Trump did a sit-down interview Tuesday with the Economic Club of Chicago, and it was, in no uncertain terms, a sh*t show.
Any credible observer viewing Trump’s weaving, bobbing, rambling, and ignorant non-sequitur responses to all the questions John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News asked him would say it was an unmitigated disaster.
Rolling Stone‘s headline reads: Trump Crumbles When Pressed on Economic Policy in Tense Interview
The grilling exposed Trump’s total cluelessness with regard to his own economic policy, and led Trump to attack Micklethwait as biased. When questioned about the specifics of his plan, and if he was aware of its pitfalls, Trump seemed ignorant of basic economic principles, insisting that other countries, not American consumers, would pay for the tariffs.
Micklethwait tried to explain the actual impact. “Three-trillion worth of imports and you will add tariffs to every single one of them, and push up the cost for all of these people to buy foreign goods,” he said. “That is just simple mathematics.”
Trump countered that he was “always good at mathematics,” and that high tariffs — and thus costs — would force companies to move production into the United States.
Enter Sean Hannity of Fox News. Watching his program last night, one would think he was watching a different interview. That is until he played video with Trump’s nonsensical replies.
HANNITY: Former President Donald Trump absolutely schooled Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief today during a live appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago.
Despite things getting a little heated at times, Trump, frankly, masterfully navigated the situation, laid out what was a clear vision for American prosperity.
Let’s take a look.
Hannity played a short edited clip of Trump denying the truth about tariffs, but the edits tried to make it appear he was correct.
MICKLETHWAIT: You’re going to add tariffs to every single one of them. That is going to push up the cost for all those people who want to buy foreign goods. Now, what’s going to happen? That is just simple mathematics, President Trump.
TRUMP: It’s not. {Huh?} Yeah, it is, but not the way you figured. I was always very good at mathematics.
The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff.
MICKLETHWAIT: The overall effect could be massive.
TRUMP: agree. I agree it’s going to have a massive effect, positive effect. It’s going to be a positive, not a negative.
Let me just tell you. No, no, let me tell you.
I know how committed you are to this, and it must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking about tariffs as being negative and then have somebody explain to you that you’re totally wrong.
Trump just told every honest economist in the country they’ve been totally wrong about the negative affects of tariffs for 25 years without explaining how they are wrong. Without giving any proof why they are wrong. Offering any examples of why he is correct. He said it’s wrong, so he is right and they are wrong.
Hannity didn’t put in Micklethwait explaining “that will take many, many, many years” for foreign countries to conform to Trump’s beleaguered thinking and build new factories.
Now who would be paying to build all these new factories? Sigh…
How is that schooling anybody?
Trump’s response is ignorant even for him.
