President Trump on Sunday pushed back against criticism of his broad new tariffs as stock markets continued to slide, insisting that he wasn’t hoping to see economic losses.
“When you look at the trade deficit we have with certain countries, with China it’s a trillion dollars,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington, D.C., from Florida on Sunday evening.
He stressed that the ongoing trade imbalance with Beijing must be addressed. “And we have to solve our trade deficit with China. … Hundreds of billions of dollars a year we lose with China. And unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal,” Trump continued.
Describing the situation as untenable, he said plainly, “This is not sustainable.”
“The United States can’t lose $1.9 trillion on trade. We can’t do that and also spend a lot of money on NATO in order to protect European nations, we cover them with military and we lose money on trade. The whole thing is crazy, and I got elected on that basis. We explained it. You know, the American people understand it a lot better than the media, but the media understands it, and much of the media writes correctly about it.”
The markets reacted negatively last week to Trump’s tariff announcement, with significant drops on both Thursday and Friday. On Sunday night, futures were also sharply down, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off by over 1,300 points as of 8:18 p.m., ahead of the Monday open.
When pressed about whether there was a certain point where he would become concerned about falling markets, Trump didn’t hide his disdain for the question.
“I think your question is so stupid. I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said.
He has repeatedly claimed that U.S. trade policy has long been slanted in favor of foreign nations, putting American industries and workers at a disadvantage.
While members of his team have occasionally hinted that nations could negotiate their way to lower tariffs, they’ve also indicated the new trade barriers might be long-term.
On Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social to tout the impact of his economic measures, predicting a major shift.
“We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast!”
Speaking again Sunday on Air Force One, Trump seemed unconcerned with market volatility.
“What’s going to happen to the markets I can’t tell you. But our country is much stronger,” he said.
He noted that he’s been in contact with leaders from around the globe.
“I spoke to a lot of Europeans, Asians, all over the world. They’re dying to make a deal,“ Trump said.
Still, not everyone is backing his approach. Even some of his political and business allies have expressed doubts.
Investor Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, posted a warning on X over the weekend that the tariff plan might lead to a recession and disproportionately hurt the voters who support Trump.
Trump, however, said tech executives he’s spoken with see things differently.
“They said we don’t blame you,” he added.
“Yeah, I talk to the biggest in the world. I talk to the biggest of them all – many of them. … I’ve talked to four or five that are considered the biggest,” he said. He declined to name them publicly, saying he would need their permission first.
When asked whether he supports the idea of zero tariffs with Europe — something Elon Musk has promoted — Trump reiterated his belief that the continent has taken advantage of the U.S.
“Europe has made a fortune off us. … Europe has treated us very very badly,” he said.
“They are coming to the table. They want to talk but there’s no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis.”
{Matzav.com}