Club for Growth president David McCintosh said the conservative group supports President Trump's tariffs while admitting they are "costly" for America.

"It's the art of the deal. And what we like about President Trump's vision on trade is his goal of zero zero tariffs. We support that, strongly," McCintosh said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I kind of have come to recognize these tariffs are his way of forcing the Chinese to come to the table. They are costly and we want them to go away, but he's using them to get to that ultimate goal of zero zero tariffs."

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McIntosh endorsed Trump's challenger Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzCrenshaw looms large as Democrats look to flip Texas House seat SCOTUS confirmation in the last month of a close election? Ugly The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' MORE (R-Texas) in 2016, but has now endorsed the president in his reelection campaign.

Trump and his administration have defended the tariffs on Chinese goods amid an ongoing trade war, claiming the tariffs will harm China and not American consumers.

The tariffs have been widely condemned by allied leaders at the Group of Seven summit in France this weekend.

Trump appeared to soften on the issue, saying he had "second thoughts" on the increased tariffs, but the White House said the president misheard the question and regretted not raising tariffs higher.