Trump's desperate bravado: Tariffs, trade wars, and controversy
This is not typical boasting and self-aggrandizement for Donald Trump, but rather desperation. During a dinner with Republican Party sponsors, the president said that "these countries are calling us up. They are dying to make a deal."
Donald Trump had no qualms. On Tuesday evening, during a dinner of the National Republican Congressional Committee in Washington, he acted out a scene of winning a trade war with the rest of the world. - They are dying to make a deal. These countries are calling us up - Trump boasted.
Then he impersonated someone saying: "Please, Sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, Sir."
Donald Trump did it on purpose.
The idea of imposing tariffs on countries that are trade partners had many opponents in the president's entourage. During Trump's first term, this included Gary Cohn (until April 2018, director of the Economic Council). Cohn repeatedly dissuaded the president from the trade war, explaining that it's madness that would undermine the trust of allied countries. Trump was furious and denied it.
Recently, after the introduction of new tariffs and the start of the trade war with China, there were spectacular stock market declines. During an interview on CNN, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had to explain the rationale behind tariff policies. New Yorkers outside the Apple store are upset that iPhones, which are manufactured in China, will cost $2,000 (CAD 2,800) after tariffs are added.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council of the United States, distanced himself, telling the media that everything depends on the president.
"You know I get hit by the press about tariffs, we're making $2 billion – billion – this isn't $35 million, that's peanuts. $2 billion a day" - Trump boasted.
American media on Trump's strong statement
Donald Trump once again sparked a media storm, this time with comments that other countries [butter up to him], which was supposed to illustrate, in his opinion, the strengthening of the USA's position under the current administration. His statement echoed widely in American media, from CNN to Fox News. Observers noted it coincided with declines in company listings on Wall Street.
CNN described Trump's remarks as spectacularly vulgar, emphasizing that the former president once again plays on voter emotions, using populist language. Bloomberg noted that Trump's words came at a time of heightened market uncertainty and could have further affected investor sentiment. Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices fell after his speech, although analysts emphasize that the impact was more symbolic than direct.
Stock market analyst Ken Mahoney told Bloomberg that investors do not like unpredictability, and Trump embodies political volatility, adding that the president is once again relying on a rhetoric of strength, but the markets are not necessarily buying it.
Fox News, more favourable to Trump, discussed his statement as a "bold call to regain global dominance," although even commentators there acknowledged that the form was "uncensored even by Trump's standards." In some Fox News services, this presidential phrase was not quoted at all.
