Just because President Donald Trump appears to favor Fox News and the Fox Business Network over the other cable networks who spend much of the on-air time trying to destroy him, doesn’t mean the president won’t push back when he feels it’s warranted.
In a series of tweets Tuesday morning that speaks to the respect Trump has for the individuals, he named Fox Business Network hosts Stuart Varney, Maria Bartiromo and Dagen McDowell, along with Steve Forbes of Forbes Magazine, as he responded to their earlier coverage on tariffs.
Fresh off what appears to be a success with Mexico amid threats of tariffs, the president explained that they are “a great negotiating tool” and “great revenue producers.”
Trump began: “Maria, Dagan, Steve, Stuart V – When you are the big ‘piggy bank’ that other countries have been ripping off for years (to a level that is not to be believed), Tariffs are a great negotiating tool, a great revenue producers and, most importantly, a powerful way to get…..”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1138428346214363142
He would go on to say that tariffs are also a “powerful way to get companies to come back to the U.S.A.,” citing the loss of automobile production business to Mexico and mention actions China takes to offset the effects.
“…Companies to come to the U.S.A and to get companies that have left us for other lands to come back home. We stupidly lost 30% of our auto business to Mexico. If the Tariffs went on at the higher level, they would all come back, and pass. But very happy with the deal I made,” Trump continued.
“….If Mexico produces (which I think they will). Biggest part of deal with Mexico has not yet been revealed! China is similar, except they devalue currency and subsidize companies to lessen effect of 25% Tariff. So far, little effect to consumer. Companies will relocate to U.S.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1138434259637690375
Trump’s tweets followed an earlier interview with Kevin Hassett, outgoing chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, on “Mornings with Maria,” as host Bartiromo and Forbes asked about the impact tariffs have on the economy.
Hassett was confident that Trump could make a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 Summit, but stressed that misbehavior by Chinese firms and reforming bad trade deals was also involved.
“By putting tariffs on the table we’ve estimated that maybe $400 billion or $500 billion a year through forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft is taken out of the U.S. economy,” he said on “Mornings with Maria.”
In another segment of the show, Bartiromo had a discussion with Varney about the possibility of a deal being reached at the G20 Summit.
“I think it will be a very limited deal,” Varney said. “I think there will be a handshake, smiles, people feel good. I think that the Chinese will agree to import a whole lot of American stuff, and America may decide to drop the tariffs or agree that no more tariffs in the future.”
Bartiromo was skeptical that a deal could be reached that did not address China’s intellectual property theft and forced a transfer of technology.
As the president’s tweeted Tuesday morning, Bartiromo, Varney and Forbes reacted on-air and it was clear there were no hard feelings.
“You know he likes tariffs,” Bartiromo said, after reading Trump’s initial tweet. “And they work so far for him.”
“Tariffs are taxes,” Forbes said, repeating his earlier point. “We’ll see if it works for the American economy. And by golly, I don’t want the Democrats to ever get in power and use tariffs for Green New Deals and junk like that.”
“I think the president was emphasizing the point that tariffs are a good weapon to use when you want the other side to do something they may not be willing to do,” Varney chimed in.
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