RI Senator Jack Reed takes on Trump's poor economic performance and character

"President Trump suggested that we endorse ethnic cleansing. That is a profound prohibition and something that Americans in the World War II generation fought against."

Senator Jack Reed (Democrat, Rhode Island) held a press conference on Friday to discuss President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy. The Senator also took questions on various topics, including a Trump executive order declaring English the official language of the United States. Senator Reed’s answer was pretty good.

Here’s the video, followed by a transcript, edited for clarity:

Senator Reed: Donald Trump ran on promises to improve the economy and lower costs, and he’s already broken his word. The president is undermining confidence in the United States government, fueling uncertainty, raising food and health costs, and stoking inflation with his billionaire first tax plan.

His economic policies are driving up costs, and here are some examples: Eggs are up 19.3%. Minimum car insurance, 14.3%. Fuel oil is 6.2%, the average monthly 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 3.6%, and ground roast coffee is 3.35%. Not surprising, consumer confidence is dropping - by seven points. It’s the steepest drop in consumer confidence in nearly four years. Under the Biden Administration, we saw a rapidly improving economy and more confidence from our fellow citizens. That’s dropping now.

Trump claims he’s trying to cut costs while spending $10.7 million in taxpayers’ money on golf outings to Mar-a-Lago and millions more on the Super Bowl and a joy ride around the Daytona 500. That’s not a wise or frugal use of government funds.

But here’s the good news: the dark economic clouds we face could be rolled away if there are significant changes. The economy started 2025 in good health and with positive growth, but Trump has shown his priorities are not those of Rhode Island families. Unfortunately, working families, Main Street, and even big industries already feel the negative impacts of Trump’s political turbulence and reckless tariffs. He’s unsettling United States allies and investor confidence. Just yesterday, he announced steep new tariffs that will go into effect on March 4th, and he’s laying off the team in charge of lowering Medicare drug prices.

What does this all mean for Rhode Island families and businesses? The Trump tariffs are raising costs. Wall Street estimates and projects that car prices in the United States could jump by $2,700. Yale researchers found that the President’s threat to place reciprocal tariffs on our trading partners would cost families $2,600.

Meanwhile, tariffs on lumber will increase the cost of housing. Trump imposed similar tariffs in his first term in office, and the National Association of Home Builders estimated that they increased new home prices by $9,000—and he’s set to do the same thing again.

At the same time, instead of trying to lower costs, Trump and Congressional Republicans are about to implement a divisive spending bill. They want to permanently extend Trump’s billionaire first tax cuts - money for the richest people in America - while gutting Medicaid, SNAP, and education programs. Now, we’re looking for tax cuts, but tax cuts that are focused on working, middle-class Americans that are now struggling to keep up with these price increases - not the ultra rich, apparently the only people that Trump listens to. The last thing we should be doing is cutting programs like Medicaid and LIHEAP, which helps people access healthcare and stay warm in the winter (and in the south they use LIHEAP to stay cool in the summer).

Regular Rhode Islanders are worried. They want stable, effective leadership, and smart, data-driven investments that pay strong societal dividends and help businesses compete and grow. They want to crack down on price gouging and monopolies, and wisely increase the housing supply. They want an end to Elon Musk’s self-dealing. Suddenly, NASA announced they were teaming up with Starlink, which had probably put millions or hundreds of millions of dollars into Musk’s pocket. What a coincidence.

Trump and the Republicans have to change direction. They need to start putting American families first, not billionaires. We are fighting to make sure that happens.

Reporter: Senator, on the way over here, I heard the President would sign an executive order to make English the official language of the United States. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Senator Reed: The language of the United States is not on your lips, but what is in your heart. Do you believe in this idea of freedom, of the individual’s dignity? Are you willing to cooperate with your fellow citizens and your fellow Americans? This is another one of Trump’s journeys into rhetoric, not reality.

Reporter: This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) became the latest agency under the chainsaw. What will that mean for the South Coast of New England?

Senator Reed: It means bad news for everyone, including the South Coast of New England. NOAA is the organization that provides us with weather forecasts. It also provides farmers with long-term forecasts to help them plan their farming needs over months. It is the watchdog for hurricanes and disturbances. It does fundamental research about the ocean, which is undergoing incredible changes in temperature, fish migration, etc. Again, this is rejecting knowledge and embracing ignorance.

