General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago is off the rails. First he's confronted on his tariffs...
...and he dissembles and rants like an idiot in front of a room of economists (and a moderator) who know better.
The moderator is trying, without success, to elicit something other than endless ranting from the blundering moron, but Trump is determined to show that crowd just how ignorant he is about, well, everything.
...this is an excerpt from cspan: (caps are theirs. Moderator's questions in bold)
PRESIDENT TRUMP, THANK YOU TO -- THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS. THE BUSINESS PEOPLE OF CHICAGO LIKE A LOT OF THE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO IN TERMS OF TAX CUTS AND SPENDING PROPOSALS. BUT LIKE MANY BUSINESS PEOPLE WHAT THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT IS THE COST. THE COMMITTEE FOR RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL BUDGET, A BIPARTISAN OUTLET PUT OUT SOME PREDICTIONS THE OTHER DAY.
IF YOU ADD UP ALL THE PROMISES YOU HAVE MADE THEN YOUR PLANS WOULD ADD $7.5 TRILLION TO THE DEBT. THAT IS MORE THAN TWICE THE TOTAL FOR VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS. YOU ARE ON COURSE TO PUSH THE DEBT UP TO 150% OF GDP.
THIS IS A VERY BUSINESSLIKE AUDIENCE. WHY SHOULD THEY TRUST YOU WITH THAT?
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: EVEN TODAY YOU SEE THESE EMPTY OLD BEAUTIFUL STEEL MILLS -- MILSL AND FACTORIES THAT HAVE BEEN FALLING DOWN. SOME HAVE BEEN CONVERTED TO SENIOR CITIZENS HOMES BUT THAT WILL NOT DO THE ATTACK -- THE TRICK. WE WERE LOWER TAXES STILL FURTHER FOR COMPANIES MAKING THEIR PRODUCT IN THE USA AND PROTECT THOSE COMPANIES WITH STRONG TARIFFS. I AM A BELIEVER IN TARIFFS. I DO NOT THINK YOU ARE. BUT I CONGRATULATE YOU AND YOUR CAREER. [LAUGHTER] TO ME THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORLD IN THE DICTIONARY IS TARIFF AND IT IS MY FAVORITE WORD. [APPLAUSE]
DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BRING IN THE REVENUES. TO USE ANOTHER BIPARTISAN GROUP IT WILL ONLY BRING IN TWO BILLION DOLLARS. THAT IS BARELY THE COST OF TWO PROMISES.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: BUT FOR WHAT COMPANY? I WAS JUST GETTING STARTED. AND THEN COVID CAME AND WHICH, BECAUSE I DID A VERY GOOD JOB WITH COVID. NO ONE KNEW WHAT THE HELL IT WAS AND I CALLED IT THE CHINA VIRUS BECAUSE I LIKE BEING ACCURATE. BUT WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM CHINA ALONE AND I HAD NOT EVEN STARTED YET. TARIFFS ARE TWO THINGS IF YOU LOOK AT IT. NUMBER ONE IT IS PROTECTION OF THE COMPANIES THAT WE HAVE HERE AND THE NEW COMPANIES THAT WILL MOVE IN. YOU WILL HAVE THOUSANDS OF COMPANIES COMING INTO THE COUNTRY AND WE WILL GROW IT LIKE WE HAVE NEVER GROWN IT BEFORE AND WE WILL PROTECT THEM BECAUSE WE WILL NOT HAVE SOMEBODY UNDERCUT THEM. I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT