President Donald Trump on Thursday called for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, saying that his termination couldn&#8217;t come &#8220;fast enough.&#8221;
Trump’s call on Truth Social comes a day after Powell delivered remarks critical of the president at the Economic Club of Chicago. Trump contrasted Powell’s handling of interest rates with the European Central Bank (ECB), which announced interest rate cuts on Thursday. 
“The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114352766082542122" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on his social media network. “Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
Trump has <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114280322706682564">repeatedly</a> called for Powell to cut interest rates, saying that the Fed chair was “playing politics” with the economy earlier this month. 
On Wednesday, Powell <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o_9kO0zZQg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he believed Trump’s tariffs would cause inflation. Trump has imposed a baseline 10% tariff on most American trading partners, a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, and select tariffs on other products, such as automobiles. 
“Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation,&#8221; Powell said. &#8220;The inflationary effects could also be more persistent. Avoiding that outcome will depend on the size of the effects, on how long it takes for them to pass through fully to prices, and, ultimately, on keeping longer-term inflation expectations well anchored.&#8221; 
Powell added that he was waiting “for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.”
“We’re always going to be aiming for maximum employment and price stability,&#8221; he said. “I do think we’ll be moving away from those goals for the balance of this year, or at least not making any progress, and then we’ll resume that progress as we can.”
Trump has said that the tariffs are generating billions in revenue for the federal government and are necessary to get more favorable trade deals for the United States. On Thursday, he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114353201227355474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that “every nation” wants to meet over the tariffs, including China. The president and his staff met with Japan on Wednesday and are expected to meet with Italy on Thursday to discuss the tariffs. 
Powell&#8217;s post as chair of the Fed runs through May 2026. He previously <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/11/07/congress/feds-powell-says-trump-cant-fire-him-00188311" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it would be unlawful for Trump to remove him.

President Trump Announces Nominee For Federal Reserve Chair Of The Board Of Governors

Trump Attacks Fed Chair Jerome Powell: ‘Termination Cannot Come Fast Enough’

Donald Trump

Economy

Executive

Federal Reserve

Inflation

Interest Rates

Jerome Powell

Politics

Tariffs

President Donald Trump will meet with Japan on Wednesday to negotiate over tariffs and American military support.
The meeting comes after Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on countries worldwide, including a 24% tariff on Japanese goods. That tariff was later paused after Trump hit China with a 125% tariff and lowered reciprocal tariffs for all other countries across the board to 10% for 90 days to allow for negotiations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will attend Trump’s meeting with Japan.
“Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS.’ I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury &amp; Commerce Secretaries,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114347128422370864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> Wednesday on Truth Social. “Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”
Japan has also been impacted by a 25% tariff on auto imports imposed by Trump, which the country hopes to see ended. 
Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa said that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba “has a strong desire to help the U.S. achieve its goals in a win-win way, through investments rather than tariffs,” <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/japan-economy-minister-urges-win-win-solutions-ahead-of-u-s-trade-talks-d5397df3?mod=e2twe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Wall Street Journal. 
At the same time, Ishiba recently told Japan’s parliament that he doesn’t want to rush negotiations.  
&#8220;I&#8217;m not of the view that we should make big concessions for the sake of wrapping up negotiations quickly,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/trump-says-cost-military-support-table-japan-talks-hell-attend-2060372" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;In negotiating with the United States, we need to understand what&#8217;s behind Trump&#8217;s argument both in terms of the logic and the emotional elements behind his views.&#8221;
Trump has defended tariffs, saying it has brought in billions of dollars in revenue to the United States. 
“The United States is taking in RECORD NUMBERS in Tariffs, with the cost of almost all products going down, including gasoline, groceries, and just about everything else,” he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114345526663892197" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Truth Social Wednesday. “Likewise, INFLATION is down.”
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-tariffs-to-talks-trump-adviser-reports-130-countries-now-seek-a-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Sunday that 130 nations have reached out to negotiate trade with Trump after the “Liberation Day” tariffs were announced. 
“If you come to the table and negotiate with us and treat us the same way we treat you, then we will get your rate really low,” he said. “So, right now, 130 countries, 130 countries have responded, and we’re negotiating with them, and they have got their rate down to 10%.”

