Senator Tom Cotton was on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream to discuss tariffs. Cotton also weighed in on the one-year anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler, PA.
“They knew of this threat days in advance, but didn’t share with state and local. The drone wasn’t working for the Secret Service, although apparently the shooter had a drone that had been working in that area. There were so many things. There were requests for enhanced security that were denied,” Bream said.
“What do you make of these reports a year later, and has there been any real accountability?” Bream asked.
“I think President Trump is right as well that mistakes were made that day. The report from the GAO as well as the Senate reports indicate that there were serious failures in communications and allocation of resources. Under the Biden administration, the Secret Service simply was not responsive to the requests of not only the Trump campaign, but the head of his security detail Sean Curran, who is now the head of the Secret Service as well,” Cotton said.
“I do believe, as President Trump said, the Secret Service is working to redress those problems and make sure they don’t happen again,” Cotton said.
“Tariffs are now playing out, and we understand that on August 1st, there are some new ones that will kick in. Based on these letters the President and the White House has sent out, unless there are deals done in advance of that,” Bream said.
“Is there a role for the Senate?” Bream asked regarding the Senate’s role in tariffs.
“Well, Congress over the years, and this goes back a century, has given the President broad discretion to negotiate tariffs,” Cotton said.
“I think it’s important to see these tariffs as an extension of our broader foreign policy, trying to achieve critical national objectives,” Cotton continued.
Senator Cotton cited an example of a tariff Japan has on the US regarding rice.
“Japan puts a tariff on American rice of 700 percent. Arkansas rice farmers would love to sell our rice in Japan, but at 700 percent tariff, it’s a bit hard. So, President Trump is using these tariffs or the threat of tariffs in part to get better deals and open more markets up,” Cotton said.
“A second important context is national security. The President has announced new tariffs on copper. Those are akin to earlier tariffs on steel and aluminum. These are critical inputs for our national security that we really have to be able to produce domestically,” Cotton explained.
Watch:
WATCH: @SenTomCotton on how tariffs can help U.S. farmers: “President Trump is using… the threat of tariffs in part to get better deals.” pic.twitter.com/awRMTN5zlD
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) July 13, 2025
