FULL: Colorado Governor Jared Polis Trashes Trump's Tariffs During Interview With CNN

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Watch FULL: Colorado Governor Jared Polis Trashes Trump's Tariffs During Interview With CNN - Forbes Breaking News on Dailymotion

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00:00You just heard, of course, us speak with the EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin,

00:05proposing rolling back these regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

00:10How will this impact your state?

00:15Well, look, what's called for in these times, and we're seeing the impact of climate change,

00:19by the way, in Colorado, the three largest fires in the history of our state all this last decade

00:24across the country, increased hail, weather event damage, it costs homeowners money,

00:29it endangers lives, so that's clear.

00:31You really need an all-of-government approach.

00:33Rather than trying to use legal language to squirm out of taking action on climate,

00:37we should be looking at what each agency can do to improve climate and reduce our emissions.

00:42Like, what can we do, for instance, on transportation?

00:45Our Department of Transportation is looking at transit.

00:47How can we reduce traffic, reduce emissions?

00:50When you look at housing, how do you make sure that people can have affordable housing

00:53near job centers, on transit lines, rather than further out,

00:57where the only option to get to work is a single occupancy vehicle?

01:01Of course, air quality, Department of Health.

01:03So we really should be asking ourselves these questions in everything we do.

01:06How can we reduce emissions, live more sustainably, cleaner air,

01:10do our part on climate to reduce some of these costly impacts that we're all feeling?

01:14One, of course, other major area where the Trump administration is changing the lives of Americans

01:21is with tariffs.

01:23We're seeing this regime go into effect after months of delay.

01:29And there are some signs that many of the warnings economists had about it haven't come to pass.

01:37There is revenue coming in.

01:39There are manufacturers who have committed to building factories in the U.S.

01:44Do you see any upside to President Trump's tariff strategy?

01:50Well, there's certainly no upside.

01:52I mean, I do still hear some Pollyanna-ish conservative economists that think that what Trump is doing

01:58is negotiating to get better tariffs rates, get them down to zero.

02:02That's the opposite of what we're seeing.

02:03With Europe, we've historically had a tariff rate of 2% to 3%.

02:06This new deal is 15%, five times higher than it's ever been.

02:11Americans paying 15% more for many products on the shelf.

02:16And, of course, discouraging manufacturing from even setting up in the United States.

02:20I'm hearing from manufacturing companies that want to establish and invest overseas

02:23to avoid our tariffs on the parts and materials they need to make their products.

02:28So there's no upside.

02:29There is uncertainty.

02:30Obviously, we can all hope that President Trump is actually playing some master game

02:34to get to zero tariffs.

02:36But he seems to like tariffs for the sake of tariffs.

02:38They're a tax.

02:39They're a regressive tax.

02:40They hurt our economy.

02:41Again, on this big-picture question of how and where Democrats should push back against

02:48President Trump and if there are areas where his policies should be embraced, you in some

02:55ways have broken with others in your party when you posted about RFK Jr. being tapped to lead

03:03the Health and Human Services Department.

03:06And since he's taken over that job, he'd replaced the entire CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee.

03:14Considering how you felt about him initially, do you feel the same way now?

03:18Well, to be clear, I've always said I don't agree with him talking about vaccinations in ways

03:27that are not true and in many ways could be dangerous, discouraging people from getting

03:31vaccinations.

03:32Of course, if he's talking about the dangers of processed foods and sugar, trying to ban

03:36red number five dye, reduce consumption of soda, candy, I'm all for that.

03:41I mean, anybody should.

03:42It's fact-based.

03:43The American people have higher obesity rates in almost any nation.

03:46We need to reduce chronic disease.

03:48So I think with any part of what the president is doing, if they do something right, I mean,

03:52even a stop clock is right twice a day, by all means, let's jump on it, support it,

03:56make it happen.

03:57At the same time, that actually gives you more credibility to oppose the devastating things

04:01that this administration is doing.

04:03So big picture here.

04:07We've been talking a lot about how Democrats find their way back, right?

04:11And the reality is, right now, the party is much more unpopular than it was at this point

04:18in the first Trump term, right?

04:20There were big Democratic gains in the midterm elections in the first Trump term, but the

04:24party was relatively popular.

04:26It's not right now.

04:29What is your diagnosis for that?

04:31What's different now?

04:32Why are voters unhappy with you?

04:34Well, I would say two things.

04:38You know, ultimately, the goal of any political party, hopefully ours, is to win.

04:42That means getting the 51 percent.

04:44I hope 55, 58 percent gives you a little cushion.

04:47That means that you have to provide an outlet for people's frustrations from across the ideological

04:51spectrum, right?

04:52The Democrats need votes from everybody, from never-Trump conservative Republicans, to disaffected

04:57socialists, to moderates, to progressives, to liberals.

05:00They're all part of the Democratic coalition if we're going to win with 55, 58 percent.

05:04And at the end of the day, what most Americans want to see is a vision for making life better.

05:08And that's where Democrats can bring people together.

05:11How do we reduce costs?

05:12How do we improve the quality of life, make health care more affordable, improve the air

05:18quality that we breathe, strengthen our economy, get rid of these costly tariffs that are already

05:23costing people as they're shopping for back-to-school items hundreds of dollars for their kids on

05:28top of what they'd otherwise have to pay?

05:29These are simple, common-sense solutions that make a difference in the lives of everyday

05:33Americans.

05:34And I think Democrats can get to 55, 58 percent if we stick to those basics.

05:39So one of your fellow Democrats, Kamala Harris, who of course was the party's nominee for

05:45president in the end in the most recent election, she just announced she's not going to run for

05:50governor of California, which leaves the door open for her to potentially run for president

05:55and again, considering what you've laid out about what Democrats need to do, is Kamala Harris the

06:00right person to be the Democratic standard bearer in 2028?

06:06Well, it's about the message and what they run on, right?

06:08I haven't talked to Kamala about what her plans are.

06:11I think what we need is the ability to make sure that we can build that coalition of 55,

06:1658 percent, win, win decisively, turn our back on this divisive Trumpian era of politics and move

06:23forward with an era of prosperity and opportunity for the American people.

06:27And I think it's great that many people will hopefully run to be able to audition to see who

06:31has that voice and who's able to get that done and win.

06:35And of course, govern effectively to improve our quality of life.

06:38I'm tempted to ask if that's you, sir.

06:43It's not something that I've looked at. I'm focused on governing. It's my job.

06:47I have another year and a half as governor of Colorado. We're going to do everything we can

06:51to make life even better here. Fair enough. Governor, thank you very much for your time today. I really

06:54appreciate it.

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