Reporter: Are you going to run for another term?¹

Senator Reed: Yes.

Reporter: Can you expand on that?

Senator Reed: Yes, without a doubt.

Many factors are involved, but I learned at West Point and while commanding paratroopers that you don’t run away from a fight—and we’re in a big fight now. The course of our country will be determined. The lives of individual Rhode Islanders have already been adversely affected in so many different ways, so I feel like I have to continue.

Reporter: You were recently in Johnston visiting the Tri-County Community Action Agency². On a local level, is it still too soon to unpack [the federal cuts we are facing locally]? I know they’re having meetings and everyone’s trying to figure out what we’ll lose. Do we know locally, or will the fight occur in committees?

Senator Reed: It’s difficult because the cutting off these funds and the firing probationary employees - which is dumb - all of that is causing massive chaos and confusion. Money is held up in the pipeline because they don’t have a person that can sign the document to release it. I was talking to firefighters last week, we got them a fire grant and they went through the process. They bought the equipment, respirators, backpacks, etc. Then they went to get the money and were told, "There’s no more money going out." They’re already on the hook for the equipment. Now they have to return it?

This did not happen on Wall Street. It is happening in our community. These are firefighters and people who need help.

Reporter: So you’re seeing the effects.

Senator Reed: Absolutely. Left and right. I talked to some men and women who were let go by the federal government, and they’re feeling the effects.

Reporter: There’s a lot of angst out there, and many people feel it. What can they do?

Senator Reed: People are feeling it every day more and more. They go to the market and say, wait a second, I thought the egg price would come down. They’re not. They’re going up and we’re seeing it -every day more and more happens. When you start eliminating government positions, that sounds nice, but that’s a person contributing to the country - and they’ve lost out. Many of them are veterans because of veterans’ preference. I’m hearing about veterans, people who served in combat, who were working and they’re suddenly out the door.

Reporter: So what should they do?

Senator Reed: Here’s the situation. First of all, Trump has consistently disregarded the law. That’s why he’s in court. The process of court action is slow and tedious. He’s got to battle through the District Courts and then the Circuit Courts, and there’s one case now and up at the Supreme Court. He has been playing the courts and hoping that the courts either settle his way or that the cost to his opponents is so much that they give up and take 10 cents on the dollar. They want to get out of it. That’s Trump’s style. That’s his approach, and it’s inappropriate for a President of the United States.

Reporter: How confident are you that Congress will ultimately step up and protect the funds it has appropriately?

Senator Reed: That’s a serious question because during the nomination process, many people who know better on the other side of the aisle have put their heads down and voted for people who are not qualified - and that’s not a good sign.

Reporter: But when you talk to your colleagues on both sides of the aisle, is there a movement to step up and protect some of the things that Congress has outlined as a priority?

Senator Reed: What’s going on now is they’re beginning to feel the heat from their constituents. One example is the National Institutes of Health (NIH) problem where they’re cutting dramatically from NIH funding contracts. Most medical schools that do research need that money in red states and blue.

Some red state colleagues ask, “Can we fix this somehow?” But nothing is overtly said, and very few people say it loudly. They hope they can work it out individually with the administration, which is not the right thing to do.

Reporter: Presidents Trump and Zelinsky are meeting today to sign an agreement regarding Ukraine’s mineral wealth. They are giving some of that wealth to the United States, but our relationship with Ukraine seems fraught.

Senator Reed: That is a result of President Trump indicating that the Russians did not attack Ukraine, which is false. He always deals in falsehoods, which is not in good character for a President of the United States. He said that Zelensky was a dictator while Vladimir Putin is just one of the most remarkable people he’s met. The result is that Ukrainians are now being excluded from these discussions and the signals coming out of the Trump Administration are that they don’t count on us for any help. Everything to him is like a real estate transaction. “What are you going to pay me for this?” At this juncture, the deal on minerals is more futuristic than a reality on the ground. We should be putting more pressure on Putin because he’s in a vulnerable moment, so when he goes to the table with the Ukrainians, he will be looking for a fair deal to the Ukrainians, and I hope that’s the case.

Reporter: Does that say, “Don’t count on us,” to you?