IT. I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR THE LAST YEAR ABOUT DETROIT AND HOW HORRIBLY IT HAS BEEN -- IT IS BEST -- IT IS HORRIBLE. DETROIT HAS BEEN COMING BACK FOR 40 YEARS, BUT IT HAS NEVER COME BACK. IT IS DEPENDENT ON THE CAR INDUSTRY. THEY LOST 60% OF THE BUSINESS OVER TIME. WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT I FOUND OUT, OFFEND OF MIND BUILDS AUTO PLANTS AND THAT IS ALL HE DOES. THAT IS WHAT HE IS GOOD AT. AND HE BUILDS THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD. AND FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF OF ANYBODY, I WAS TALKING ABOUT MEXICO AND HE SAYS A TREMENDOUS CHALLENGE FOR US RIGHT NOW. CHINA IS BUILDING MASSIVE AUTO PLANTS IN MEXICO. THEY ARE GOING TO BUILD THEM AND TAKE THOSE CARS AND SELL THEM INTO THE UNITED STATES. AND THEY WILL HAVE ALL OF THE ADVANTAGES AND NONE OF THE DISADVANTAGES AND THAT WILL BE THE END OF MICHIGAN, SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE END OF EVERYTHING. I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO THIS AND I SET ABOUT NINE MONTHS AGO I SAID I WANT TO DO -- I WANT YOU TO DO ME A FAVOR JOHN, AND I WILL NOT GIVE HIS LAST NAME BECAUSE HE MIGHT NOT LIKE IT. AND I SAID I WANT TO GO IN CDS. YOU PRESS A BUTTON AND EVERYTHING WORKS. I WANT TO SEE ONE OF THE BIG ONES AND HE SAID GOOD. AND I SAID I WOULD LIKE TO GO TO MICHIGAN OR SOMEPLACE IN THE UNITED STATES AND HE SAID WE CANNOT DO THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BUILDING ANYTHING BIG. WE DO NOT BUILD THE BIG ONES HERE. I SAID WHERE? AND I SAID IN MEXICO, THE GIANT PLANTS AND THE BIGGEST ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. IN MEXICO? THEY WILL MAKE CARS CHEAPLY AND HAVE ADVANTAGES AND LABOR AND OTHER THINGS AND SELL THEM INTO THE UNITED STATES? THEY WILL PUT MICHIGAN OUT OF BUSINESS? I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT, IF YOU WANT TO SEE A PLANT WE WILL GO TO MEXICO AND SHOW YOU THE BIGGEST PLANS IN THE WORLD. THAT WAS NINE MONTHS AGO. I TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME BECAUSE I THINK IT IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY. SO THEN I SEE HIM TWO DAYS AGO AND I WAS TALKING AT ANOTHER CLUB, A VERY NICE CLUB LIKE THIS EXCEPT I THINK YOU PEOPLE ARE EVEN WEALTHIER, OK? [LAUGHTER] THIS IS IN DETROIT, WHICH WAS APPROPRIATE. I WAS SHOWING ALL SORTS OF CHARTS, BECAUSE IT HAS JUST GONE DOWN AND IT IS TERRIBLE. AND I SAID HOW ARE YOU DOING AND HOW HAVE YOU BEEN? I SAID CAN I ASK YOU HOW ARE THOSE PLANS THAT YOU MENTIONED, THOSE GIANT PLANTS THAT YOU ARE BUILDING IN MEXICO, HOW IS THAT COMING ALONG, HAVE YOU FINISH THEM? NO, THEY ABANDON THE PROJECT WHEN YOU HEARD -- WHEN THEY HEARD THAT YOU WERE RUNNING AND THEY SAW THAT YOU ARE WINNING AND DOING WELL. AND 2 2AID WELL 2- [APPLAUSE] AND I TOLD THEM AND I SAID IT PUBLICLY. THEY ARE NOT CAN SELL ONE CAR INTO THE UNITED STATES. AND I SAID IF I RUN THIS COUNTRY AND I WILL BE PRESIDENT I WILL PUT A 100 OR 200 OR 2000% TARIFF. THEY WILL NOT SELL ONE CAR INTO THE UNITED STATES, BECAUSE WE WILL NOT DESTROY OUR COUNTRY BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ARE ANTI-TARIFF BUT I AM THE EXACT OPPOSITE. