Trump: Playing hardball on trade is ‘my thing’
US President Donald Trump defended his use of tariffs that have inflamed tensions with China and Europe, telling an audience of diehard supporters late on Saturday that playing hardball on trade is “my thing.”
“We have really rebuilt China, and it’s time that we rebuild our own country now,” Trump said Saturday during about an hour of free-wheeling remarks at a rally outside Columbus, Ohio. He added that Chinese stocks are down, weakening that nation’s bargaining power in the escalating trade war. Hours before the rally, Trump posted a string of tweets on the issue, saying the US market is “stronger than ever,” while the Chinese market “has dropped 27 per cent in last four months, and they are talking to us.” It was unclear which measure of Chinese stocks Trump was referring to. The US S&P 500
index, a broad measure of major US companies, has yet to regain highs made in January, just before the escalation of trade tensions initiated by the US. “Tariffs are working far better than anyone ever anticipated” and would make the US “much richer than it is today,” the president tweeted.
At the rally, Trump added that the Europeans are “dying to make a deal.” Trump went to Lewis Center, Ohio, to stump for Troy Balderson. The Republican state senator is facing an unexpectedly close contest against Democrat Danny O’Connor in an Aug. 7 special election for the congressional seat vacated earlier this year by Representative Pat Tiberi. In 2016, Trump carried Ohio’s 12th House district, but the current House race is rated as a toss-up in a seat Republicans have held for more than three decades. Whether Trump can help Balderson may be seen as another signal of how likely Democrats are to take control of the House of Representatives in November.
Steel Industry
In a nod to the Ohio economy, Trump twitted Saturday, tariffs “have had a tremendous impact on our Steel Industry.” He has said several times in the past two months, without evidence, that US Steel plans to open six or seven new steel mills. He talked about steel at some length during the rally, saying the industry is making “one of the biggest comebacks.” The Ohio stop was Trump’s third political rally in the past week, following stops in Tampa, Florida, and WilkesBarre, Pennsylvania. Trump is expected to add additional events, one or more per week, through Labor Day.
“TARIFFS ARE WORKING FAR BETTER THAN ANYONE EVER ANTICIPATED AND WOULD MAKE THE US MUCH RICHER THAN IT IS TODAY” DONALD TRUMP, US President