Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) acknowledged Saturday that President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs are driving up prices — but insisted the short-term pain is worth it.

Appearing on Fox Report With Jon Scott, Norman, who recently launched his campaign for South Carolina governor, was pressed on a Fox News poll showing Trump’s economic approval rating at 55 percent.

“I think a lot of people are seeing higher prices,” Norman acknowledged. “Our family’s in the construction business, and we get a lot of our timber from Canada and other countries. Yes, it’s higher. Steel prices are up, but it’s for the good of the country.”

Norman said Americans should expect “high prices for a short time,” arguing that Trump’s trade policies are necessary to reset the economic playing field. “We couldn’t keep going the way we were going… That’s why this president is doing such a good job,” he said.

Trump’s tariffs — which took effect Thursday after months of delays and back-room negotiations — impose a baseline 10% duty on most imports, pushing the overall effective tariff rate above 17%.

The stance is a notable shift for Norman, who pointedly declined to endorse Trump in 2024, instead backing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. But since announcing his gubernatorial bid in late July, Norman has praised Trump’s record, even declaring that the president’s actions in Iran would place him “in the annals of the greatest presidents we have ever had.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)