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Fareed Zakaria GPS

Big, Beautiful Tariffs

12/28/202550 min

This special explores Trump’s historic increase in US import duties, which have pushed America to its highest aggregate tariff rate since the Great Depression.
 
What kind of results can we expect? Fareed looks for lessons in history, tracing US tariffs from the 1800s onward and noting some of the pitfalls. Tariffs can foster crony capitalism, Fareed points out—and in illiberal regimes around the world, they’ve long been part of the autocrat’s playbook.

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Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 0· Soundbite0:01

    Sir, this is an executive order, uh, realigning- People have wanted to do this for years.

  2. Fareed Zakaria· Host0:07

    On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order.

  3. Speaker 0· Soundbite0:13

    Thank you, sir.

  4. Fareed Zakaria· Host0:15

    Renaming North America's tallest peak, Mount Denali, to its former name, Mount McKinley, in honor of the nation's 25th president, William McKinley.

  5. Donald Trump· Soundbite0:27

    We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley where it should be and where it belongs.

  6. Fareed Zakaria· Host0:36

    Trump has had something of a love affair with McKinley for years.

  7. Donald Trump· Soundbite0:40

    William McKinley. William McKinley. William McKinley.

  8. Fareed Zakaria· Host0:44

    Because they both shared a passion for tariffs.

  9. Donald Trump· Soundbite0:48

    This is the man that wanted tariffs. He spoke beautifully of tariffs. He understood the crucial importance of tariffs.

  10. Fareed Zakaria· Host0:56

    McKinley called himself a tariff man, spearheading a roughly 50% tariff, later earning the nickname The Napoleon of Protection.

  11. Donald Trump· Soundbite1:08

    He raised massive amounts of money. He made our country very rich.

  12. Fareed Zakaria· Host1:12

    According to Trump, McKinley's tariff spawned a golden age in the late 1800s.

  13. Donald Trump· Soundbite1:18

    We had so much money we didn't know what the hell to do with it.

  14. Fareed Zakaria· Host1:23

    Making America the wealthiest it has ever been before or since.

  15. Donald Trump· Soundbite1:27

    We were so rich because we were

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