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY I COULD HAVE STOPPED THEM OTHER THAN NEGOTIATE WITH MEXICO OR CHINA? YOU WILL NOT GET ANYTHING FOR THEM. I SAID I WILL PUT A 100, 200, OR 300 TARIFF AND STOP THEM FROM EVER SELLING A CAR INTO THE UNITED STATES. SO HE SAYS, THEY HAVE ABANDONED IT. BY THE WAY THEY BUILT FOUNDATIONS AND THEY WERE GOING TO DO IT. THEY THOUGHT THAT I WAS GOING TO WIN OR MAYBE THEY ARE JUST HOLDING OFF. IF I DO NOT WIN THOSE FACTORIES ARE GOING TO WIPE OUT THIS COUNTRY. THEY ARE THE BIGGEST FACTORIES EVER BUILT FOR CARS AND THEY WILL WIPE OUT MY COUNTRY. SHE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE HELL SHE IS DOING. IF SHE WINS, SHE WILL NOT BE THINKING ABOUT -- EVERY SPEECH I MADE HAVING TO DO WITH CARS OR TARIFFS, I MENTIONED IT. OUR COUNTRY IS BEING THREATENED BY MEXICO. NOW ALL OF THOSE THINGS BEYOND THE CAR COMPANIES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE DEAD. I ASKED THEM WHEN WILL THEY START, PROBABLY NOT, DEAD AS A DOORNAIL. IF SHE GETS IN IT WILL START UP.
....YOU TALKED A LOT ABOUT TARIFFS AND YOU LOOK AT THE AMERICAN ECONOMY. 14 MILLION. JOST -- JOBS RELY ON PAID -- ON TRADE. IF YOU CUT THAT OFF THAT WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON MANY BUSINESS PEOPLE HERE. TARIFFS HAVE ANOTHER SIDE. ISN'T THAT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: NO.
YOU COULD BE PLUNGING AMERICA INTO THE BIGGEST TRADE WAR. THERE ARE TARIFFS ALREADY.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: THERE ARE NO TARIFFS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BUILD THE PLANT IN THE UNITED STATES AND THERE ARE NO TARIFFS.
A LOT OF PLACES LIKE THIS, THERE ARE A LOT OF JOBS THAT RELY ON THINGS COMING IN. YOU WILL BASICALLY STOP TRADE WITH CHINA. THERE IS A 60% CHANCE ON -- TARIFFS ON THAT. 100% IN 200 THINGS ON THINGS YOU DO NOT LIKE BUD 10 AND 20% ON THE RESTF THE WOD. THAT WILL HAVE A SERIOUS EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY. YOU WILL FIND SOME PEOPLE WHO GAIN INDIVIDUAL TARIFFS. THE OVERALL EFFECT COULD BE MASSIVE.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: I AGREE IT WILL HAVE A MASSIVE EFFECT, POSITIVE. IT IS GOING TO BE A POSITIVE AND NOT A NEGATIVE. YOU KNOW HOW COMMITTED YOU ARE TO THIS AND IT MUST BE HARD FOR YOU TO SPEND 25 YEARS TALKING ABOUT TERRY TIBBS -- TARIFFS AS NEGATIVE AND SOMEBODY EXPLAIN TO YOU THAT YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG. [APPLAUSE] IF YOU'D --
PRESIDENT TRUMP 14 MILLION JOBS IS A LOT OF JOBS.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: THEY ARE ALL COMING BACK.
