigan families that is hitting us harder than any other state. Because he has supported this. He has refused to stand up to Trump. He has refused to speak on behalf of the people who sent him to Washington. Instead he just does whatever Trump asks him to, even when it costs us here in Michigan more than any other state. And I'll tell you, I hear this on the doors. I hear it in every voter I talk to. It's forcing small business owners to question how they can keep the lights on. It's making it hard to build affordable housing because the cost of lumber and copper and so many other things are going up. It means families standing in the grocery aisle have to wonder why the cereal they usually pay for is so much more expensive these days. It's real for Michiganders. And, it makes me angry that anyone could go to Washington on behalf of us and not fight for us, but instead just support this tax on Michigan's families. And that's why we call it the John James Tax, because this is his mess and he owns it.
O’Donnell: …Of course [the highest costs] would be [in] a Canadian border state, because you have so much trade with Canada. And Donald Trump's tariff war on Canada has been so crazy and so severe for the border states.
Benson: Yeah, absolutely. And that's why to me the job of the next governor of Michigan is going to be not just to stand up to Trump, but to try to figure out how to navigate these reckless tariffs at the federal level, and do right by Michiganders. So what I will do as the next governor of Michigan is negotiate subnational agreements between Michigan and Canada. Basically carve-outs or agreements simply between Michigan and our neighbor to the north so that we're able to identify ways to, together, bring down costs, protect our jobs, and ensure the border crossings that go from Michigan to Canada are not hurt by these tariffs, but instead, we find ways to protect Michiganders from the reckless federal policies. That's what governors need to be doing right now. Governors are the guardrails for our states against this behavior at the federal level. And just as I've done as Secretary of State, where I've been unafraid to protect our voters and stand up to Trump, I'll do the same for our economy, especially when it comes to reckless tariffs that are driving up costs for all of us.
O’Donnell: So a $5,600 tax per household by Donald Trump through his tariffs, has to be just an incredibly difficult burden to bear in [Michigan].
Benson: Not to mention the rising cost of gas, which has hit us uniquely hard as well with the war in Iran that no one wanted. And so it's very clear to me that we need governors in this moment that are prepared to figure out how to protect our residents against these reckless policies…It hit home for me the other day when I was meeting with a fellow Detroiter, somebody who lives in my neighborhood, and she said she's had cancer, and she has to choose every month whether to pay her chemo bill or her electricity bill. Not to mention wondering how, if her electricity goes out and she loses her groceries, how she's going to be able to pay for gas to go back to the grocery store to get more groceries. And this is what Michiganders are struggling with all across our state. And it's a direct result of the failed economic policies of the Trump administration, which my opponent has supported. And it's all the more reason why we need a governor who's going to find ways to drive down costs while growing our economy and ending the corruption that got us here. And that's what I'll do as governor.
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