Louisiana Senator John Kennedy is among those who admire President Donald Trump’s knack for getting other countries to concede in trade negotiations.
During Trump’s aggressive tariff push against global trade partners, public opinion split into three main camps: those who trusted Trump’s strategy, those who feared negative economic consequences, and those who were uncertain about the outcome but remained hopeful. The majority found themselves in the third group.
It seems that Trump’s tactics have delivered results. According to a report by Terry Christoph, countries have been reaching out to the White House in droves to explore opportunities for more equitable trade agreements. Trump has even suspended tariffs for 90 days as a gesture of goodwill to nations that refrain from imposing their own tariffs, all while directing his attention towards hashing out a deal with China.
Trump’s decisions and moves have now caused the stock market to come back with gusto, turning it into the single largest day of gains for the DOW in history. The NASDAQ has also skyrocketed, having its best session since 2001.
Appearing on Fox News’s “Hannity,” Kennedy sung Trump’s praises.
Kennedy noted that Trump was “guided by the principle that if you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly,” hit countries with high tariffs against us so heard their heads spun.
This caused a “fresh hell” to break loose, according to Kennedy, which had the media declaring that civilization was coming to an end, and that we’d all be “living in a refrigerator box behind Outback Steakhouse.
“Then an astounding thing happened,” said Kennedy. “I thought these countries were going to bow up and fight, but fully half of the countries in the entire world said ‘no mas.'”
“They came to the president and said ‘we want to lower our trade barriers, and make a deal,” Kennedy continued.
Hannity noted that they had to because they need access to American markets, to which Kennedy noted they could have tried to fight back but didn’t, and Trump seized the opportunity to make deals. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that these countries would’ve never come to the table if not for what Trump did.
“Deal making is an art,” said Kennedy. “President Trump has clearly mastered the art. It was an impressive couple of weeks.”
Dealmaking is an art—and President Trump has clearly mastered it. pic.twitter.com/v7ni8NrcSM
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) April 10, 2025
Trump’s largest opponent will be China, but he seems more than confident that China will bend the knee like everyone else. He’s placed a 125 percent tariff on Chinese goods.
Experts like Kevin O’Leary believe he thinks Trump should take it even further, as my colleague Chase Jennings noted on Thursday:
104% tariffs on China are not enough. I’m advocating 400%. I do business with China. They don’t play by the rules. They’ve been in the WTO for decades. They have never abided by any of the rules they agreed to when they came in for decades. They cheat, they steal, they steal IP. I can’t litigate in their courts. They take product, technology, they steal it, they manufacture it and sell it back here.
Time will tell if this trade war will benefit the U.S. and its people, but as it stands, it would appear Trump’s plans are working out for the better. All things point to a better situation, and if China does cave, this will rewrite the Republican playbook on trade for decades to come.