14 MILLION JOBS IN AMERICA THAT RELY ON TRADE.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: JOHN DEERE A GREAT COMPANY. THEY ANNOUNCED THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BUILD A BIG PLANT OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. THEY ARE GOING TO BUILD THEM IN MEXICO. AND I SAID IF JOHN DEERE BUILDS THOSE PLANTS THEY ARE NOT SELLING ANYTHING INTO THE UNITED STATES. THEY JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THEY ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BUILD THE PLANS. I KEPT THE JOBS HERE AND JOHN DEERE WILL STAY HERE. AND I WILL SAY IF YOU DO BUILD OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES IF YOU WANT, INDIA IS A TOUGH COUNTRY. YOU KNOW THAT CHINA IS AND I WOULD SAY PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST. BUT YOU KNOW IT IS VERY TOUGH? THE EUROPEAN UNION. EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE WONDERFUL. BUT IF YOU ADD THEM UP THEY ARE ALMOST THE SIZE OF US. THEY TREAT US SO BADLY. WE HAVE A DEFICIT. I SAID TO ANGELA MERKEL WHEN SHE WAS THERE AND I WONDER WHY SHE IS NOT. WHEN SHE WAS THERE I SAID HOW MANY 2HEVROLET 2O 2E HAVE? WHILE I DO KNOW THAT YOU ARE -- YOU HAVE NONE. HOW ANY FORWARDS IN FRANKFURT? I DO NOT KNOW. NONE. SHE SAID THAT IS RIGHT. DO YOU KNOW HOW ANY CARS WE HAVE, MERCEDES-BENZ, BMW, VOLKSWAGEN, MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF CARS AND THEN I SAID THEY DO NOT WANT OUR FARM PRODUCTS OR ANYTHING FROM US. WE HAVE DEFICITS THAT ARE CRAZY. AND WE WILL NOT HAVE THEM. WE WILL PUT TARIFFS ON THEM AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY CAN DO? MERCEDES-BENZ WILL START BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY HAVE A LITTLE BIT. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY REALLY ARE, ASSEMBLY. THEY BUILD EVERYTHING IN GERMANY AND THEY ASSEMBLE IT HERE. THEY GET AWAY WITH MURDER BECAUSE THEY ARE BUILDING. THEY TAKE THEM OUT OF A BOX AND ASSEMBLE THEM. YOU COULD HAVE A CHILD DO IT.
LET'S COME BACK TO EUROPEANS IN THE SECOND.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: WHAT ABOUT CONSUMERS? THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST BENEFICIARIES.
CRITICS HAVE SAID YOUR TARIFFS WILL BE LIKE A NATIONAL SALES TAX. WE TRILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF IMPORTS. YOU'RE GOING TO ADD TERRORIST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. THAT IS GOING TO PUSH UP COSTS FOR ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO BUY FOREIGN GOODS. IT IS MATHEMATICS, PRESIDENT TRUMP.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: IT IS, BUT NOT THE WAY YOU FIGURE IT OUT. I WAS ALWAYS VERY GOOD AT MATHEMATICS. THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY. THE HIGHER THE TARIFF THE MORE LIKELY IT IS TO HAVE THEM COME IN.
THE HIGHER THE TARIFF THE MORE VALUE YOU'RE GOING TO PUT ON THOSE GOODS, THE HIGHER PEOPLE ARE GOING TO PAY IN SHOPS.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: THE HIGHER THE TARIFFS THE MORE LIKELY IT IS THE COMPANY WILL COME INTO THE UNITED DATES AND BUILD A FACTORY IN THE UNITED STATES SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO PAY THE TARIFF.
