Andy Biggs defends Trump’s tariffs as Arizonans feel the pinch

US Rep. Andy Biggs says inflation was “tamed” — but March data show prices rising at their fastest pace since 2024.

As Arizonans navigate rising prices at the grocery store, on utility bills and at the gas pump, driven in part by President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and the US-Iran war, US Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is doubling down on his defense of Trump’s tariffs in a newly surfaced audio recording. 

At a meet-and-greet hosted on March 9 at the Founding Fathers Collective, a bar in Prescott, Biggs said Trump had “tamed” inflation and that tariffs are “not inflationary.”

“Outside of the recent gas price hike due largely because of uncertainty over the Iran bombing, he had basically tamed inflation. Remember, a lot of people say the costs weren’t coming down. Remember, he was working with a different baseline, the baseline he was working with was the inflationary line of Joe Biden,” Biggs said. “He brought everything back down.”

In another audio clip from the same event, Biggs disputes that tariffs contributed to rising prices for Arizonans.

“Okay, tariffs. The reason I’m telling you about the inflation is because a lot of people thought that was going to be inflationary. I’ve now read multiple economists say, ‘I was wrong. Apparently, tariffs are not inflationary.’”

Carolina Quintero, digital communications coordinator with Opportunity Arizona, a political advocacy group that works to improve economic conditions for Arizonans, said the comments show that Biggs is out of touch with everyday Arizonans.

“It’s a clear indicator that he is very out of touch with everyday people and what everyday people are going through. He’s just another extremist Republican that doesn’t really realize that inflation, tariffs and the war in Iran is directly impacting the pocketbooks of everyday people.”

Biggs, who is running to be the state’s next governor, has been a longtime advocate of Trump’s sweeping tariff policies, voting against measures to terminate them and calling them a “brilliant” economic strategy — despite more than 1,000 economists warning the policies would harm average Americans and the broader global economy. 

After “Liberation Day” in April 2025 — when Trump announced sweeping tariffs against dozens of countries, including longtime trading partners such as China, Canada, and Mexico — Biggs appeared on Fox News in May to defend the move.

Biggs predicted the policies would bring only “short-term challenges.” But roughly a year later, the tariff landscape looks nothing like he described. In February, the US Supreme Court struck down the bulk of Trump’s tariffs and within hours, the administration imposed a replacement 10% tariff on all trading partners. Arizonans are still feeling it in their wallets.

Quintero said Biggs’ comments are just another example of Republicans failing to understand the realities of Arizona’s working class.

“We continue to see extremist Republicans side with tax cuts for the billionaire class, tax cuts for corporations,” Quintero said. “It’s time they actually side with regular everyday people who are living paycheck to paycheck or having to choose between paying their rent on time or putting food on the table.”

Arizona small businesses have sounded the alarm about the negative impacts tariffs are having on their operations. Working class Arizonans, too, are seeing the highest prices for things like food takeout, and over 160,000 Arizonans are struggling to pay utility bills as costs have jumped by 50% since 2022. Nationally, consumer prices rose 3.3% in March — the fastest pace in nearly two years — driven largely by a 21.2% single-month spike in gasoline prices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The congressman did not respond to a request for comment regarding the audio clips at the time of publication.

Even as Trump has faced criticism for his tariff policies from fellow Republicans, Biggs continues to defend them as he makes his pitch to win over Arizona voters.

Biggs faces US Rep. David Schweikert, R-Scottsdale, for the Republican primary for governor. The primary is on July 21. Whoever wins will face Democratic incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs in November.