Senator Reed: Clearly, Trump is trying to undermine the efforts of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves against an unprovoked attack by Russia. He sees the future where he’d like to be Russia’s pal. We’re opening up our embassy again and he’s chosen to support autocrats, not democracy.

Reporter: Is America part of the “axis of evil” now?

Senator Reed: It’s not yet, but we have to - and it’s not just me, it’s my colleagues, particularly on the Republican side - stand up and say, "This is wrong.” One of the most amazing things - and I give them credit - is that my Republican colleagues under the Biden Administration were at the forefront of efforts to help Ukraine. They were complaining Biden wasn’t doing enough. Now they’re very quiet about what’s going on. They have to step up and say this is the right thing to do, not just for the Ukrainians but for the United States. We’ve seen our position in Europe collapse in a matter of weeks.

Reporter: Is that salvageable at this point? I mean we’ve done this twice to them now and it feels like, “Fool me twice, right?”

Senator Reed: I think it is salvageable. The question is, is it salvageable under Trump? The world is uncertain about whether he’ll ever come through with his promises or if he promised anything. This has an effect in Asia too. The Chinese look and say, “My God, this guy seems to be walking away from commitment.”

Reporter: Returning locally about angst and concerns, when people read this article and ask “What’s happening with my child’s Head Start program” or “I’m not sure what’s going to happen to my LIHEAP funding" - as you thread through it and try to oppose it - What’s your advice? Should people contact the agency providing the service and see where we are?

Senator Reed: It is difficult because we hear that local agencies are contacting their federal contacts—and they don’t know. However, call our office if you have any questions about a federal program. We’ll do our best to get you the answers as quickly as possible, and if we can’t, we’ll be very honest.

Reporter: The other big conflict unraveling at this point is Gaza. President Trump seems to be determined to go forward with the proposal that he outlined of displacing two million Gazans and creating a “Riviera on the Mediterranean.” Is Congress going to let that happen if it violates international treaties, the Geneva Convention, and that kind of thing?

Senator Reed: I hope not. It’s so unrealistic that it will hopefully - like many of the things Trump says - in a few years be something where he says, “I never said that.” It’s a difficult situation. The King of Jordan has been our critical ally through the decades. I met with him and he said very clearly, “We cannot accept any Palestinians from Gaza. We have huge problems already. We’ve accepted perhaps over a million Syrian refugees, we have done our part.” So the proposal to move the Palestinian people someplace else is just not feasible. And there are legal and moral implications of taking people from their homeland and putting them someplace else. So I hope this dies on its own...

Reporter: Hope is a pretty thin thing to stand on though. What actions can be taken?

Senator Reed: What’s happening is that the Arab nations are trying to pull together a plan, not for the removal of the Palestinians, but for the reconstruction of Gaza, and that could help. But if you think about the complexity of finding a place to send the Palestinians, the resources necessary to do that, it becomes very difficult. This was more rhetoric than reality. It was bad rhetoric, because President Trump suggested that we endorse ethnic cleansing, and that is a profound prohibition and something that Americans in the World War II generation fought hard against.

Reporter: So is this a fascist takeover of the United States? Can we use that word?

Senator Reed: No, no.. That’s not the appropriate word at all.

Reporter: Okay.

Senator Reed: This is Trump. This is his view of the world. This is his view of how things work. And Elon Musk is running around with a chainsaw in hand, et cetera.

Reporter: But the courts, as you said, are slow. The midterms are two years away. The Democrats are in the minority and the Republicans are scared. How do you stop this kind of perfect storm?

Senator Reed: First, we must reach a budget agreement to fund the government. We have a debt ceiling we have to pass. It isn’t easy. Then, we’re doing what we’re doing today, calling it out. This is how a democracy functions - calling out what we think is wrong and convincing the American public. More and more constituents, not just here in Rhode Island, but across the country, are going to their congressman, congresswoman, or senator and saying, “Stop this.”

You’ll see a political effect. Ultimately this country, and the genius of the country, is that the people’s voice will be heard. That’s my hope. Alright, thank you.

1. Senator Reed has served as Senator since 1996.

2. “This critical program gives children tools they need to be healthy and successful. I’m fighting to protect funding that helps ensure teachers & families have what they need to succeed,” wrote Senator Reed on Facebook after he visited Johnston.