TOPSHOT-US-JAPAN-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP

Trump To Discuss ‘Cost Of Military Support’ In High-Stakes Tariff Meeting With Japan

Howard Lutnick

Japan

Scott Bessent

Trade War

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the White House is relying on one key leverage point to get China to the negotiating table amid the ongoing tariff war between the United States and the communist regime.
Quoting President Donald Trump, Leavitt stated that the ball was &#8220;in China&#8217;s court&#8221; and told reporters during Tuesday&#8217;s press briefing that at the end of the day, Chinese exporters needed one thing that only a renegotiated trade agreement with President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration would provide: access to the American markets.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> shares a statement from <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;The ball is in China&#39;s court. China needs to make a deal with us; we don&#39;t have to make a deal with them. There&#39;s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger, and China wants what we have&#8230; the… <a href="https://t.co/qD9LHzdAJm">pic.twitter.com/qD9LHzdAJm</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1912204265415930128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Look, the president has made his position on China quite clear, although I do have an additional statement that he just shared with me in the Oval Office,&#8221; Leavitt said, quoting, &#8220;&#8216;The ball is in China&#8217;s court. China needs to make a deal with us; we don&#8217;t have to make a deal with them. There&#8217;s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger, and China wants what we have, what — every country wants what we have: the American consumer.'&#8221;
&#8220;Or to put it another way, they need our money,&#8221; Leavitt added. &#8220;So the president, again, he&#8217;s made it quite clear, he&#8217;s open to a deal with China, but China needs to make a deal with the United States of America.&#8221;
China and the United States have gone back and forth — with escalations and increased retaliatory tariffs on both sides — in the days since Trump first announced his &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; plan aimed at leveling out trade imbalances. As some 130 nations have opted for negotiations over retaliation, Trump announced a 90-day pause in the increased tariffs for those countries. The tariffs against Chinese imports remain at 145%.
Leavitt also took a swipe at former President Joe Biden — who is scheduled to speak Tuesday evening — saying that she&#8217;d been surprised to learn he was speaking at night. &#8220;My first reaction when seeing Former President Biden was speaking tonight was, I&#8217;m shocked that he is speaking at nighttime. I thought his bedtime was much earlier,&#8221; she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a>: &quot;My first reaction when seeing Former President Biden was speaking tonight was, I&#39;m shocked that he is speaking at nighttime&#8230; I understand the topic of his speech is Social Security. Let me make it very clear&#8230; <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> is absolutely certain about protecting Social… <a href="https://t.co/0ElkJilupB">pic.twitter.com/0ElkJilupB</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1912205669387870338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
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President Trump Participates In A Kennedy Center Board Meeting And Tour

‘China Needs To Make A Deal With Us’: White House Says U.S. Has One Key Leverage Point

Communist China

Karoline Leavitt

President Donald Trump suggested during a Fox Noticias exclusive interview that the revenue from tariffs could eventually be high enough that it could fully replace the income tax.
In addition to increasing American production and rebalancing trade relationships with foreign nations, President Trump explained that it&#8217;s possible that tariffs could bring in enough revenue to render income tax unnecessary.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;There is a chance that the money from tariffs could be so great that it would replace&quot; the income tax. <a href="https://t.co/SCBIOPD4zZ">pic.twitter.com/SCBIOPD4zZ</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1912127961098055703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Will the tariffs replace income tax?&#8221; the host bluntly asked.
&#8220;You know, you&#8217;re the only one that&#8217;s asked me that,&#8221; Trump remarked. &#8220;I deal with all these big financial geniuses, nobody ever asked — there is a chance that the money from tariffs could be so great that it would replace —&#8221;
&#8220;You know, in the old days, 18 — 1870 to 1913 — the tariffs were the only form of money [coming in to the federal government], and that&#8217;s when our nation was relatively the richest,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;We were the richest.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s recent implementation of &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs has set off a chain of events from mass panic on Wall Street and across media outlets to now, according to the Trump administration, at least 130 nations coming to the negotiating table in order to reach trade agreements that benefit everyone.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-tariffs-to-talks-trump-adviser-reports-130-countries-now-seek-a-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more and more countries</a> reach out to the administration to negotiate better trade deals, Trump declared a good faith pause in the reciprocal tariffs — 90 days for the majority of those impacted — while talks take place. The major exception to that pause is China, after Beijing retaliated with higher tariffs instead of calling for negotiations. Trump also doubled down, increasing the tariffs on Chinese imports to a total of 145%.
Despite continued turmoil in the markets — largely due to the uncertainty wrought by the tariffs&#8217; unknown impact on the economy — Trump has urged calm and has predicted that tariffs will provide the necessary leverage to bring the United States into a stronger economic position than before.

