Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) took CNN to task Thursday, accusing the network of a glaring double standard in its reporting on high prices during President Joe Biden’s tenure versus President Donald Trump’s administration.
The fiery exchange unfolded on The Situation Room as host Pamela Brown quizzed Donalds about Trump’s tariff policies, spotlighting a rift between the congressman’s defense of the president and CNN’s shifting economic narrative.
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The clash erupted after Trump postponed 25% tariffs on Mexican imports covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2—an “accommodation” for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Brown pressed Donalds on the tariffs’ potential to rattle markets and U.S. businesses, citing their earlier imposition Tuesday on Mexico, Canada (25%), and China (20%) over immigration and fentanyl concerns.
Donalds fired back, pivoting to CNN’s past coverage. “When prices were rising in the United States, I didn’t hear CNN talking about that much. In fact, you ignored most of it while it was hurting the American people,” he said. “Give Donald Trump the opportunity to negotiate with the Mexican president and with Canada and with China … it’s going to work out.”
Brown countered that CNN had indeed covered Biden-era inflation, which soared from 1.4% in January 2021 to a 9% peak in 2022.
“You didn’t cover it the way it needed to be covered, let’s just be perfectly honest,” Donalds shot back. “You let the last administration get away with it and the American people suffered as a result.”
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Brown insisted it was his opinion; Donalds doubled down: “Oh no, it’s not my opinion. That’s a fact.”
The tariff saga traces back to February, when Trump’s initial threats prompted swift action: Mexico deployed 10,000 National Guard troops to its U.S. border, and Canada’s Justin Trudeau pledged $1.3 billion plus a “Fentanyl Czar” to curb the drug’s flow.
Thursday’s delay reflects ongoing talks, but critics—echoed by Brown—warn of economic fallout, while Donalds framed it as a chance to “stabilize our economic relationships” and secure the border.
Donalds’s critique taps a broader grievance among Trump allies: that media outlets like CNN soft-pedaled Biden’s inflation crisis while now zeroing in on Trump’s tariff risks.
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In August 2021, CNN “fact-checked” GOP claims tying Biden to rising costs, and in June 2024, ABC News dubbed such blame “misleading.” CNN’s Erin Burnett let Biden’s false May 2024 claim—that inflation hit 9% under Trump—slide unchallenged, while The View’s Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin in 2022 defended Biden’s efforts or downplayed his control over global inflation.
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