Trump defends tariffs and says lots of countries are ‘dying to make a deal’published at 01:28 British Summer Time
Bernd Debusmann Jr
With press pack on Air Force One
Image source, ReutersI just touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Washington DC after an eventful flight on Air Force One in which President Trump made a sudden visit to the press section of the cabin.
Over the course of about 16 minutes, Trump answered questions on a wide variety of topics, including immigration, Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit and the war in Ukraine.
The bulk of the questions, however, revolved around tariffs and market reaction to them.
He repeatedly defended his tariffs and said that any adjustment would be temporary.
“The whole thing is crazy, and I got elected on that basis,” he said.
In particular, he took aim at China, saying that the U.S. must solve its trade deficit with the country.
“Unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal,” he said. “I’m willing to make a deal but they have to solve their surplus. China is taking a big hit because everyone knows we’re right.”
According to Trump, he has spoken to “a lot of Europeans and Asians” who are “dying to make a deal”.
“What’s going to happen to the markets, I can’t tell you,” he said. “But our country is much stronger.”
At one point, he reacted extremely angrily to a reporter’s question on the US “pain threshold” as global markets take a hit.
“I think your question is so stupid,” he told the reporter. I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”