Former governor Pawlenty parts ways with Trump over tariffs

Tim Pawlenty will admit he’s pretty much on the same page with President Donald Trump on a whole list of things.

The former two-term governor, who’s running for the office again, says he likes lower taxes and a tough stance on immigration.

But, he’s not a fan of the current atmosphere of tariffs and trade wars, especially how they impact the state’s farmers.

“Trade wars that hurt Minnesota farmers are a bad idea and tariffs that are imposed in retaliation that comes with that against our farmers from other countries is a bad idea,” Pawlenty said. “We need to stop short of those kinds of things being triggered.”

On the other hand, Pawlenty says he’s not opposed to steel tariffs as a national security measure — a position that plays very well on the Minnesota Iron Range.

Pawlenty has emerged as a frontrunner to do just that. New campaign fundraising totals show Pawlenty has raised significantly more than any other candidate in the race, and about 10 times that of his official GOP-endorsed primary rival Jeff Johnson.