McConnell 'not a fan' of Trump’s plan on this policy issue

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday told reporters that he does not agree with Donald Trump's plan to impose across-the-board tariffs on goods coming into the United States.

One reporter asked the GOP Senate leader: "Former President Trump has proposed a 200% tariff on John Deere tractors if they're made in Mexico. Are you concerned that some of these tariff proposals by the GOP nominee could drive up costs for consumers or hurt urban exporters in Kentucky, for example?"

McConnell replied: "Yeah I'm not a fan of tariffs. They raise the prices for American consumers. I'm more of a free trade kind of Republican that remembers how many jobs were created by the exports that we engage in. So, I'm not a tariff fan."

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Axios reported last month that Senators John Thune (R-SD) and John Cornyn (R-TX) — both vying for McConnell's spot — broke with Trump over this tariff plan.

"There are ways that you can selectively use [tariffs] as a tool to achieve economic policy outcomes, but just uniform, across-the-board tariffs is not something I have been for in the past," Thune said, while Cornyn views "across-the-board tariffs as potentially 'problematic'", according to Axios.

The news outlet noted that the GOP senators' comments "signal the potential for a fresh round of Republican infighting over trade and the economy if Trump wins" the White House.

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READ MORE: 'Hurting American businesses': Trump’s 'tariff agenda' could cause 'painful rupture' among Republicans