Anthony Scaramucci, the outspoken investment banker and former White House Communications Director, criticized the Trump administration's enduring trade disputes, arguing the tariffs ultimately hurt the American people.
"The current trade war and the strategy of using tariffs is a flawed strategy," Scaramucci told Cheddar on Tuesday.
Scaramucci said that tariffs, which are essentially taxes, especially hurt Americans making less that $100,000 annually. "They eat up their living standards," he said.
Scaramucci is a prominent New York financier and the founder of Skybridge Capital. He served a brief stint as White House Communications Director in 2017, which gave him what he called an "11-day PhD" on Washington culture. His tenure was cut extremely short after he gave an interview to The New Yorker in which he criticized other members of the administration with expletives and derogatory language.
"By using the tariffs, you have this effect of slowing down the economy and creating a level of unpredictability for CEOs large and small around America," Scaramucci said.
Since taking office, Trump has threatened punitive tariffs against several countries ranging from Mexico to India. The White House most notably implemented tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports in 2018, and has threatened to levy more on an addition $300 billion worth of goods.
Big tech companies such as Amazon and Google are garnering criticism for failing at their proposed climate pledges, most of which rely on carbon offsets — a potential loophole where companies pay others to address their omissions. Gilles Dufrasne, policy officer at Carbon Market Watch, joined Cheddar News to explain the organization's negative evaluation. "The objective here is not to bash companies and say everybody is doing the wrong thing," he said. "The objective is to also provide lessons, and there are some companies that are doing the right thing."
Jeff Zucker has resigned as CNN's president, writing in a memo he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with a colleague. Zucker admitted to the relationship, which he described as consensual, during the investigation into former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo's behavior. Seth Schachner, managing director of StratAmericas, joined Cheddar to discuss where does this abrupt resignation leaves the network.
Kevin Kelly, Founder & CEO of Kelly ETFs, discusses the profitability concerns within the banking sector and highlights the long-term headwinds in the energy market.