Trump: Tariff Revenue Could Replace Income Taxes

Income tax

United States stocks opened on a high note on Monday after President Donald Trump temporarily exempted American tech giants from some of his new reciprocal tariffs, sending shares of Apple and Dell soaring while providing relief to a market that had been rocked by tariff uncertainty.
The three major indexes all rose compared to last week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 421 points (1%), the S&amp;P 500 rising 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite gaining 1%, according to CNBC.
At their midday peaks, the Dow was up more than 500 points, and the Nasdaq was up 2.5% during the volatile trading session.
Investors welcomed the exemption of smartphones, computers, and semiconductor components from Trump&#8217;s new &#8220;reciprocal&#8221; tariffs, based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance issued late Friday.
Apple shares <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/13/stock-market-today-live-updates.html">rose</a> 3% following the news at the opening bell, while Dell surged more than 4% as tech companies received immediate relief from the threatened tariffs.
&#8220;The market believes that the administration is probably in some sort of retreat from their most-extreme tariff proposal,&#8221; said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. &#8220;That&#8217;s incremental good news.&#8221;
The market is coming off one of its most volatile trading weeks on record, with the CBOE Volatility Index <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/.VIX/">spiking</a> above 50 on Thursday,
&#8220;Smartphones, chips being excluded is a game changer scenario when it comes to China tariffs,&#8221; said Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities. &#8220;I think ultimately Big Tech CEOs spoke loudly, and the White House had to understand and listen to the situation that this would have been Armageddon for big tech if were implemented.&#8221;
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett provided the market further assurances during a Fox Business interview, <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/trumps-trade-team-making-astonishing-progress-tariff-deals-multiple-offers-table-hassett">noting</a> that “more than 10” countries were already seeking “amazing” trade agreements to avoid the new levies.
Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariffs <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-declares-national-emergency-to-increase-our-competitive-edge-protect-our-sovereignty-and-strengthen-our-national-and-economic-security/">aim</a> to, according to the White House, &#8220;strengthen the international economic position of the United States and protect American workers&#8221; and will remain in place until &#8220;President Trump determines that the threat posed by the trade deficit and underlying nonreciprocal treatment is satisfied, resolved, or mitigated.&#8221;
However, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114332337028519855">clarified</a> on Truth Social that these &#8220;exempted&#8221; products remain &#8220;subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff &#8216;bucket,'&#8221; suggesting the exemptions might not be permanent, and reigning in the optimism of some investors.
Despite the recent tech stock rally, many on Wall Street remain cautious about potential volatility in the coming weeks as further details of the administration&#8217;s trade policies emerge, particularly regarding permanent tariff structures and potential exemptions for other goods and sectors.

