On Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins about a bizarre decision by the Trump administration: a 10 percent tariff on the Heard Island and McDonald Islands. These remote islands, located in the Southern Ocean, are home to no human inhabitants and are only populated by penguins.
Tapper opened the conversation bluntly: “President Trump laid out with a giant graphic of all the countries where tariffs were going to what he called reciprocal tariffs were going to be imposed, and you’re imposing a 10% tariff on the Heard and McDonald Islands. They have zero human inhabitants. They have zero exports. They had zero imports. They do have a lot of penguins. Why are you putting import tariffs on islands that are entirely populated by penguins?”
Rollins, clearly uncomfortable with the question, tried to deflect. “Well, I mean that, come on, Jake,” she began, shifting the topic to broader trade issues. “We live under a tariff regime from other countries,” she continued, without directly answering the question.
Tapper, not letting her off the hook, reminded her that the islands have no trade activity, so they couldn’t possibly be imposing tariffs on the U.S. He asked again, “But they haven’t imposed tariffs.”
Rollins responded, brushing the issue aside. “I mean, come on, whatever,” she said. Then, she launched into a defense of the administration’s broader trade strategy. “Listen, the people that are leading this are serious, intentional, patriotic, the smartest people I’ve ever worked with,” Rollins declared.
She quickly shifted the blame, saying, “I did not come up with the formulas,” distancing herself from the decision.
Rollins went on, speaking about her role and the administration’s focus on helping farmers. “I’m the Ag Secretary. I studied agriculture at Texas A and M. I was in a lot of conversations to make sure our farmers and our ranchers were part of that,” she said. “We got potash and fertilizer to make sure they could do their planting.”
She then pivoted to defend the Trump administration’s economic agenda. “I have no doubt that I speak on behalf of President Trump when he would say he has the utmost confidence in the team and what they have built and what they have put together,” Rollins said. “We are unleashing a new golden age and we will see an economy that will benefit not just every corner of America, but our farmers and our ranchers and the people that have been left behind for far too long by both Republicans and Democrats.”
In the end, Rollins failed to provide a solid explanation for why a tariff was imposed on an island that is home only to penguins, leaving more questions than answers about the decision.
Watch the full clip below from CNN:
TAPPER: You're imposing a 10% on the Heard and MccDonald islands. They have zero human inhabitants. Why are you putting tariffs on islands that are entirely populated by penguins?
BROOKE ROLLINS: C'mon Jake. Whatever. Listen, the people that are leading this are serious,… pic.twitter.com/QkUdyuzNRw
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 6, 2025
