Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden (Wis.) said he is willing to “pay more for guacamole” under President-elect Trump’s tariff plan if it means getting rid of fentanyl across the country.
Van Orden joined CNN’s Boris Sanchez on Wednesday and was asked how the GOP plans to implement the tariff plan and its mass deportation agenda without disrupting the country’s food chain, as many migrants work in food and agriculture.
“Here’s what’s really been inflationary, the last four years of the radical, out-of-control Biden spending with this Inflation Reduction Act, that’s what has caused inflation,” Van Orden replied.
“And if it means that I have to pay more for guacamole but fentanyl poisoning does not come across the Canadian and Mexican border, and our mothers and sisters and brothers and daughters aren’t poisoned to death by this chemical that’s coming across the borders, I’m willing to pay for guacamole, as is the rest of the United States of America.”
On the campaign trail, Trump promised he would implement a strict and vast tariff plan, though he rarely provided many details.
On Monday, he announced he will impose new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China through an executive order on his first day back in office.
He said he would create a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, and add another 10 percent tariff to Chinese goods, many of which are already under tariffs from his first term.
The idea is contentious among economists. Many believe there’s little correlation between higher tariffs and bolstering the American workforce, particularly when it comes to manufacturing.
Even labor unions, who have fought back against free-trade deals, have doubts about the benefit the tariffs will have.
When pressed about the worker impact and Trump’s deportation plan, Van Orden said he isn’t worried about food production in the country and is in fact confident that America will produce “enough food” with people who are “legally” here.
“I’m not concerned that we’re going to not be able to produce enough food here in the United States. I just simply am not,” Van Orden said. “We have an E-Verify system that is marginally at best functioning, but we’ll make sure that we have folks that are here legally and lawfully to make sure that we can produce our food.”
