GOP senator on market reaction to Trump tariffs: 'What’s happening is not good'

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Friday the steep drop in markets over President Trump's tariffs is "not good" even as he defended Trump's long-term goal to shore up U.S. production.

"The stock market matters," Kennedy said in a morning interview on Fox News's "The Faulkner Focus," noting that millions of Americans have money in the markets.

“​​What’s happening is not good. Now will it continue? Will we find the bottom, and then it will start to go back up? I hope so,” Kennedy said. “That’s what I’m pulling for. But if it doesn’t, we’ll have to recalibrate.”

Markets plummeted Thursday and Friday after Trump announced broad tariffs on dozens of countries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq and the S&P 500 index on Thursday all saw their worst single-day losses since 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stocks plunged further Friday as multiple countries signaled plans to retaliate against the new U.S. tariffs, adding to angst in global markets.

Kennedy, who sits on the Senate Banking, Appropriations and Judiciary committees, said plummeting stocks reflect American consumer values and future spending habits.

“About 62 percent of Americans have money in the market. The wealth effect is real — there’s reliable data that shows that for every one dollar that the stock market, holdings in the stock market go down, people spend twenty-five cents less,” he told anchor Harris Faulkner.

“Well, we’re a consumer-driven economy and if people are spending less, that’s going to affect your GDP [gross domestic product],” he continued.

Kennedy wasn’t the only GOP senator to break stride with the president. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and others said their constituents are shaken by the uncertainty. 

“The idea of a tariff to equal the stage has some merit and some support. But I think most Kansans would say, ‘Let’s do this in a more gradual way,’” Moran told The Hill. 

Murkowski also said people in Alaska were in fear about their future despite numerous comments from Trump administration officials seeking to address such concerns.

“One of the things that I’m hearing from folks back home is they’re certainly afraid about what it’s going to mean for price increases, very afraid about that,” Murkowski said.