By Sama Marwan,
U.S. President Donald Trump defended his controversial trade policies in an exclusive interview with ABC News, asserting that China would “most likely bear those tariffs” and sought to ease American economic concerns.
During the interview, Trump tried to reassure anxious Americans, despite recently urging them to “stand strong” as tariffs took effect. He said:
“It won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”
He continued:
“During my campaign, I asked Americans to hang in there… Look, we won the election by a wide margin. We won all seven swing states. We won the popular vote by a large margin. You know, we had a great campaign. I said all of this during my campaign. I said: ‘There will be a transition period.'”
He added:
“The whole world has deceived us. They laugh at us. They thought we were stupid — and we were. And I said: ‘That’s not going to happen. We won’t let it happen… I think great times are ahead of us.'”
In a message to voters who might be worried about rising costs and stock market volatility, Trump stated that he fulfilled his key campaign promise of lowering prices on his first day in the White House. He said:
“Look, since I took office, gas prices have gone down, grocery prices have dropped, egg prices in America have decreased — many goods have gotten cheaper, almost everything.”
Despite significant concerns among economists that Americans will end up paying higher prices due to tariffs on Chinese goods, Trump insisted that the Chinese would “swallow” the costs. When the interviewer noted,
“So, a 145% tariff on China. That’s essentially a ban,”
Trump replied:
“That’s fine. They deserve it.”
When asked whether the tariffs would raise prices on everything from electronics to clothing and construction, Trump responded:
“You don’t know that. You don’t know whether China will bear the costs or not… It’s likely China will swallow those tariffs. They’ve been robbing us like no one ever has before… They won’t do that anymore.”
In a speech to his supporters in Michigan marking his 100th day in office, Trump declared:
“I am working to end the long reign of special interests and left-wing extremists… We are ushering in the golden age of America.”