NYSE Opens Monday Morning After Volatile Week In The Markets

Dow Jumps 400+ Points After Trump Moves Smartphones, Computers To Different ‘Tariff Bucket’

Stock Market

Janet Yellen, who served as Treasury Secretary in the Biden administration, faced a reality check on Monday after saying that she thought the idea of bringing manufacturing back to the United States was a &#8220;pipe dream,&#8221; dismissing one of the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-declares-national-emergency-to-increase-our-competitive-edge-protect-our-sovereignty-and-strengthen-our-national-and-economic-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">goals</a> of President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariff agenda.
Within hours of Yellen making the comment on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_rMsHQtDjM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>, top semiconductor company Nvidia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tech-giant-commits-500-billion-to-make-ai-supercomputers-entirely-in-the-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> plans to fully build AI supercomputers in the United States and invest half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure through partnerships on American soil.
The &#8220;Trump War Room&#8221; account on X took note of the series of events.
&#8220;Just before [Nvidia]’s groundbreaking announcement to manufacture AI supercomputers in America, Janet Yellen went on CNBC to dismiss the American manufacturing renaissance as a &#8216;pipe dream,'&#8221; the account <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1911788523100815772" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;Yet, as Nvidia showed, more companies are choosing to BUILD IN THE USA — and this is just the beginning.&#8221;
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Just before <a href="https://twitter.com/nvidia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NVIDIA</a>’s groundbreaking announcement to manufacture AI supercomputers in America, Janet Yellen went on CNBC to dismiss the American manufacturing renaissance as a &quot;pipe dream.&quot;
Yet, as Nvidia showed, more companies are choosing to BUILD IN THE USA—and this is just… <a href="https://t.co/mYfPpGeuJ9">https://t.co/mYfPpGeuJ9</a> <a href="https://t.co/c77474zjFz">pic.twitter.com/c77474zjFz</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1911788523100815772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The account continued, &#8220;Ironically, [Trump] posted on Truth today: &#8216;THE BEST DEFINITION OF INTELLIGENCE IS THE ABILITY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE!!!&#8217;, and clearly, Yellen lacks that ability. Welcome to America’s Manufacturing Renaissance, [Yellen]!&#8221;
Yellen&#8217;s &#8220;pipe dream&#8221; assessment did not come in a vacuum.
Over the past week, media reports have featured &#8220;economic experts&#8221; <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-tariffs-entice-companies-expand-us-manufacturing-economic/story?id=120635951" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warning</a> Trump&#8217;s tariffs would not entice companies to expand U.S. manufacturing, and survey results <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/14/tariffs-wont-bring-manufacturing-back-to-us-supply-chain-survey.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showing</a> most businesses say high costs would keep them from re-shoring.
However, in her interview, Yellen went further than simply stating that restoring manufacturing to the United States was unlikely. She also posited, &#8220;We could even raise questions about whether or not, in a broad-based way, that&#8217;s a desirable goal.&#8221;
On X, the &#8220;Rapid Response&#8221; account for Trump&#8217;s White House <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1911758681907077131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired back</a>.
&#8220;The same politicians who sold American workers out to foreign countries for decades now say an American manufacturing renaissance is a &#8216;pipe dream&#8217; that isn&#8217;t even a &#8216;desirable goal,'&#8221; the account said. &#8220;1) [Trump] doesn&#8217;t accept that. 2) That attitude is how we got here. 3) They hate you.&#8221;
Mike Waltz, who serves as Trump&#8217;s national security adviser, took a swipe at the Biden administration.
&#8220;The previous administration accepted defeat and raced to off shore jobs and U.S. investment,&#8221; Waltz <a href="https://x.com/MikeWaltz47/status/1911821500530704750" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;President Trump has brought in Trillions and Trillions of dollars of foreign investment in record time!&#8221;

Janet Yellen

Yellen Gets Reality Check After Calling U.S. Manufacturing Revival A ‘Pipe Dream’

