Democratic candidates laid into President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE’s trade policy at Thursday night’s debate, characterizing it as an erratic approach that has hurt America’s economy.

“We’ve got a guy in the White House who is erratic on trade policy. He conducts trade policy by tweet, frankly, borne out of his fragile ego,” Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisTexas Democratic official urges Biden to visit state: 'I thought he had his own plane' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden on Trump: 'He'll leave' l GOP laywers brush off Trump's election remarks l Obama's endorsements A game theorist's advice to President Trump on filling the Supreme Court seat MORE (D-Calif.) said.

“He reminds me of that guy in the 'Wizard of Oz' — when you pull back the curtain it’s a really small dude,” she said, drawing laughter from the audience.

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Harris also rebuked Trump for alienating U.S. allies and forging close relationships with dictators, saying a unified front is needed in dealing with China.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar Amy Klobuchar3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Social media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE (D-Minn.) said the trade war had cost the U.S. economy 300,000 jobs.

“He has put us in the middle of his trade war, and he is treating our farmers and our workers like poker chips in one of his bankrupt casinos,” she said, blasting Trump for frequently changing his position in the negotiations.

“I wouldn’t have put all these tariffs in place, and I wouldn’t have had a trade policy where on Aug. 1 he announces he’s going to have tariffs on $300 billion of goods, on Aug. 13th he cuts it in half, a week later he says he’s going to reduce taxes, the day after that he says he [won’t] do it,” she said.

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice MORE accused Trump of lacking a strategy, noting how long the trade war has dragged on and intensified instead of being easily won, as Trump had promised.

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“When I first got into this race, I remember President Trump scoffed and said he’s like to see me making a deal with [Chinese President] Xi Jinping,” Buttigieg said, referring to comments Trump made at a rally in May deriding him.

“I’d like to see him making a deal with Xi Jinping,” Buttigieg added.

Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSirota reacts to report of harassment, doxing by Harris supporters Republicans not immune to the malady that hobbled Democrats The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Republicans lawmakers rebuke Trump on election MORE (I-Vt.) took the opportunity to distance himself from former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE, who supported trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. But he also had harsh words for Trump.

“Trump thinks that trade policy is a tweet at three o’clock in the morning,” he said.

But while the candidates argued that they would have approached China more strategically and shied away from tariffs, none said they would repeal them immediately, and many argued for the kind of negotiated settlement Trump is seeking.

“I would not repeal the tariffs on Day 1,” said entrepreneur Andrew Yang Andrew YangBiden's latest small business outreach is just ... awful Doctor who allegedly assaulted Evelyn Yang arrested on federal charges The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden weighs in on police shootings | Who's moderating the debates | Trump trails in post-convention polls MORE. “I would let the Chinese know that we need to hammer out a deal, because right now the tariffs are pummeling producers and farmers in Iowa who have obviously nothing to do with the imbalances that we have with China."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.) argued that the approach to striking trade deals needed to be reworked altogether, allowing unions, environmentalists, farmers and human rights activists to be part of trade negotiations.

Tariffs, she said, were not necessary for leverage on China.

“The leverage, are you kidding? Everyone wants access to the American market,” she said.

“That means we have the capacity to say right here in America, you want to come sell goods to American consumers? Then you’ve got to raise your standards.”

Warren has suggested that countries need to meet certain requirements on a slew of issues such as labor and environmental standards to qualify for U.S. trade deals.

Sen. Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerThe movement to reform animal agriculture has reached a tipping point Watchdog confirms State Dept. canceled award for journalist who criticized Trump 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing MORE (D-N.J.) said Trump is trying to go it alone on China.

“On trade, he’s decided to take on China while at the same time taking on tariff battles with all of our allies,” Booker said, noting that Trump was using national security-based legal justification to impose tariffs on Canada.

“I’m the only person on this stage that finds [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau’s hair very menacing, but they are not a national security threat,” the bald Booker joked.