TRANSCRIPT: Leader Schumer Slams Trump Tariffs On CNN’s OutFront With Erin Burnett

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was featured on tonight’s episode of CNN’s OutFront with Erin Burnett. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

Erin Burnett: Out front now, the Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. And Leader Schumer, I appreciate your time tonight. So Republicans voting with Democrats on this bill. But Trump's tariffs, of course, are still happening en masse. I mean, is there anything else the Senate can do?

Leader Schumer: Well, look, first, let me say this. The tariffs that Trump proposed this afternoon are even worse than we thought. In addition to all the other bad things in these tariffs, he's added a 10 percent additional tariff on everything. And what does that mean? It's a huge tax on the average American family, Erin. The average American family will pay approximately $5,000 more each year. And why is Trump doing this? Tax breaks for billionaires. But even now, Republicans are realizing that these tariffs are bad. And many of them voted for the proposal that Tim Kaine made to roll back these tariffs. They are terrible. And to do it all to give tax breaks to the billionaires—that's where the money they say is going to go—it's outrageous. And one more thing. The American people are seeing this. That's why in Wisconsin we had such a healthy victory. Trump won the state in November, and they lost this race—Musk and Trump and DOGE—by 10 percent. And one of the main reasons is people hate these tariffs. They're a tax on the average American family, all to help the billionaires.

Burnett: Now, Trump says, of course, that his reason for doing this, as you know, Leader Schumer, is that he wants to bring manufacturing back to America, that he wants fairness. He makes all these arguments. Obviously, economists take issue with those. But on the question of motive, do you believe him?

Schumer: Look, the worst thing about these tariffs is how it's going to hurt the average working family. But almost as bad is just how erratic he is. He says one thing one day, one thing the next day, one thing two days ago. And it's outrageous because American businesses and American consumers need certainty. Big businesses, big and small, if they think they're going to get hit by these tariffs, they stop spending. They stop employing people. They cut back on jobs. And the average consumer—what the numbers have shown, Erin—is that the average consumer now has less confidence in the economy than they have in a very long time, again, because Trump is so erratic in what he says and so much aimed like a dagger at the middle class. One more thing. Trump said he doesn't care if it makes prices go up for the average family. How callous can these billionaires be? Don't they understand that when the average family gets $5,000 taken from their income, they have less money for food and groceries? Maybe they can't take that vacation that they've been planning for a whole year. Maybe they can't, you know, buy a new car. It's just the nastiness, the callousness of it, and the fact that they're in a bubble so far away from the average American family is catching up with them, as Wisconsin and even the Florida elections showed.

Burnett: You mentioned Wisconsin. And last night we did see a move to the left. Virtually every district in Wisconsin, when you look there specifically, Republicans lost that Supreme Court race or their backed judge lost. Despite Musk's visit to the state, and obviously he poured millions and millions of dollars into that race, a new poll out today, Leader Schumer, shows that 38 percent of Americans approve of Musk—only 38 percent. That's actually about 10 points lower than Trump's approval rating, which is below 50 but quite close to it. Musk downplayed it. Now, you know, as you know, he had said that losing this race was, you know, foundational to civilization as we know it. But then he came out and said, "I expected to lose, but there is a value to losing a piece for positional gain." What's he saying?

Schumer: No one knows what the heck he's saying. Elon Musk personifies what's wrong with the Trump administration. A very wealthy person, a callous person. This is a person who said Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and should be eliminated—the sort of sacred part of American politics. Doesn't he understand that the person getting eleven hundred dollars a month, a senior citizen who's paid into this, needs their money for drugs, needs their money for food? He is just so far out of it that—and so is Trump. And that's why they're losing ground across the country. The message that we have—that they are cutting taxes on the billionaires like themselves, all for and making the middle class pay for it—is terrible. And one more thing here. They're all self-dealing. They're all trying to make money off the federal government. They're billionaires. But Trump, his family, Musk—they're all self-dealing. And people hate that as well.

Burnett: So you were the person who told Senator Cory Booker last night when I was watching it, you broke the record for the longest speech on the Senate floor, and you cut in at that moment. Let me play it.

[Recording plays]

Schumer: Would the senator yield for a question?

Senator Cory Booker: Chuck Schumer it’s the only time in my life I can tell you no.

Schumer: I just want to tell you a question. Do you know you have just broken the record? Do you know how proud this caucus is of you? Do you know how proud America is of you?

[Recording ends]

Schumer: That was a great moment, Erin. And he did it—25 hours. And such stamina. And I know he talked to me about preparing for it—such preparation, such strength. But you know, even as important as the length of time, the 25 hours, is what he said. It was one of the most severe indictments of the Trump administration done in a careful, thoughtful, and comprehensive way. Cory Booker spoke far more for America than Donald Trump or Elon Musk has.

Burnett: So there are some asking Booker, on the heels of this, if he's going to run for president in 2028. Obviously, he's had those ambitions. We've seen him run before. But you know, there's a lot of admiration, to say the least, out there among Democrats for him. Do you think he has earned a bigger leadership role in your party?

Schumer: Well, he's already on my leadership team. We talk to him all the time. And he's great. He's one of the most talented people. But let's not forget, we have so many talented people in our caucus. And the one thing we're all united on, which Cory's speech personified, is showing America, telling America, every day fighting for America and showing them how bad Trump is. And the speech made a major advance in that direction as well. So I salute Cory and love him for doing it.

Burnett: Leader Schumer, thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

Schumer: Great to be here, Erin. Thank you.

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