“He basically got up and said, ‘I want everybody to say hello to my little friends,’ and he jacked up tariffs, American tariffs, and half the valley shook,” he said. “But then a strange thing happened. I thought that other countries would blow up and would enter into a trade war. Instead, many other countries have said, ‘No mas.’ They‘ve said, ‘OK, we want to lower our trade barriers, but you‘ve got to lower yours, America,’ and I think that‘s a good thing. I think our goal here ought to be to lower trade barriers and tariffs on both sides.”

Kennedy said he does not know how the tariffs will pan out but that Trump has suggested what he intends to do with them. It comes as the president is expected to sign an executive order providing some relief from auto tariffs.

The Louisiana senator contended that it is “hard to find the honey in the rock” within 100 days of a new president. However, he spotlighted what Trump has accomplished within this time, including securing the nation’s southern border and shifting the national conversation on the federal budget, referring to the waste the Department of Government Efficiency has uncovered.

TRUMP 100-DAY REPORT CARD: TARIFF ROLLOUT ‘THE BIGGEST UNFORCED ERROR IN AMERICAN ECONOMICS HISTORY

Another benefit to come out of Trump’s first 100 days, which Kennedy argued some would find “a little strange,” is how the president’s “loud existence has awakened Europe,” claiming that “drastic changes” are happening with the continent’s defense and economy. He said it is possible the Europeans could look back in a decade from now and “thank” the U.S. president for awakening Europe from its “slumber.”

Trump is planning to mark his 100th day in office by hosting a rally in Michigan, a state he won in the 2016 and 2024 Electoral College. A separate party to mark the occasion is being held on the same evening in Arlington, Virginia.