Politics

CNN’s Latest Stunt Backfires: ‘A Democrat And Biden Donor’

Published

3 weeks ago

April 8, 2025

CNN is facing backlash after its latest attempt to discredit President Donald Trump’s trade policies blew up in its face. The network aired a segment Tuesday morning accusing the Trump administration of using “bad math” to justify tariff hikes—touting a so-called “conservative economist” from the American Enterprise Institute as the voice of reason.

But there was just one problem: the expert, Dr. Stan Veuger, is a Democrat donor with a long paper trail of support for Joe Biden and ActBlue. CNN’s chyron declared, “Conservative Think Tank Says Trump Tariffs Have A Math Error,” as Veuger criticized the Trump-era tariff formula live on air.

The host eagerly introduced Veuger as someone associated with a traditionally right-leaning think tank, aiming to boost the credibility of the critique. The segment itself centered around an alleged “math error” in the tariff formula used by the Trump administration.

Veuger argued that the administration selected the wrong coefficient in its trade model—claiming that the variable φ (phi), which measures the change in import prices when tariffs change, was set at 0.25 instead of what he said should have been closer to 1. “They picked the wrong number,” Veuger said.

“That number should be close to 1. Now, 1, of course, is four times as big as 0.25… So every tariff they calculated based on this formula is four times higher than it should be.”

WATCH:

According to Veuger’s math, tariff rates should have been much lower—under 14% in most cases—instead of the 50% figures projected under Trump’s policy. But even as he walked viewers through the formula, Veuger admitted, “We are not at all endorsing this approach,” and called the entire idea of basing tariffs on trade deficits “bad economics.”

However, Veuger has donated repeatedly to Democrat causes and Biden’s campaign, as public records show.

“CNN tried to trick viewers into thinking they had a ‘conservative’ economist on, but in reality @stanveuger is a dummy who is also a Democrat and Biden donor,” wrote Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung on X, formerly Twitter.

CNN tried to trick viewers into thinking they had a “conservative” economist on, but in reality @stanveuger is a dummy who is also a Democrat and Biden donor. pic.twitter.com/rk8qUaOMrw

— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) April 8, 2025

In fact, screenshots from the Federal Election Commission reveal that Veuger made multiple donations to both Biden for President and ActBlue, the left-wing fundraising platform, while employed at the American Enterprise Institute. He’s hardly a neutral economist or a “conservative” voice—and the internet took notice.

via X

Over the past week, President Trump has significantly escalated tariff measures, intensifying trade tensions globally. On April 2, he announced a universal 10% tariff on all imports, with higher rates for specific countries, including a 34% tariff on Chinese goods.

In retaliation, China imposed a 34% tariff on U.S. imports, effective April 10. On Monday, Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese products unless China withdrew its retaliatory measures by Tuesday, potentially raising total U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 104%.

Supporters of the tariffs contended that they would generate approximately $300 billion annually for the U.S. Treasury and affect only about 1% of the economy.