Rogers dodges questions on MAGA label, Trump tariffs

Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) dodged questions on whether he identifies as a MAGA-Republican and avoided clarifying his position on President Trump’s controversial tariffs against Canada ahead of his competitive race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Senate race.

During a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rogers was asked if he considered himself a MAGA Republican.

“Listen, I’m going to tell you this is, I get you guys on the national press, but this is a little bit disgusting to me,” Rogers told host Kristen Welker, adding that a former Michigan Democratic Party chair declined to back El-Sayed’s bid.

The former lawmaker was asked again if he identified with the label.

“Let me-I’m going to go right back through this. There is a reason we have support from people in Detroit and Flint and Pontiac, because we’re there talking about issues, talking about their needs and future, and [El-Sayed] is too extreme for them,” Rogers stated. “Nobody wants to talk about it in the national press. We invite you to come to Michigan, talk to some of these people.”

Earlier in the interview, Welker asked Rogers about a past comment he made calling for an end to the ongoing trade war with Canada, saying, “If you were elected, would you vote to repeal some of President Trump’s tariffs?”

“Well, again, the best way to do this is walk in and say, ‘Can we work this out?’ And I’ll give you a great example of how I’ve done that,” Rogers said, detailing his push to stop Canadian garbage trucks from dumping trash in the U.S.

“But if you’re going to tariff anything, tariff this trash that’s filling up our landfills from what is the third largest landmass country in the world,” he continued. “You know the automobile portion of these Canadian tariffs worries me a little bit, and we’re going to go back and work through those issues to get some relief to make sure that it’s good for Michigan, not bad for Michigan. There are other tariffs.”

Several polls from September show El-Sayed with a narrow lead over Rogers.

Decision Desk HQ, The Hill’s partner, forecasts that the Democrat has a 67 percent chance of winning the seat left open by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

Trump headed to Michigan on Sunday in an effort to boost Rogers’s chances though it is unclear if that will help close the gap between the candidates.