CBS anchor Margaret Brennan challenged Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over how the Trump administration’s sweeping new tariff policy targeted faraway territories such because the Heard and McDonald Islands on Sunday.

On Face The Nation, Brennan cited the islands had been centered through President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs despite now not having a everlasting population and being mostly inhabited by means of penguins.

Brennan mentioned mounting criticism of the White House’s blanket approach to tariffs, which Lutnick defended as very important to “nationwide security.”

The anchor then challenged claims by way of the White Home that the brand new tariffs are really reciprocal.

The CBS anchor then mentioned Trump has mentioned in latest days that he has fielded calls from world leaders who wish to come to the negotiating desk.

Lutnick responded, “I’ll offer you an example, like Vietnam said they’d like to be zero-zero. Take into account that, Vietnam sends us $120 billion price of products once a year.”

After the 2 spoke over one every other, Brennan mentioned, “I know but we don’t have zero-zero, sir.” She continued:

We don’t have zero-zero in reality, because after we noticed the president stand in the Rose Backyard keeping up that chart that you just helped make, that – that wasn’t in truth tariffs. That was in truth complicated to buyers, as a result of it was some more or less different system, and the nations themselves appeared roughly random.

She requested Lutnick, “Like, why are the Heard and McDonald Islands, which don’t export to the USA and are relatively actually inhabited by means of penguins, why do they face a ten% tariff? Did you use AI to generate this?”

Lutnick laughed off the query and defined exempting any u . s . a . or territory left the US open to unhealthy actors such as China who might take advantage of loopholes.

“When you depart the rest off the list, countries that attempt to arbitrage The us go through those countries to us,” he stated.

Brennan interjected, “Throughout the Heard Islands?”

Watch above by means of CBS News.

The publish CBS’ Margaret Brennan Grills Trump Commerce Secretary on How Penguins Bought Slapped With Tariffs: ‘Did You Use AI To Generate This?’ first appeared on Mediaite.