Democrat Seth Koslow rails over Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's support on Trump's tariffs

Nassau County Legis. Seth Koslow (D-Merrick) on Monday criticized County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s support of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on a range of foreign goods.

"We’re talking about people’s livelihoods ... Prices are going up on everything ... Everyone’s being squeezed," Koslow told Newsday.

The proposed tariffs have rocked the stock market, causing steep declines over the last several days, stoking fears of a recession as more countries have announced retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods.

Trump threatened additional tariffs on China on Monday as stocks seesawed throughout the day, with the Dow at one point plunging 1,700 points, impacting pensions and rattling retirement plans. The 50% additional increase in tariffs, which Trump said he would enact on Wednesday if China did not rescind its retaliatory tariffs, would bring combined U.S. tariffs on China to 104%.

A growing number of economists and elected leaders from both parties said they worry that the emerging trade war will drive up prices on a range of products, from groceries to automobiles to electronics. Trump and his backers said the short-term upheaval will give way to big gains for U.S. consumers and usher in a new era of manufacturing in the country.

Koslow said he isn't so sure. He said, "Bruce Blakeman is blindly supporting the tariffs even though the manufacturing jobs they’re talking about are not the ones coming to Nassau County."

The economic debate is raging as Koslow is challenging Blakeman for the county's top job in November. The Democrat is trying to chip away at Blakeman's formidable advantage in fundraising and name recognition.

On Monday, Blakeman renewed his support of the tariffs.

"While we all share concerns about the stock market, we will be a stronger and better America if more jobs are held by Americans and more goods are manufactured here," Blakeman said in a statement to Newsday.

Trump has justified his tariffs against foreign trade partners as a strategy to increase manufacturing jobs domestically, including manufacturing technologies for batteries and microelectronics. Last week, he announced a 34% reciprocal tax on imports from China and 20% on those from the European Union. In February, he announced 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.

Blakeman added that he supports "job creation and economic security here in America."

The county executive attended Trump’s speech rolling out the new wave of tariffs at the White House last week. Trump gave Blakeman, who was seated behind Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a shoutout during his remarks.

Blakeman has remained a staunch supporter of Trump, hosting a campaign rally last year at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale and pushing the president’s agenda at a local level — mainly on immigration and by barring transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports on county property.

With Laura Figueroa Hernandez