Trump offers confusing plan to pay for U.S. child care with foreign tariffs

Former president Donald Trump gave a confusing answer Thursday when asked about making child care more affordable, suggesting the costs would be brought down by his proposed tariffs on foreign nations.

Trump made the comment during an appearance at the Economic Club of New York, where a panelist asked him what legislation he would prioritize to reduce the cost of child care.

After saying he “would do that” and calling it a “very important issue,” Trump pivoted to pitching “taxing foreign nations at levels they’re not used to — but they’ll get used to very quickly.” Trump has long discussed slapping tariffs of at least 10 percent on imports, raising concerns of a trade war if he returns to the White House.

The Republican presidential nominee suggested in New York that the revenue from such tariffs would somehow be so large that the cost of child care would no longer be a concern for the United States.

“Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including child care, that it’s going to take care,” Trump said, without elaborating on how the tariff revenue would lower child-care costs.

Trump went on to suggest that the tariffs would generate trillions of dollars for the country to address a range of its needs. Child care, he added, would be “not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in.”

“We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people,” Trump said.

While a 10 percent tariff on all imports could raise as much as $3 trillion over a decade, exceeding the cost of most national child-care proposals, it could also touch off an international trade war that threatens to raise other costs.

Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign on X shared a video clip of Trump’s remarks without commentary. A Trump campaign account took issue with the transcript that the Harris campaign provided in its post but otherwise reiterated Trump’s remarks suggesting that higher tariffs would make child-care costs a nonissue.

Trump’s comments have come as both parties have increasingly vied to show they want to bring down the costs of caring for families. Both Harris and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have proposed expanding the child tax credit in different ways.

Speaking more broadly during the New York City event, Trump promised to lead a “national economic renaissance.” He said Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who has endorsed Trump, will lead a commission to audit federal spending and regulations.