Trump: Sens. McConnell and Paul 'unbelievably disloyal' for potentially opposing Canada tariffs

Austin Horn, Lexington Herald-Leader on Apr 2, 2025

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Both of Kentucky’s U.S. senators are drawing the intrigue of Washington and ire of President Donald Trump for their opposition to his push on tariffs.

Senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell could join Democrats and a few of their Republican colleagues to scuttle Trump’s efforts to place tariffs on goods coming from Canada, a longtime ally of the United States. If the effort were to pass a Senate vote, it would still need to survive the House and Trump’s veto pen — Trump has said it would not pass through either of those steps.

Trump lumped McConnell and Paul alongside moderate Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine, in a post to his social media platform Truth Social early Wednesday morning.

He called for them to “get on the Republican bandwagon” and oppose a Senate resolution of which Paul is a cosponsor — that would end the national emergency Trump declared in February, citing fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration. The emergency has been used to justify a blanket 25% tariff on Canadian imports, which Trump has suggested he will levy this week.

The president also called the four Senate Republicans “unbelievably disloyal” in sowing disunity among Washington Republicans.

“They are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels. The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four, in that it is not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it,” Trump wrote in a 12:58 a.m. post.

Paul and McConnell aren’t used to aligning on much. McConnell supported Paul’s primary opponent in 2010 when the junior senator first won his seat, kicking off an at-times distant relationship between the more traditionalist McConnell and Paul, who rode the Tea Party wave into office.

On the matter of keeping markets mostly free from tariffs, however, they agree.

McConnell wrote in a Courier-Journal op-ed this February that blanket tariffs “make it more expensive to do business in America” and could especially harm Kentuckians. He cited one estimate that Trump’s proposed tariffs could cost Kentuckians $1,200 per year.

“Preserving the long-term prosperity of American industry and workers requires working with our allies, not against them. Trade wars with our partners hurt working people most,” McConnell wrote.

Murkowski, Collins and Paul have all signaled support for the resolution, sponsored by Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine. If that holds in the 53-47 GOP-led Senate, Vice President JD Vance would need to serve as a tiebreaker to help Republicans block it.

McConnell has not explicitly said he’ll support the resolution if the vote gets scheduled, but in response to a question on that topic, his office pointed to past criticisms of tariffs the longtime senator has offered.

Paul has been consistent in his opposition to tariffs despite Trump’s sway in the GOP. In the latest rendition of the tariff battle, Paul has railed against the plans on social media and behind closed doors.

“Tariff wars hurt homebuilders, real estate brokers, bourbon sellers, farmers, carmakers, shippers, purchasers of steel, etc.,” Paul posted on social media last month. “Growth in international trade is proportional to growth in GDP. A fact. If you cripple trade, you will ultimately cripple GDP. Not a good thing.”

Trump, whose back-and-forth on tariff imposition with American trading partners has been one of the biggest stories of his term, is unconvinced. In his post Wednesday morning, he framed his emergency order as important to maintain a bulwark against drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

“What is wrong with them, other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly known as TDS? Who can want this to happen to our beautiful families, and why? To the people of the Great States of Kentucky, Alaska, and Maine, please contact these Senators and get them to FINALLY adhere to Republican Values and Ideals. They have been extremely difficult to deal with and, unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself,” Trump wrote.

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