“The Democrats for years have been claiming that China should be stood up to,” he said during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “Now Trump is and we just got to accept the pain that comes with standing up to China. How do you get China to change without creating some pain on them and us? I don’t know.”

The senator ― who has become a close ally of the president ― said that his South Carolina constituents would have to withstand “some” consequences of Trump’s escalating tariff battle, including a hike in consumer prices.

“We’re now at that part in the trade war where you feel increases at Walmart,” he said. However, just last week, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro claimed on CNN’s “State of the Union” that that there has been “absolutely no evidence in the price data” of the effects of the trade war, and that it is “not showing up in the consumer price index.”