Steven Horsford and the "WTF moment" on tariffs: the content that went around the world and what it really says

Rep. Steven Horsford's cutting remarks during a hearing at the US House of Representatives ignite the debate on the tariff system and political transparency. A content that has triggered global reactions, from TikTok to Parliament

Steven Horsford, Democratic congressman from Nevada and former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, has attracted global attention with a particularly direct and polemical intervention during a hearing of the House Ways & Means Committee. In the crosshairs, the opaque management of the tariff policy by the Trump administration: a few minutes before the hearing, in fact, the former president announced via Truth Social a “90-day pause” on the tariffs, surprising even the institutional representatives, as confirmed by the hesitation of the trade official Jamieson Greer . Horsford insists with the famous quip “WTF? Who's in charge here?” (What the heck? Who's in charge here?) followed by the question that has set the web ablaze: “Which billionaire just got richer today because of this decision?” (Which billionaire just got richer today because of this decision?).

Here is the video of Steven Horsford's speech

The sentences, authentic and confirmed by official recordings (C-SPAN), went viral, relaunched in over 60 videos on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and X, with an estimated engagement of over 5 million views in less than 72 hours . While in the US the content was amplified by newspapers such as CBS News and The Hill and generated a strong debate between praise and criticism, in Italy the reception was more contained but still significant, with relaunches by CorriereTV, TG La7 and other online newspapers.

The importance of this moment goes beyond political spectacularization: the theme touched upon by Horsford – transparency in decision-making on tariffs – has crucial implications for the global economy and directly impacts sectors such as technology and gaming. In particular, the suspension (or imposition) of tariffs on electronic components, semiconductors or digital goods affects the production and distribution chain of hardware, consoles, PCs and cloud infrastructures and the digital daily life of millions of people.

Image made with the support of OpenAI