President Donald Trump projected confidence about his global trade war at a GOP dinner just hours before suddenly reversing course on his widely condemned tariff plan on Wednesday, April 9.
After the 78-year-old president announced sweeping tariffs on foreign goods on April 2, the U.S. stock market took a remarkable dive and politicians on both sides of the aisle spoke out in dissent.
Countries quickly began responding to Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariff plan by increasing taxes on U.S. goods in retaliation — which would only further heighten inflation — and Republican members of Congress lampooned the administration for putting the nation on a path toward recession and damaging the party’s popularity.
While attending the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner on April 8, Trump defended his controversial actions and implied that all was going according to plan.
“I know what the hell I’m doing,” he said, according to the White House press pool. “The chipmakers are coming in. They’re all coming in. We’ve never had anything like this.”
During his appearance at the dinner, Trump suggested that he wasn’t concerned with the threat of retaliation from nations that he hit hardest.
His comments came just before the European Union announced a 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods on Wednesday morning. According to The Washington Post, some of the items that would be hit with increased taxes include “soybeans, meat, iron, steel, textiles, tobacco and ice cream.”
The EU suggested that more trade restrictions could be coming in response to Trump’s tariffs on automobiles.
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Meanwhile, China also upped their tariffs on all U.S. goods to 84% on Wednesday, according to reporting by The New York Times.
In response to China’s escalation, Trump blindsided the world and put a sudden 90-day pause on his tariffs for nearly all nations — excluding China. Instead, as other countries were granted temporary reprieve on Wednesday afternoon, Trump punished China by bringing their import tax up to 125%.
Trump has not hesitated to bash critics of his turbulent economic plan. As Americans expressed concern about the stock market crash and the state of their retirement savings, he urged them to stop being “Panican.”
The term, which he coined in that moment, was apparently meant to mean “weak and stupid people,” he explained on his social media platform Truth Social.
“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,” he said. “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!)”
While defending Trump’s plans, Vice President J.D. Vance recently incited backlash by referring to Chinese people as “peasants.”
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