President Donald Trump’s plan was to bully our G7 allies on a range of issues by touting the strong U.S. economy. As The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent wrote Friday morning, “Trump will proclaim his ‘America First’ agenda a smashing success, and throw that in the faces of our European allies.”
That plan will have to be changed now that his trade war with China just exploded.
China imposed tariffs of $75 billion of U.S. goods on Friday. Trump launched a tweetstorm causing the DOW to drop more than 600 points (at several times during the day more than 700 points.)
The president apparently found wiping out the value of millions of Americans’ 401(k)s amusing:
And just an hour after the markets closed, Trump once again took to Twitter, announcing he is increasing tariffs against China on $250 billion of goods.
“Trump’s appearance [at the G7] will in reality demonstrate that the very nationalist agenda he will be touting is, thus far, a record of deep fraudulence and failure, covered up with lies,” Sargent added. “Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, particularly the trade war with China, is a key reason the U.S. economy is now at greater risk of tipping into recession.”
“It’s important to appreciate just how heavily Trump’s political mystique relies on the constant middle finger he gives to allies and international leaders. It’s central to the story he told in 2016 and the one he’ll tell in 2020.”
Last year President Trump promised winning trade wars is “easy.”
Read the entire piece at The Washington Post.