Augusta, Maine — Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles has repeatedly supported and defended Donald Trump’s tariffs.

In a podcast interview last year, Charles said (27:12) “I think what Trump is doing on tariffs is exactly right.”

He continued to defend Trump’s trade policies months later. In February, Charles praised the president’s tariffs as “masterful,” once again backing a policy that included tariffs on Canadian goods. And when the courts ruled against Trump’s tariffs, Charles didn’t reconsider his position. He instead attacked the ruling, claiming that “the U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong.”