Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Donald Trump’s Joint Address To Congress Where He Will Continue To Push A Corrupt Agenda Favoring The Ultra-Wealthy At The Expense Of American Families

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress, denouncing Trump’s agenda which has prioritized tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of American families, slashing vital government programs, imposing tariffs that will lead to higher costs, and implementing dangerous foreign policy decisions that puts American national security at risk. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Tonight, Donald Trump will address the nation before a Joint Session of Congress.

This will be the fifth time Donald Trump speaks from the House Chamber, and by now the American people know just what to expect:

They can expect Donald Trump to launch a deluge of mistruths and falsehoods.

But tonight, we won’t hear one peep from Donald Trump about his broken promise to bring inflation down on “day one.”

We won’t hear one syllable how Donald Trump’s policies are making inflation and the costs that average American families pay worse.

So this morning, let’s start with tariffs.

Last night, for the first time in decades, the President of the United States imposed 25% tariffs on nearly all goods coming from Canada and Mexico.

What does this mean for the American people? What do Donald Trump’s tariffs mean for the American people? They’re going to pay more.

Everyday goods are about to become more expensive.

It means—according to the CEO of Target, to take one example—consumers could see higher prices within days. This is not something six months out.

That includes everything from the price of gas, produce, cars, cheese, dairy products, coffee, even chocolate.

American farmers will pay more for fertilizer, which means food prices go up.

New furniture will become more expensive, as Canada is a major supplier of lumber.

Refrigerators, washers, microwaves, laptops, smartphones, clothing, shoes—all likely see increases.

Hold on to your hat, Mr. And Mrs. America. When you bring it all together, the average US household could see $2,000 in increased expenses a year. And that’s a conservative estimate.

Let me repeat that. The average American family will see $2,000 more out of their pockets. Their hard-earned dollars that they're struggling to stretch, and now another added increase, that didn't have to happen, because Donald Trump is imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

It’s been clear in the past that, when applied intelligently and precisely, tariffs can be a useful tool against adversaries that engage in unfair trade practices that harm American workers. The tariffs against China years ago are one example of this.

But the situation we have today is completely different. It makes no sense to start a trade war with America’s closest trade partners, because the casualties of that trade war will be consumers and American households.

Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? Well, he says fentanyl, but less than 1% of the fentanyl that comes into the country comes from Canada.

It's one of the ways they can close that budget hole when they take huge tax breaks for billionaires. This is another place where Donald Trump and the Republicans are raising your costs so they can cut taxes for billionaires. It's unbelievable. I don't think this is going to be seen very positively by the American people.

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