By Guy Page
Lt. Gov. John Rodgers (R-Vermont) said on Facebook Monday night he opposes the Trump tariffs because of reports they will cost the average Vermont household $3,800.
“Vermonters cannot afford another $3800 a year to subsidize the President’s games…..Hard to believe I find myself agreeing with the likes of [billionaire investor Bill] Ackman and [media commentator Ben] Shapiro, but, yet here we are,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers, a former Democrat elected as Lt. Governor in 2024, has been critical of Trump in the past, including what he called an attack on the free speech of the news media. When asked to explain, Rodgers cited Trump’s lawsuit for defamation against a major news network and DOGE’s proposed defunding of the U.S. funded Voice of America.
Rodgers was elected with the support of Gov. Phil Scott, who also is an outspoken critic of the Republican president.
In his Facebook post, Rodgers cited a Washington Post article citing Shapiro saying “The president’s vision of international trade is, I’m sorry to say, mistaken. So this is a massive tax increase on American consumers. That’s what it is. And it is designed to be so.” Shapiro added the tariff is “probably unconstitutional.”
A White House press release published five days ago stated that the Trump tariffs during his first term had very little inflationary impact: “According to the Economic Policy Institute, the tariffs implemented by President Trump during his first term “clearly show[ed] no correlation with inflation” and had only a fleeting effect on overall prices.”
Social media commentary on Rodgers’ post, made at 7;12 PM, was mostly disagreeing with Rodgers. One of the gentler reproofs: “Ole Trump has been right about a lot of things. Probably should just hold back and watch.”