Once a tariff critic, economist Steve Moore now backs Trump's policy: 'Buy America, sell China'

Economist Stephen Moore on Thursday admitted that he was once skeptical of President Donald Trump's tariffs, but now endorses tariff policies, especially when it weakens China.

Moore said he was not as concerned about the fluctuations in the stock market as he expected because he realized that the president is "two moves on the chessboard ahead of everybody else."

"You know, at the beginning, I was a skeptic," Moore said on the "Just The News, No Noise" TV show. "I thought Trump has really gotten himself into a thicket that he might not be able to get out of ... we saw those big declines in the stock market, and people started to panic. But, you know, he really is [two] moves on the chessboard ahead of everybody else, and right now I'm feeling pretty confident."

Moore said that he still expects the stock market to fluctuate over the tariffs, but that it is not as big of a concern for him as it used to be. 

The economist also urged Trump to try and isolate China economically in order to weaken the powerful nation. He also commented that the Chinese stock market has been an even bigger mess than the U.S. over the tariffs.

"They're headed to a Great Depression if they can't trade with the United States," he said. "They have a lot to lose here. I think China is going to be brought to the table on their hands and knees, to, as Trump would say, to make a deal with Trump, because their economy cannot withstand this."

Moore also suggested another way to weaken the Asian country economically is for Americans to stop purchasing items that were made in China by reading labels.

"We need to start a movement of Buy America, sell China," Moore said. "This is something every one of us as individuals can do to change the direction of what's going on in our country ... Look for the label that says made in America, at least, look for the label that says, Not, you know, made in China.

"I think if we all make that commitment, I think we would have a huge impact," he continued. "We don't have the government to tell us what to do. We can do this as individual consumers."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.