U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil says President Trump is bringing countries to the table to negotiate better trade deals.

UpFront host Adrienne Pedersen asked Steil about the tariffs China just announced Friday.

“I’ve been advocating for moving through this process as quickly as we can. I think a key step to that is passing USMCA, which is kind of NAFTA 2.0. There are great wins for American workers and American farmers,” Steil said on the show, produced in conjunction with WisPolitics.com. “Ultimately, what we need to do is strike trade agreements with our allies Canada, Mexico, strike trade agreements with the European Union, and then collectively turn and pivot and address China, who’s really been the culprit in trade over the last handful of years.”​

When Pedersen asked if the tariffs are hurting Wisconsin workers Steil said, “It has a real impact on the U.S. economy, absolutely.”​

Steil, along with 70 other members of Congress, just returned from a trip to Israel. He met with the prime minister and visited the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.​

Also on the program, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Judge Jill Karofsky says she’s running to “get this court back on track.”​

“In talking to people around Wisconsin, they are really concerned we have judges who are acting like politicians. We have judges who are making decisions before anyone ever walks into the Supreme Court chamber. We need to have judges who are going to make decisions based on what the law is and not because they had big donors in their last campaign,” Karofsky told Pedersen.

Voters will choose Wisconsin’s next Supreme Court justice in 2020. The nonpartisan primary is in February.

Justice Daniel Kelly’s term expires July 31. Then-Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kelly, who is seeking a 10-year term.

Law professor Ed Fallone is running for the second time. He ran unsuccessfully in 2013. ​

Pedersen pointed out to Karofsky that people are already calling her one of the liberal candidates. ​

“My job as a judge and what I do everyday is focus on that the law has to be applied equally it has to be applied fairly to everybody and as a sitting judge and the only sitting judge in this race that’s what I do everyday,” Karofsky said.

Interviews with other candidates will follow.

The 2020 Democratic National Convention is coming to Milwaukee July 2020, and Democratic presidential candidates are already quietly courting officials in Wisconsin for their support.

UpFront reporter Matt Smith asked U.S. Sen. Cory Booker about his hopes in Wisconsin. ​

“Have you sought out the endorsement of any Wisconsin Democrats and what has been their response?” Smith asked.

“Well, I’m not going to tell you about those private conversations, but we are in active conversations with folks about the potential support of my campaign,” Booker said.

The Wisconsin Democratic delegation spent the past weekend in San Francisco at the DNC summer meeting. The state party doesn’t endorse during primary season.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said as the mayor of the host city he doesn’t plan to endorse anyone. ​

But do endorsements mean that much? Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki says maybe not.

“Frankly, a lot of folks are sour on politicians these days with good reason,” Zepecki said. “So the idea of one politician blessing another politician and saying this is my choice, I don’t think that means as much to ordinary voters as it used to.”

See more from the show:
https://www.wisn.com/upfront

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