2018 AdWatch: on Free Trade

Heidi Heitkamp: AdWatch: trade war with China hurts soybean farmers

The 30-second ad centers on Cramer's support for Trump's trade war with China, which will hurt North Dakota's large agricultural economy because China has enacted retaliatory tariffs.

A farmer calls out Cramer while standing in a soybean field. "China is canceling their contracts to buy soybean. North Dakota is losing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business. But when you ask Kevin Cramer why he supports the trade war, he criticizes farmers," the farmer says.

The ad then plays several Cramer soundbites that are ripped from their context in which Cramer seemingly downplays the trade war's impact. "Mr. Cramer, that trade war is costing my family a lot of money and you don't seem to care," the farmer says in response.

Heidi Heitkamp: Our $50B of tariffs on China caused $34B of retaliation

Heitkamp drew a clear line between her and Cramer on tariffs, explaining how they negatively impact her constituents. "I think the first thing when you look at trade, you haven't seen the full impact. Fundamentally everyone had hoped by this time there would have been an agreement that we would have returned to shipping soybeans to China," she said. "That hasn't happened. As time goes on and you scratch the surface, people are getting more angry."