Sen. Mitch McConnell is warning that America's current economic path under Trump's tariff policies carries echoes of the 1930s.
In an interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader, he drew parallels to Herbert Hoover's 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and the isolationist "America First" stance of that era.
McConnell said the period today feels like "the most dangerous since before World War Two." He noted that historians widely believe Smoot-Hawley deepened the Great Depression by sparking global retaliation and collapsing trade, even if it did not directly cause the downturn.
That history is shaping the debate over tariffs today.
McConnell has openly criticized Trump's broad use of import levies, warning they risk raising prices for American consumers and businesses.
"Tariffs are going to be paid for by the American people," he said earlier this year, calling the strategy a bad idea despite supporting much of Trump's broader agenda.
Economists have voiced similar concerns. Wharton's Jeremy Siegel suggested Trump's sweeping tariff plans could be even more damaging than Smoot-Hawley, while economist Jeffrey Sachs compared them to some of the worst economic mistakes in U.S. history.
The warnings highlight growing fears that tariff-driven trade wars could repeat past policy blunders, amplifying risks to the global economy.
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