Kentucky Gov. Andy Besher warned for months that the Trump administration’s tariff levies were to harm his state’s economy, including the bourbon, automobile and aerospace industries. With President Donald Trump ratcheting them, the Democratic governor said the impact would be “devastating” not just for Bluegrass states, but for the entire country.
In an interview with Politico on Monday, Beshear, the 2028 presidential candidate, said there is not much that Democratic governors can do when it comes to international trade, while pushing California Governor Gavin Newsom to spare California products from retaliation.
Instead, Beshear argued that Democrats’ best wishes were to launch a public information campaign against Trump’s trade agenda, highlighting that the president was elected on a promise to cut costs, but could instead make Americans’ lives more expensive. Democrats need to hit the point, “He and he are the only one making this decision, and he owns it,” Beshear said.
That recommendation will work to bring up his own national profile, frequently appearing on cable news, and the podcast will be released on Tuesday.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
About a month ago you mentioned that Canadian officials were urging people to pull back liquor tariffs, primarily to protect Kentucky bourbon. What’s the latest in those conversations?
Well, as a governor, you can have general conversations with leaders of other countries, but you cannot be involved in any type of customs meeting. The tariffs are entirely federal and the impacts that are happening on my state, the impact that is happening on the US economy are only one person and one person, and that’s Donald Trump. People in my state who voted for him didn’t vote for them to have all the prices they needed. Most of them voted because they thought he would help lower the price. …
I think the law makes it very clear that tariffs are a federal policy, but it makes it much more clear that it’s not around the pain Donald Trump is causing. When he engages in these actions that harm Americans, the media and many others say, “Well, what are you going to do to make sure it doesn’t harm the people of America?”
When the president makes this important mistake, when he does something that all economists say raise prices, that president usually has the authority to do it, but he should blame it.
Tell us more about your own trade vision. Kentucky is one of the states that has stumbled our communities over the past decades. Are you supporting Trump’s long-term goals? This is to revitalize these lost industries.
Now, Kentucky is booming. We spent three best five years for economic development. …We have a record for investment in the private sector over the past five years, creating a record number of new jobs, having the highest average of three years of wages, breaking export records twice, and breaking tourism records for the third consecutive year. So our economy was growing. …What we see is a lot of that momentum directly influenced by President Trump’s very different approach.
Look at the economy of Kentucky: Our biggest foreign direct investor is Japan, and the president has launched a very aggressive tariff in Japan. So the world’s largest Toyota factory is located in Georgetown, Kentucky, and behaving like our economy is not global and has no impact on the ground.
Trade is much more complicated than this president behaves like that. The tariffs used surgically are really important. Since China is trying to dump steel in the US, tariffs on target steel make sense. China is trying to throw away EVs that have been filled in markets across Europe. In the US, target tariffs make sense. …But these full tariffs, again, I don’t think all economists are wise and will lead to the kind of investment the President is talking about.
Regarding car rates, what are you expecting to have an impact on the Toyota manufacturing plant in Georgetown? Because perhaps it will increase production there.
This means that if you need to make more parts in the US, it will require years of investment. This means that in a major manufacturing facility, it can take 2-5 or 6 years to build. So if an idea has a very positive tariff trying to force that investment, it is a pain of 2-5 years for the consumer. There are many ways to encourage US investment.
Donald Trump believes he is the only president. Because he was convinced by the last group of mobile voters that he was focused on price and the economy, and that his opponents were distracted by other issues. Now he’s telling the same consumers who don’t care about them. He is pleased to them over the pain, and his billionaire companions say the same thing.
Your Homestate Senator has so far been one of the few GOPs who have opposed tariffs. Do you expect this to be a breakpoint in Trump’s Republican support as stock markets fall and Trump is doubling with tariffs on China today?
It should be a breaking point, as it affects all American families, Democrats, Republicans and independence. Prices are rising, and life is becoming more difficult for American families just because of this decision by the president. And, like you said, when this Democratic governor and two Republican US senators say that something is a bad idea, in this hyperpartisan world, that’s a bad idea.
What leverage does the Democratic governor have in this respect? I know you said earlier, there are federal laws that restrict back channels, but what options are there at the tables where they push back in a meaningful way?
It’s important that we all speak and speak. We are very close to our constituents. We go out into the community every day and talk to people who live in our state. After all, it needs to be more than our voice. You have to be everyone going to the supermarket where you see grocery tabs go up. X percent need to take photos and videos, and post them and call them Trump Tax.
The couple is about to buy a house for the first time they can afford it. When someone passes a gas station, it needs to go out there too, when it passes a gas station in every corner where prices are rising. What it is trying to take is the voices and pressure of the American people. And I think it’s growing.
