"Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary has become one of the Trump administration's most vocal defenders of escalation in the tariff war with China, arguing the nation must be dealt with once and for all because their cheating and stealing of IP is killing both small and large businesses in the U.S.
"If we have to squeeze Chinese heads to the wall...so be it," he said on MSNBC. "I don't care about the volatility. I don't care if Trump ratchets it up 25 percent a day!"
"What do you mean you don't care about volatility?" MSNBC's José Díaz-Balart shot back. "If volatility has a direct impact on us as consumers?"
O'Leary said it's because the situation has to be addressed.
The only way Chinese President Xi Jinping is staying in power is if he keeps his people employed and fed, O'Leary argued.
"Now when you shut down a factory...you put thousands, if not tens of thousands of people unemployed in China. They take burning torches, just like in the Frankenstein movie, up to the castle. And that's a bad outcome for the Supreme Leader."
🔥WOW: Kevin O'Leary ERUPTS at MSNBC host who tries (and FAILS) to PIN HIM for applauding President Trump's pressure campaign against China!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 10, 2025
"They cheat, they steal. They don't play by the rules. And I've had enough!"
"I don't care about the volatility. I don't care if Trump… pic.twitter.com/eRZ4wjAetK
"Let's squeeze them, squeeze them, squeeze them. Just keep going and going and going until they start complying," he said. "That's what I want!"
Earlier in the week, O'Leary called for raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 400 percent.
"I want Xi on an airplane to Washington to level the playing field," he said. "This is not about tariffs anymore. Nobody has taken on China yet. Not the Europeans. No administration for decades. As someone who actually does business there, I’ve had enough. I speak for millions of Americans who have IP that have been stolen by the Chinese. I have nothing against the Chinese people. They brought great literacy, art and tech to the world. The government cheats and steals and finally an administration — you may not like Trump, you may not like his style or his rhetoric — finally, an administration that puts up and says ‘Enough!' 400 percent tariffs tomorrow morning!"
On Friday, China announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 125 percent, a move that came after the Trump administration said China now faces a total tariff rate of 145 percent—125 percent tariffs that were previously announced and then a 20 percent tariff related to its role in fentanyl production.
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