He said, I think everything is a threat.
Frankly, I see one major threat to the United States and it’s pretty clear here why.
Thank you for joining us for Bloomberg’s interview of former President Donald Trump, sponsored by the Economic Club of Chicago.
Here are five key takeaways from the interview, which extended more than an hour.
- Trump called tariffs “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” launching into a broad defense of his protectionist policies. In an interview that at times sounded like it was out of his trade-focused 2016 campaign, Trump complained that the US is being taken advantage of by China, Mexico and France. “All you have to do is build your plant in the United States and you’ll have no tariffs.”
- Parrying with Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, Trump rebuffed entreaties to stay on topic as he pushed back on economic orthodoxy and the financial press on trade, deficits, interest rates and the dollar. “You’ve been wrong all your life on this stuff,” he said.
- Trump said he wouldn’t allow US Steel to be bought by Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns, prompting shares to fall. He stopped short of saying he would break up Google, but complained that “Google is rigged just like our government is rigged.” And on TikTok, he said he still views the Chinese-owned social media site as a threat despite changing his opinion on banning it from the US. “I think everything is a threat. Sometimes you have to fight through the threats.”
- He declined to say whether he has kept an open line of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as author Bob Woodward reports in a new book out today. “I will tell you that, if I did, it’s a smart thing,” Trump said.
- Asked whether he would seek to remove Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve, Trump sidestepped the question, instead mocking the chairman’s job. “I think it’s the greatest job in government. You show up to the office once a month and you say, ‘let’s say flip a coin’ and everybody talks about you like you’re a god,” Trump said. He defended the right of the president to jawbone the Federal Reserve into raising or lowering rates — but then complained that Powell dropped rates too low after Trump expressed his displeasure at higher rates.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
tariffs become a bargaining chip like he did with Mexico–you threaten and they come with a proposal and a deal is made–no tax on U.S. exports and no tax on imports from your country. The tariffs he levied between 2017 and 2021 are still on those goods and countries–and why have the corpse and his companion kept them on when with a stroke of a pen they could be removed?
Gosh, pushing back on the elites and financial press–that’s a sure loser for the average voter–these are the know it all type that told us Trump #1 would ruin the economy–who do voters trust more on the economy? I don’t think it is the corpse and his handmaiden.
I just saw an interview with Woodward and he talked about how Obama’s weakness led Putin to think he could invade Crimea–same with the corpse and Ukraine after Afghanistan and that debacle.
Trump has enough problems–leave the Fed alone, although they flooded the country with $ when the corpse sent out all those checks which were not needed–inflation (too much $ chasing too few goods) reared its ugly head and is still a major issue. Debasing the currency is not cool!!
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I watched it too. Gus responses were either childish, ignorant or plain lying (John Deere immediately came out with a public repo statement refuting his)
His understanding of economics, geopolitics, finance or tech subpar, and that’s being kind. He’s been doing it so long he’s made it normal—-AND IT’S NOT.
Harris may not set the world on fire, but she can string a coherent sentence together and has integrity. Him? A “weave?” And people think that’s funny? Entertain ourselves to death while the country collapses.
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the woman has integrity??? 1. she slept her way to the top with Willie Brown–2. she believes that the taxpayer should pay for sex changes for illegals and federal prisoners–3. as border czar she ignored the border—4. she plagiarized a thesis she did years ago according to the NY Times–5. she tells us that $25,000 should be paid to black small business owners which is as unconstitutional and racist as it gets. 6 she had no insight into the mental issues of the corpse in the White House, so she says, bur she knows Trump has mental health issues but the guy she met with 2-3 times a week she is clueless about.
this woman is a joke–she got no votes in the 2019 primary (must be sexism or racism) and no votes in the ’23-’24 primary–democracy in action– she has filibuster every question as she can’t give a straight answer.
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You make good “conventional and within the box and safe group comments” about Trump’s responses in your drama filled article, Mr. Quinn. But you are right: Trump is a disruptor and an agitator against the government corruption and way of doing business.
That’s why he has such a popular following.
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