THAT WOULD TAKE MANY, MANY YEARS.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: NO. IN FACT, I WILL TELL YOU THERE IS ANOTHER THEORY. THE TARIFF, YOU MAKE IT SO HIGH, SO HORRIBLE, SO IT NOXIOUS THAT THEY WILL COME RIGHT AWAY. 10% IS REALLY -- FIRST OF ALL, 10% WHEN YOU COLLECT IT IS HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. ALL REDUCING OUR DEFICIT. BUT REALLY THERE IS TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT A TARIFF. YOU CAN DO IT AS A MONEYMAKING INSTRUMENT OR DO IT AS SOMETHING TO GET THE COMPANIES -- NOW, IF YOU WANT THE COMPANIES TO COME IN THE CAB HAS TO BE HIGHER THAN 10%, BECAUSE 10% IS NOT ENOUGH. THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO IT FOR 10. BUT YOU MAKE A 50% TARIFF THEY ARE GOING TO COME IN. THE OTHER THING ABOUT TARIFFS THAT ARE GREAT, OUR STEEL COMPANIES, WHEN I WAS IN OFFICE I SAW A MAN FROM A BIG STEEL COMPANY AND HE WAS DEVASTATED. I KNEW HIM FOR A LONG TIME AND IT HAS BEEN A TOUGH BUSINESS. IT WAS A GREAT BUSINESS MANY YEARS AGO AND I WOULD NOT LET U.S. STEEL BE SOLD TO THE JAPANESE, BECAUSE PSYCHOLOGICALLY I THINK IT WOULD BE TERRIBLE. I WOULD NOT LET IT BE SOLD. I WOULD STOP IT. EVEN THOUGH IT HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED BY THE TIME I WAS PRESIDENT. I THINK IT SETS A HORRIBLE TONE. I HAD A LOT TO DO WITH STEEL. YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE ALL OF OUR STEEL COMPANIES BECAUSE CHINA WAS DUMPING STEEL AT LEVELS NOBODY HAS EVER SEEN BEFORE. I PUT A 50% TAX ON THAT AND IT WAS ALSO BAD STEEL. IT WAS WHAT THEY CALLED DIRTY STEEL, WHICH IS A BAD THING FOR STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF BUILDINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THEY WERE DUMPING CRAB INTO OUR COUNTRY. AND I PUT A 50% TARIFF, I STARTED A 25, I RAISED IT TO 50 BECAUSE THE 25 DID NOT DO IT. I RAISED IT TO 50 AND THEY DID IT. THEY STOPPED DUMPING STEEL. I HAVING THAT WE SAVED IT. HE SAVED OUR STEEL. WHAT WAS LEFT? BECAUSE WE HAVE LOST SO MUCH, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN COMPANIES, CERTAIN THINGS YOU HAVE TO HAVE. IF YOU GO TO WAR THERE IS A POSSIBILITY YOU GO TO WAR, I KEPT US OUT OF WAR. I WAS THE ONLY PRESIDENT IN 82 YEARS THAT KEPT YOU OUT OF A WAR. EXCEPT 2 2EFEATED ISIS, BUT 2 INHERITED THAT ONE. [APPLAUSE] BY THE WAY, I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT. I CALL IT THE WEAVE. AS LONG AS YOU END UP IN THE RIGHT LOCATION AT THE END. WHILE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT, WE HAVE NEVER BEEN SO CLOSE TO WORLD WAR III AS WE HAVE RIGHT NOW WITH WHAT IS GOING ON IN UKRAINE AND RUSSIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. I HAD NO WARS IN THE WHOLE WORLD. THINK OF IT. I TALKED THEM OUT OF WARS. I TALKED PLENTY OF COUNTRIES OUT OF WARS. THE WHOLE WORLD OTHER THAN ISIS -- WHICH I INHERITED -- AND I KNOCKED OUT ISIS IN A MATTER OF WEEKS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE FOUR OR FIVE YEARS. I DID IT IN A MATTER OF WEEKS. WE HAVE A GREAT MILITARY.
I WAS ASKING YOU ABOUT TARIFFS. MANY PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH YOUR TARIFFS IS ACTUALLY GEOPOLITICS. YOU IN YOUR FIRST TERM, YOU GOT SOME CREDIT, EFFECTIVELY SAYING THERE WAS A COLD WAR AGAINST CHINA. YOU LOOK AT THE LAST COLD WAR AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION, AMERICA WON IT IN PART BECAUSE IT RALLIED ALLIES TO IT. YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT SLAMMING ALLIES WITH 20% TARIFFS. IS IT THIS TIME YOU WERE GOING TO END UP RALLYING THE WEST AND YOU ARE DIVIDING IT INSTEAD? ISN'T THAT THE REAL PROBLEM WITH TARIFFS, EVEN BEYOND THE PROBLEMS TO THE ECONOMY? YOU KEEP BRINGING UP THESE INDIVIDUAL EXAMPLES BUT THE OVERALL EFFECT IS GOING TO BE DRAMATIC. ANSWER FIRST ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY. HOW DOES IT HELP YOU TAKE ON CHINA, TURNING ALL OF YOUR ALLIES?
