Khanna on Trump White House: ‘They need to have a 21st century understanding of the economy’
Rep. Ro Khanna took sharp aim at President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policies on Sunday, warning they’ll raise prices on American electronics rather than bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
“I understand they have 19th century policies of McKinley, but they need to have a 21st century understanding of the economy,” Khanna (D-Calif) said on CBS’ “Face the Nation, referencing the Trump administration’s protectionist trade approach and his admiration for President William McKinley. Critics of Trump's tariff policy have argued that the lessons of McKinley's 19th century America are not applicable today.
The California Democrat said the White House’s plan to revive domestic manufacturing is already unraveling, pointing to the Trump administration's decision to exempt smartphones and computers from his tariff regime after financial markets spiraled into chaos last week over his sweeping global tariffs announcement.
“They were chaotic and they were totally haphazard,” Khanna said. “So you had Howard Lutnick on, saying that we were going to bring manufacturing back, and electronics manufacturing back, to the United States, and they realized suddenly that that wasn't going to happen.”
“Actually, the iPhone price would go up to 1,700 or 2,000 dollars,” he continued. “And by the way, if that manufacturing moved, it would probably move to Malaysia or Vietnam.”
Khanna, whose district includes Silicon Valley, argued that if the U.S. really wants to compete with China and rebuild advanced manufacturing, it needs investment — not tariffs.
“If you want to bring back the manufacturing to the United States, you have to invest in the workforce, you have to have some investment tax credit for the facilities, and you have to be able to buy the things we make in the United States,” he said.
Khanna’s remarks come ahead of a speech he is expected to give on Monday in Ohio — Vice President JD Vance’s home state — where he plans to cast Vance and Trump as “stubbornly cling[ing] to 19th-century dogma in a 21st-century world” with their approach to foreign and domestic policy. The speech also is part of a broader push led by Khanna to position himself as a counterweight to Vance.
“This is not something the president will be able to spin,” Khanna said. “Either we're going to see new factories come or we're not, and tariffs just aren't going to do that. “