CHICAGO (AP) — Donald Trump on Tuesday took an opportunity to make his oft-repeated argument that imposing massive tariffs on foreign goods would be an economic elixir — one he claims would raise massive sums for the government, protect American companies from foreign competition and boost its economy. Urging foreign companies to open factories in the United States.
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Appearing before a friendly audience at the Economic Club of Chicago, the Republican presidential candidate repeatedly emphasized that tariffs are misunderstood as an economic tool.
“For me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariffs,” Trump said. It's my favorite word. “It needs a PR firm.”
Read more: Trump favors massive new tariffs. How do they work?
If tariffs need to get a makeover, it's probably because mainstream economists say they're actually a tax on American consumers that would make the economy less efficient and lead to higher U.S. inflation.
“For me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariffs,” Trump said. It's my favorite word. “It needs a PR firm.”
The moderator, John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, often struggled to keep the conversation focused on economics and business. For example, when asked if the government should break up Google after the antitrust case, Trump started talking about fighting voter fraud in Virginia and how Google treated him unfairly, in his view.
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Again and again, Trump redirected the interview into familiar territory, repeating old stories and talking points about immigrants, voter fraud and transgender athletes. He even used a fake foreign accent to recount his dealings with French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Trump said that as a second-term president, he would use the threat of tariffs to extract concessions from foreign leaders. He has proposed imposing a 60% tariff on goods coming from China and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports. At times, he has threatened to impose larger tariffs on companies in Mexico and U.S. companies considering moving abroad.
Trump said he went into the interview knowing that he and Micklethwaite had vastly different views on trade and the economy. In front of a supportive audience, he seemed to relish telling Micklethwaite that he was wrong. Although they were not as rowdy as his usual crowds, the crowd gathered at a hotel not far from Trump's hotel was friendly throughout, laughing at his jokes and clapping.
At times, the dynamic has become tense, with Micklethwait asserting that Trump's tariffs would lead to higher prices for consumers and that his promises of various tax breaks would worsen the deficit because you are “flooding things with gifts.”
Trump responded mostly with familiar anecdotes and stories. He insisted that mainstream economists and journalists were wrong about the impact of tariffs, insisting that they were paid by foreign countries and not by American consumers.
“It must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking about tariffs as negative and then have someone explain to you that you are completely wrong,” he told Micklethwait, prompting laughter.
The former president repeated his false assertion that there would be a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election. In fact, his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, to try to prevent Congress from officially counting the Electoral College votes that gave the presidency to Joe Biden.
“We need borders. We need fair elections. We don't want men playing in women's sports. We don't want transgender operations without parental consent,” Trump said, calling Republicans the party of “common sense.”
He also reiterated his claim that the Biden administration intentionally allowed hardened foreign criminals to enter the United States.
“They are in prison for murder, some for the death penalty,” Trump said. “They were released into our country.”
Trump does not often receive critical interviews. Although he frequently speaks with conservative commentators and podcast hosts, he rarely sits down for lengthy question-and-answer sessions with mainstream media.
Trump, who has faced ridicule from Democrats and other critics over his scattered rallies, accused Micklethwait of jumping back and forth between topics.
“You have to be able to finish an idea,” Trump told Micklethwait, who often pivoted to topics to try to pressure Trump into answering his questions.
“I went from the dollar to Macron,” Micklethwait noted.
Trump responded that he was “weaving,” a term he has recently used to explain his rhetoric.
The interview was well received by Trump supporters. His former White House aide and current adviser Stephen Miller previously posted on Twitter: “Trump's interview with Bloomberg at the Economic Club of Chicago was the greatest live interview any political leader or politician has given on the economy in our lifetime. a period.”
Weissman reported from Washington.
