Former President Trump had a wide-ranging and sometimes confrontational interview with the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News on Tuesday.
The former president clashed with Bloomberg's John Micklethwait over the impact of the tariffs that Trump has promised to aggressively impose if elected in November, as well as events after the 2020 election.
The interview was an opportunity for President Trump to speak to a large number of business people, but it was a comfortable fit for President Trump, as polls show voters trust him more than Vice President Harris on the economy. Seemed to be nice people.
Here are five points I learned from the interview.
President Trump denies tariff concerns
President Trump has been promising to enforce it for months.drastic tariffsIf he were to win in November, he would have faced criticism of U.S. companies that outsource imports and manufacturing, but Tuesday was a rare example of him facing real-time backlash over the potential impact.
Mr Micklethwaite said President Trump's plan would effectively halt trade with China, impose tariffs of at least 10% on European countries and have a negative impact on the US economy, where 40 million jobs depend on trade. It was pointed out that it would have a significant impact.
“It's going to have a big effect, a positive effect. It's going to be a positive effect,” Trump responded. “It must be tough to spend 25 years saying that tariffs are negative and then have someone explain to you that that's completely wrong.”
Micklethwait told Trump that perhaps the most significant risk from the tariffs is to foreign policy, effectively putting allies at an economic disadvantage.
“How does it help counter China, which is turning all of its allies against each other?” he asked.
Again, Trump was unfazed.
“Because China thinks we're a stupid country,” Trump said. “They can't believe someone is finally wise to them.”
President Trump refrains from taking calls from President Putin
After the former president summoned Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Micklethwaite asked Bob Woodward about reports in his new book that he had met with Mr Putin after leaving office.
“I won't comment on that, but if I were to comment, I would say it's a smart thing to do,” Trump said. “For me to be friendly with people, to have relationships with people is a good thing, not a bad thing. … He has 2,000 nuclear weapons, and so do we.”
When Micklethwait pointed out that it sounded like Trump was talking to Putin, the former president demurred.
Woodward's book “War'' revealed that the two leaders have been in secret contact over the past few years and have met at least seven times since Trump left office. The book also claimed that the Republican candidate sent COVID-19 testing equipment to Putin early in the pandemic while he was still in office.
The Kremlin later acknowledged that President Trump had sent the test.
The revelations, denied by the Trump team and partially acknowledged by the Kremlin, raised new questions about the nature and legality of their relationship. President Putin is an avowed enemy of the United States.
Fed chairman shoots
President Trump used the setting Tuesday in front of an audience of business people to slam Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over both his decision to lower interest rates and his qualifications for the job.
“As a very good businessman and a very good human being, I think I have the right to say that. Look, I think I'm better than him,” Trump said. . “I think I’m better than most people in that position.”
Asked whether President Trump would fire or demote Powell, whose term runs through 2026, Trump did not directly answer, but he again spoke out against Powell, whom Powell nominated for the role in 2017. showed criticism.
“I think it's the biggest job in government. Once a month you come into the government building and say, 'Let's see,' or flip a coin. And everyone talks about you like you're God.” said Mr. Trump.
President Trump said he was angry with Powell for keeping interest rates too high during his presidency, and criticized the Fed chair for cutting rates too much in recent weeks.
The former president told Micklethwait that he didn't think the president should be able to order interest rates to go up or down, but he should be allowed to provide input.
President Trump downplays January 6 amid questions over peaceful transition of power
Mr Micklethwaite asked President Trump if he intended to work on a peaceful transition of power three weeks before Election Day, especially after the violence and chaos following his 2020 defeat.
President Trump responded that there was a “peaceful transfer of power.”
“Now, President Trump, we had a peaceful transfer of power compared to Venezuela, but this was by far the worst transfer of power in a long time,” Micklethwait said.
President Trump ignored the question, suggesting Micklethwait was not a fan of his. But he pointed more broadly to the events of January 6, 2021, when a mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of President Biden's victory after Trump refused to accept the results. I downplayed it.
“I left. I left on the morning I was supposed to leave. I went to Florida. And the transfer took place very peacefully,” Trump said, adding that no gun was shown to the crowd at the Capitol. He claimed that no one had it.
The former president's comments on the peaceful transfer of power are sure to be in the spotlight in the coming weeks ahead of what is expected to be a close election. President Trump has stated the condition that the election must be “honest” and has not directly stated that he will accept the election results even if he loses.
He came under new scrutiny after he told Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo that he could rely on the military to quell the agitation of critics who called him the “enemy within.” are.
President Trump emphasizes the importance of Pennsylvania
The former president acknowledged Tuesday that election experts had indicated ahead of Election Day that Pennsylvania was likely to determine the winner.
“So I think they mostly say Pennsylvania. I think we're doing very well there,” Trump said.
Trump added, “I think you're thinking about Michigan, too.”
Both Trump and Vice President Harris will have a hard time winning 270 electors without the Keystone states' 19 electors, but both sides argue there are multiple paths to victory. I am doing it.
The difference between Trump and Harris in the state is less than 1 percentage point, according to an average of Hill/Decision Desk polls.
Experts warned that experts in Pennsylvania may not be able to count votes quickly enough to determine a winner on election night. The Commonwealth did not convene President Biden until four days after Election Day in 2020.
