Rogers says Michigan families’ economic suffering is just a shoe that will “pinch every once in a while” as he continues championing tariffs devastating local businesses

LANSING - On August 1, 2025, Mike Rogers continued to double down on supporting Trump’s toxic tariffs and dismissing their impact on Michigan families — saying in an interview with Politico that economic pain caused by tariffs is just a “shoe” that will “pinch every once in a while.”

Rogers’ indifference comes as the trade policies he champions devastate Michigan workers and businesses: 

• A new report revealed the tariffs supported by Rogers could increase US factory costs by up to 4.5% and threaten Michigan’s manufacturing jobs. 
• Michigan’s auto industry has slammed the Rogers-endorsed Japan deal that the UAW is “deeply angered by” and the American Automotive Policy Council representing GM, Ford and Stellantis called “a bad deal for US industry and US auto workers.”
• Dearborn-based Ford faces a $2 billion tariff hit as “automakers are being whipsawed” by Trump’s policies. 
• Detroit Axle cut 102 jobs, citing Rogers-backed tariffs. 
• Pepsi shuttered its Detroit plant after more than 80 years in the Motor City, laying off 84 workers. 

“Mike Rogers cares more about catering to Donald Trump than helping Michigan’s industries, small businesses, and families,” said Joey Hannum, spokesman for the Michigan Democratic Party. “That’s why he’s doubling down on his support for tariffs that are wreaking havoc in Michigan while callously dismissing the economic harm Michiganders are feeling.” 

Read more here:

• POLITICO Playbook: Liberation Day, Part III
• This week, Playbook spoke with former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Senate. Michigan — a famously manufacturing-heavy state with a massive amount of trade with neighboring Canada — is highly exposed to economic fluctuations from tariffs.
• Rogers hopes the ups and downs of the trade war will be smoothed out by the end of the year in order to avoid becoming a campaign issue Democrats can wield against him.
• As for the tariffs’ economic impact, “obviously, certainty is always better,” Rogers tells Playbook. “The shoe is going to pinch every once in a while […]”