Trump threatens further tariffs

Says China meddling ‘bigger problem’ than Russian hacking

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened to impose another round of tariffs on China and warned that Chinese meddling in U.S. politics is a “bigger problem” than Russian involvement in the 2016 election.

Asked in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” whether he wants to push China’s economy into a depression, Trump said “no” before comparing the country’s stock market losses since the tariffs first launched to those in 1929, the start of the Great Depression in the U.S.

“I want them to negotiate a fair deal with us. I want them to open their markets like our markets are open,” Trump said in the interview that aired Sunday, while adding that more tariffs “might” be in the mix. The U.S. has imposed three rounds of tariffs on Chinese imports totaling $250 billion, prompting China to retaliate against U.S. products. The president previously has threatened to hit virtually all Chinese imports with duties.

Questioned about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, Trump quickly turned back to China. “They meddled,” he said of Russia, “but I think China meddled, too.”

Trump made similar accusations last month during a speech at the United Nations, which his aides supported by pointing to long-term Chinese influence campaigns and an advertising section taken out by the China Daily in the Des Moines Register warning farmers about the potential effects of Trump’s tariffs.

Discussing Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, Trump took credit for getting his nomination through the Senate around Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations that the judge tried to sexually assault her when they were in high school.

At a campaign rally in Mississippi last month, Trump mocked Ford for what he cast as her incoherent story about what happened with Kavanaugh, a move that drew criticism from Republican senators.

Trump didn’t express regret. “Had I not made that speech, we would not have won. I was just saying she didn’t seem to know anything,” he told Stahl. Ford was “treated with great respect,” including by him, Trump said.