Huckabee: Workers would 'take it in the backside' if trade deal passes

Mike Huckabee, the latest GOP candidate to announce a presidential bid, warned of dire consequences if Congress fast-tracks a new trade agreement.

If the deal is passed without proper scrutiny, the Arkansas Republican told MSNBC, workers might “take it in the backside.”


“When there’s cronies involved and getting a special deal and when other countries are cheating and Americans lose jobs,” Huckabee said, “I’d like to think the U.S. government would stand up for the U.S. workers rather than let them take it in the backside and somehow just have to tough it out.”

The former governor said that he does not support giving the president authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement without new congressional amendments or the threat of a filibuster.

The position puts him in line with those on the left like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), but at odds with most Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail.

“Fast-track means that nobody’s paying attention. The last time we really fast-tracked something was Obamacare,” said Huckabee. “Why do we ever want to again believe that the government fast-tracking something without thoroughly understanding the implications is the best way to go?”

Huckabee’s populist tone echoed the speech he made announcing his candidacy Tuesday in his (and Bill Clinton’s) hometown of Hope, Arkansas.

He told the crowd that he opposed trade agreements that push wages “lower than the Dead Sea” and said, “I never have been and won’t be the favorite candidate of those in the Washington to Wall Street corridor of power.”