Mike Pence said President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policies are contributing to economic difficulties in the United States, even as he credited Republicans for extending tax cuts that he said helped limit the damage.

Speaking on MSNBC’s “Way Too Early,” Pence argued that while the continuation of tax cuts provided some relief, the administration’s tariff strategy has created additional economic pressure.

Pence said, “I give Republicans in Congress and the president a great credit for extending those tax cuts in full. I think had they not done that, had those taxes gone up while tariffs were going up, I think our economy would be would be struggling even more than it is today.”

Host Ali Vitali noted the current economic challenges, saying, “You see the economy that’s struggling right now.”

Pence responded by pointing to uncertainty surrounding the tariff policy as a key factor weighing on economic performance.

“I think the economy has been impacted by the uncertainty around the president’s broad-based tariffs from Liberation Day. Advancing American Freedom was one of the few groups that went into the courts to challenge those policies on constitutional grounds.”

He also welcomed a recent legal development involving the policy.

“I was heartened that the Supreme Court of the United States, overturned the president’s Liberation Day tariffs.”

Vitali remarked on Trump’s reaction to the ruling, saying, “He was quite critical of that.”

Pence acknowledged the president’s stance but emphasized his own constitutional interpretation.

“I know he’s not happy about it, but Constitution’s quite clear that taxes originate in the Congress, not by the president, and that that includes what our Founders called imposts, which are tariffs.”