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: CHINA THINKS WE ARE A STUPID COUNTRY. A STUPID COUNTRY. THEY CAN'T BELIEVE SOMEONE FINALLY GOT WISE TO THEM. NOT ONE PRESIDENT, BUSH, OBAMA, BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, HAVE YOU HEARD OF HIM? NOT ONE PRESIDENT -- THINK OF IT. NOT ONE PRESIDENT CHARGED CHINA ANYTHING. THEY SAID, THEY ARE A THIRD WORLD NATION. WE ARE A DEVELOPING NATION TOO. TAKE A LOOK AT DETROIT. WE ARE A DEVELOPING NATION. WE HAVE TO DEVELOP MORE THAN THEY DO. WE ARE WAY BEHIND THEM. TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN OUR CITIES.
MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT YOUR ALLIES, NOT ABOUT CHINA. YOU ARE GOING TO ANNOY THE PEOPLE RALLYING BEHIND YOU.
FMR. PRES. TRUMP: OUR ALLIES HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF US MORE SO THAN OUR ENEMIES. OUR ALLIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. WE HAVE A TRADE DEFICIT OF THREE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION. OUR ALLIES ARE JAPAN. ABE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE. HE WAS ASSASSINATED AND HE WAS A GREAT MAN. I DID NOT SEE TOO MANY LIKE HIM AND HE GOT VERY SICK AND HAD TO TAKE OFF AND HE WAS ACTUALLY MAKING A COMEBACK. HE WAS GOING TO MAKE A COMEBACK AND HE WOULD HAVE WON EASILY, BUT HE WAS A GREAT GENTLEMAN. INSPECTED BY EVERYBODY. HE -- I WENT TO HIM AND SAID, WE HAVE TO TALK. WHY? TRADE. AND HE GOES -- I WILL NEVER FORGET -- I KNOW. I SAID, WHAT DO YOU KNOW? I KNEW YOU WOULD COME TO ME. WHY DO YOU SAY THAT? BECAUSE I CAN'T BELIEVE -- I WOULDN'T TELL THE STORY IF HE WAS ALIVE. I SAID, I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY YEARS IT HAS BEEN THAT NOBODY EVEN NEGOTIATED WITH US IN AMERICA. I SAID, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR CARS. YOU DON'T ACCEPT A CAR FROM US. YOU DON'T HAVE ONE CAR YOU ACCEPT AND YET WE ARE SELLING 3 MILLION OF YOUR CARS. I SAID COME ON AGRICULTURE, YOU WILL NOT EVEN ACCEPT OUR AGRICULTURE. I RENEGOTIATED THE WHOLE TRADE DEAL. I WAS STUCK WITH A BAD DEAL. WE HAVE TRADE DEALS THAT WERE SO BAD THAT I SAID, WHO ARE THE PEOPLE DOING IT? THEY ARE EITHER VERY STUPID OR THEY ARE GETTING PAID OFF, OK? IT IS ONE OF THE OTHER. IT IS VERY SIMPLE. WE HAVE THE WORST TRADE DEALS ALL OVER THE WORLD. I LOVE SOUTH KOREA. THEY ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE. THEY HAVE A MONEY MACHINE. PROTECT THEM FROM NORTH KOREA AND OTHER PEOPLE. NORTH 2OREA 2S 2ERY 2UCLEAR. I GET ALONG WITH THEM VERY WELL. KIM JONG-UN. BUT WAIT, THEY DON'T PAY US ANYTHING. AND I SAID, THIS IS CRAZY. IF I DID NOT PUT TARIFFS ON, YOU KNOW, THE MOTOR COMPANY, THE CAR COMPANIES, THEY MAKE MOST OF THEIR MONEY IN SMALL TRUCKS. I PUT TARIFFS ON CHINA I PUT 27.5%, OTHERWISE WE WOULD BE FLOODED WITH CHINESE CARS. AND ALL OF OUR FACTORIES WOULD CLOSE. WE HAVE NO JOBS IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY. THAT GOES FOR ELECTRIC, WHICH IS A KILLER, WHICH I EXPLAINED. I PUT TARIFFS ON SOUTH KOREA BECAUSE THEY WERE SENDING IN TRUCKS AND I PUT TARIFFS ON FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL TARIFFS. DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE CAR COMPANIES THAT MAKE ALMOST ALL OF THEIR MONEY WITH SMALL TRUCKS, SUVS AND SMALL TRUCKS? IF I TOOK THOSE TARIFFS YOU WOULD BE INUNDATED, EVERY CAR COMPANY WOULD BE OUT OF BUSINESS. AND I GOT CALLS FROM FORD, I GOT CALLS FROM EVERYBODY SAYING, SIR, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU ARE DOING THIS FOR US. YOU SAVED OUR COMPANY. THEY MAKE ALL OF THEIR MONEY WITH US. THEY MAKE MOST OF THEIR MONEY WITH SMALL TRUCKS -- EV'S.
