Trump heralds tariff agenda as ‘economic revolution’
President Trump on Saturday took a victory lap over the sweeping new tariffs he levied on nearly all foreign trading partners , claiming the end result will serve as an “economic revolution.”
“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!”
“THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN,” he added. “HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
The president pointed to China specifically, who received a 34 percent reciprocal tariff on top of the existing 20 percent. Beijing responded in kind, levying a 34 percent duty on goods imported from the U.S.
Trump pushed back on claims China was hit “much harder” in his Saturday post, saying it was “not even close.”
“They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly,” he added.
The president on Friday chastised China over its decision to lavish retaliatory tariffs.
“China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do!” he wrote online.
The latest tariff announcement has also impacted a potential deal around the social video-sharing app TikTok. The president was poised to sign an executive order that would have spun TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new company, but that has been placed on hold in wake of the levies, a source familiar with the plans told The Hill.
The deadline for the Chinese-based company to divest its U.S. assets was Saturday, though Trump offered the company a 75-day extension.
Trump has maintained the belief that the “Liberation Day ” tariffs, which he promised to impose on the campaign trail, will boost domestic manufacturing, lead to more jobs and help to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
That confidence, however, comes amid stock market dips , as economic uncertainty weighs heavy on Americans, and as experts warn of a potential recession and a rise in consumer prices tied to the trade war.