CHICAGO – Donald Trump seized Tuesday on an opening to sound his frequent argument that imposing huge tariffs on foreign goods would amount to an economic elixir — one that he claims would raise enormous sums for the government, protect U.S. firms from overseas competition and prod foreign companies to open factories in the United States.
Appearing before a friendly audience at the Economic Club of Chicago, the Republican presidential nominee repeatedly asserted that tariffs are misunderstood as an economic tool.
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“To me," Trump said, “the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff. It’s my favorite word. It needs a public relations firm.”
If tariffs need an image makeover, it’s probably because mainstream economists say they actually amount to a tax on American consumers that would make the economy less efficient and send inflation surging in the United States.
The moderator, John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, often struggled to keep the conversation focused on economics and business. Asked, for example, whether the government should break up Google after an antitrust case, Trump started talking about fighting voter fraud in Virginia and how, in his view, Google had treated him unfairly.
Repeatedly, Trump rerouted the interview back onto familiar ground, 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.
As president in a second term, Trump said, he would use the threat of tariffs to gain concessions from foreign leaders. He has proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports. At times, he's threatened even greater tariffs on businesses in Mexico and American firms that are considering moving overseas.
Trump said that he began the interview knowing that he and Micklethwait held vastly different views on trade and the economy. In front of a supportive audience, he seemed to relish telling Micklethwait that he was wrong. Though they weren’t nearly as rowdy as his usual rally crowds, the audience members gathered in a hotel not far from Trump’s were friendly throughout, laughing at his quips and applauding.
At times, the dynamic grew tense, with Micklethwait asserting that Trump’s tariffs would lead to higher prices for consumers and that his promises of various tax breaks would blow up the deficit because “you’re flooding the thing with giveaways.”
Trump mostly responded with familiar anecdotes and stories. And he insisted that mainstream economists and journalists were wrong about the impact of tariffs, insisting that they are paid by foreign countries and not by American consumers.
“It must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking about tariffs as being negative and then have somebody explain to you that you’re totally wrong,” he told Micklethwait, drawing laughter.
The former president repeated his false assertion that there had been a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election. In fact, his s upporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to stop Congress from formally counting the Electoral College votes that had given the presidency to Joe Biden.
Calling the Republicans the party of “common sense,'' Trump said: "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.''
He also repeated his claim that the Biden administration had intentionally allowed hardened foreign criminals into the United States.
“They’re in jail for murder, some for having the death penalty,'' Trump said. ”They were released into our country.''
Trump does not often submit to critical interviews. Though he speaks often with conservative commentators and podcast hosts, he rarely sits down for extended question-and-answer sessions with mainstream news outlets.
Trump, who has faced ridicule from Democrats and other critics for his rambling rallies, accused Micklethwait of jumping back and forth between topics.
“You’ve got to be able to finish a thought,” Trump told Micklethwait, who often circled back to topics to try to press Trump to answer his questions.
“You’ve gone from the dollar to Macron," Micklethwait noted.
Trump replied that he was doing the “weave,” a term he's used recently to explain his rhetorical style.
The interview played well with Trump's supporters. His former White House aide and current adviser Stephen Miller posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Trump’s Bloomberg interview at the Economic Club of Chicago was the greatest live interview any political leader or politician has done on the economy in our lifetimes. Period.''
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Wiseman reported from Washington.