Former Rep. Pete King, while discussing the tariff battle pitting the United States against Canada, Mexico, and China, told Newsmax Sunday that his money is on President Donald Trump.
"Any time you're in a fight like this, which involves business, which involves being tough, I have to bet on Donald Trump," the New York Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "He knew what he was doing getting into this. He wouldn't have gotten into this encounter unless he was confident that he'd come out better on the other side."
The tariffs, which Trump unveiled Saturday, are about "key issues, the main one being stronger control of the border," King added.
"When it comes down to a struggle like this, my money is on Donald Trump," he said. "He's done it before. He's going to do it again. I think we have to stick with him. It could be some tough days along the way but we can't give in. We have to stand with the president and he's going to win."
Former Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., also on Sunday's show, said he is not concerned that the prices of goods will rise because he is "confident we're going to get through here."
"What I do know is that the amount of fentanyl coming into the United States is going to fall, and the number of criminal aliens coming into the United States is going to fall, and the cooperation that will get on the border, particularly from Mexico, is going to increase," he said. "All of that is just sorely needed."
China will also not be able to use Mexico or Canada to sneak in goods past existing tariffs, Kingston said.
"There's going to be a lot of good that comes through this," Kingston said. "But as Peter says, Donald Trump doesn't do these things randomly. He has a goal; he has a vision. And I think he's going to use these to get there."
King also on Sunday commented on Trump's purge of the FBI, where agents and leaders who worked on cases against Trump lost their jobs.
King said that he thinks Trump is doing the right thing, but he does think the firings have to be "selective."
"I wouldn't blame some rank-and-file FBI agents who got involved in the case because they were ordered to do it, but anyone who is in a decision-making position, anyone who is really carrying this forward to me, the president has the right to clear that out," said King.
He added that he has "tremendous faith" in Kash Patel, the nominee for FBI director, and said he hopes he is confirmed.
"I worked with Kash," he said. "He's a great guy. He's going to do a tremendous job, and I think it is time to get the, you know, those who turned enforcement of the law into a persecution of political enemies that has to be removed."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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