...enough.
republianmushroom
(18,280 posts)to read this before they are allowed to vote.
ScratchCat
(2,488 posts)Because there is no way any rational person could listen to that and still vote for the man. There isn't one coherent, truthful thought in that mess. The moderator all but said "you have no idea what you are talking about".
malaise
(279,196 posts)How this ignorant lunatic thinks he can fool intelligent people is both comical and annoying..
greatauntoftriplets
(177,054 posts)He doesn't seem to understand the questions either.
JohnSJ
(96,863 posts)thousands of "illegals are murderers and killers", that he want to deport 12 million illegals, and it won't affect our economy, that tariffs will boost are economy, that Bloomberg, the WSJ, the interviewer, and anyone who disagrees with him don't know anything and are wrong, etc. etc. etc.
Anyone who votes for this degenerate, is voting for someone who is an anti-American, anti-Democratic, autocrat, and I am sick and tired of their lame excuses that "he is only joking or isn't serious". He is dead serious.
spanone
(137,706 posts)...and some are applauding him.
jaxexpat
(7,794 posts)yellowcanine
(36,352 posts)Sir, I nominate Mr. Smoot-Hawley.
q=smoot+hawley+tariff&oq=Smoot+Hawley&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDQgBEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyDQgAEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyDQgBEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyDQgCEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyBwgDEAAYgAQyBwgEEAAYgAQyBwgFEAAYgAQyBwgGEAAYgAQyBwgHEAAYgAQyBwgIEAAYgAQyBwgJEAAYgATSAQkzOTk4NmowajeoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was a law passed in 1930 that increased import duties in the United States to protect American businesses and farmers. The law was named after its sponsors, Senator Reed Smoot of Utah and Representative Willis C. Hawley of Oregon.
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff had many consequences, including:
Frozen international trade: The tariff made it difficult for countries to trade with the United States.
Increased the Great Depression: The tariff contributed to the worsening of the Great Depression.
Political consequences: The tariff was driven by political considerations, not economic ones.
Damaged Hoover's standing: The tariff damaged President Herbert Hoover's standing with the progressives in his own party.
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was the last time that Congress set actual tariff rates. After the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, trade agreements led by the President became the norm.
dalton99a
(85,062 posts)EVEN BETTER MANY PEOPLE SAY I WAS MUCH BETTER AT MATHEMATICS THAN MY UNCLE AT MIT
Wuddles440
(1,447 posts)Absolute insanity. What 's even more frightening are the dolts applauding this BS.
bigtree
(90,320 posts)“it quickly became clear that the former president has no conception of the mechanics of or the potential ramifications of the economic platform he’s running on. Bluntly, the former president was incoherent when pressed with real questions.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-crumbles-pressed-economic-policy-bloomberg-interview-1235134459/
spanone
(137,706 posts)They should have laughed him off the stage
mahatmakanejeeves
(61,842 posts)bigtree
(90,320 posts)...in tears.