Belligerent and often rambling President Donald Trump on Tuesday tripled his proposal to increase tariffs on goods imported into the United States from other countries, arguing that tariffs would help the economy even though most economists say such plans would cause inflation to soar. I said it again.
Appearing at the Economic Club of Chicago, Illinois, the presidential candidate also said he could do better on interest rate policy than Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and insisted he has never criticized President Joe Biden, 81, about his age. As journalist Bob Woodward reported, he declined to say whether he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since the end of Trump’s 2017-2021 White House term.
Trump’s response to questions about the Federal Reserve had a long-lasting impact on the justices. President Trump’s often discursive remarks in Chicago come a day after he unexpectedly closed a town hall-style campaign event in Oaks, Pa., with music and dancing. Over 30 minutes. That prompted his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, to express concerns about the 78-year-old’s mental health, writing on social media: “I hope he’s ok.”
“You are wrong. You are wrong. “You have been wrong about this your entire life.” Trump spoke to John Micklethwaite, editor-in-chief of business news giant Bloomberg News, when the two men disagreed over tariffs and their impact on the U.S. dollar.
“What does the Wall Street Journal know? They are wrong about everything.” Trump spoke when Micklethwait mentioned the newspaper’s editorial page criticizing the larger budget deficit his plan would create.
Trump said his proposed tariffs – 10% to 20% on most goods and more than 60% on Chinese goods – would not boost inflation, which has been steadily slowing since 2022 hit its highest annual rate since the 1980s.
Importers pay customs duties to bring goods into the country. But these costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, most economists say. According to a recent survey by the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, 95% of economists said they agreed with passing the tariffs..
President Trump said the tariffs have two goals. The goal is to raise money and encourage foreign companies to move production to the United States.
“If you want companies to come in, the tariffs have to be much higher than 10 percent, because 10 percent is not enough,” he said.
When Micklethwait, who worked at Chase Manhattan Bank and was editor-in-chief of The Economist magazine before joining Bloomberg News, suggested that Trump’s proposed tariffs would have a “huge” negative impact on the economy, the former president immediately pushed back.
“It would be difficult to say for 25 years that tariffs are negative and then have someone explain to you that you were completely wrong,” Trump said.
Tariffs weren’t the only thing Trump clashed with. He did not directly comment on whether he would re-nominate Chairman Powell as Federal Reserve Chairman.
President Trump said that Chairman Powell, who was evaluated as having led to the so-called soft landing of the economy by raising interest rates, “plays the biggest role in the government.”
“You show up at the office once a month and say, ‘Okay, flip a coin.’ And everyone talks about you like you’re God,” Trump said.
With the exception of Trump, presidents since Bill Clinton have generally respected the Fed’s independence, realizing that financial markets’ confidence in an independent central bank underpins foreign investment and demand for U.S. dollars. But President Trump said he thought he had a “right to comment” on the direction of interest rates.
“As a very good businessman and a person who uses a lot of sense, I think I have the right to say I am better than that guy,” Trump said. Powell. “I think I’m better than most people in that position.”
Trump also did not say whether he had spoken with Putin since leaving the White House in 2021. A new book by famed Watergate journalist Woodward reveals that Trump gave the Russian leader a valuable COVID-19 testing machine early in the coronavirus pandemic and spoke with him seven times since leaving office.
“I don’t comment on that. But if you did, I would say it was a wise thing to do.” President Trump said this when asked if Micklethwaite had spoken with President Putin. The Kremlin said Putin received the testing machine, even though the Trump campaign claimed Woodward was making up the story.
Trump also denied ever criticizing Biden’s age, despite mimicking a lost Biden wandering on stage at a campaign event before the Democrat withdrew his re-election bid earlier this year.
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“I never attacked him because of his age. In fact, I used to defend him because of his age,” Trump said. “I attacked him for his lack of ability.”
And Trump again stood by his claim that there was a “peaceful” transfer of power when he left the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, despite the insurrection by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol delaying the certification of the 2020 presidential election and leaving several people behind. I did it. dead.
“You had a peaceful transfer of power,” Trump said, sparking a rare sharp rebuke from Micklethwaite, referring to a country Trump often cites in his remarks on crime.
“Compared to Venezuela, there was a peaceful transfer of power,” Micklethwait said.