Mike Waltz

U.S.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he would announce new tariffs targeting semiconductors in the next week amid an ongoing trade war with China.
While speaking to reporters on board Air Force One, Trump said new tariffs on electronic goods, including semiconductors, were in the pipeline. Semiconductors are used in a wide variety of electronic goods like smartphones and computers.
“The tariff will be in place in the not distant future because as you know, like we did with steel, like we did with automobiles, like we did with aluminum, which are now fully on, we’ll be doing that with semiconductors, with chips, and numerous other things. And that will take place in the very near future,&#8221; Trump said, adding that the goal was to move semiconductor and electronic chip production to America. 
He added that the announcement on semiconductors would come in the next week. Trump&#8217;s comments came after his administration released a directive on Friday exempting some electronic goods, like smartphones and laptops, from the reciprocal tariffs.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that this exemption was only temporary.
&#8220;They’re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs but they’re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two,” he <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-smartphones-electronics-laptops-apple-10c31e91d7790bfe8fb004f547109359" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC News.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that &#8220;NOBODY is getting &#8216;off the hook&#8217; for the unfair Trade Balances.&#8221;
&#8220;We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations. What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States, and that we will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China, which will do everything within its power to disrespect the American People,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;We also cannot let them continue to abuse us on Trade, like they have for decades, THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!&#8221;
Though he didn&#8217;t announce a timeline, Trump also said that tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs were also coming.
“We are going to have our drugs made in the United States so that in case of war, in case of whatever, we’re not relying on China and various other countries to supply us with drugs, which is not a good idea,&#8221; he said. 
Trump has imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, while China has retaliated by hitting American goods with a 125% tariff.

President Trump Returns To The White House

Trump Says New Tariffs On Semiconductor Chips Coming In ‘Very Near Future’

China

Nearly two weeks after President Donald Trump announced his sweeping &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariff plan, Democrats and their media surrogates finally appear to have coalesced around a narrative — and the word of the day is &#8220;chaos.&#8221;
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
When Trump first introduced the tariffs during a White House event nearly two weeks ago, Democrats and the media talking heads all predicted that even America&#8217;s allies would turn on Trump — and quickly. But despite a few hiccups and complaints, the latest reports suggest that some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-tariffs-to-talks-trump-adviser-reports-130-countries-now-seek-a-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">130 countries</a> have instead come willingly to the negotiating table — and a number have already promised to drop their own tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers on U.S. goods if the United States does the same.
When the stock market plummeted the day after the tariffs were introduced, legacy media and Democrats latched onto that, claiming that the tariffs would continue to wreak havoc on the markets — but as countries came to the table, prompting Trump to pause all of the reciprocal tariffs save for those levied against Communist China, the freefall stopped and numbers began to climb upward. The rise was anything but steady, however, bringing the Democrats their long-awaited talking point: CHAOS.
ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; previewed Sunday morning&#8217;s broadcast — and an interview with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — by focusing on the &#8220;market uncertainty&#8221; that has remained &#8220;high despite President Trump’s rollback of many steep tariffs.&#8221;
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With market uncertainty high despite President Trump’s rollback of many steep tariffs, <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jonkarl</a> interviews <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenWarren</a> about the administration’s moves and whether her resolution to curtail the president’s ability to impose tariffs can pass Congress. <a href="https://t.co/7NZyCmU6RR">https://t.co/7NZyCmU6RR</a> <a href="https://t.co/HpjzSA7Ub9">pic.twitter.com/HpjzSA7Ub9</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1911110090150621398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Warren, who joined a number of others who suggested Trump sparked the uncertainty on purpose in order to tip off his &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-view-host-claims-trumps-truth-social-posts-are-coded-insider-trading-tips" target="_blank" rel="noopener">billionaire friends</a>&#8221; and give them an opening to buy up stocks right before the market skyrocketed, said the magic word during her interview with host Jon Karl.
&#8220;Look, there is no tariff policy. It&#8217;s just all chaos and corruption,&#8221; Warren claimed. &#8220;That&#8217;s all we have going on. And how can you believe any of these guys? What did Donald Trump tweet out all in caps? &#8216;I WILL NOT BACK DOWN.&#8217; How many hours was that? 24 hours, 30 hours before he turned around and backed down?&#8221;
Warren then mocked Trump&#8217;s classification of the massive trade deficits with most countries worldwide as an &#8220;emergency,&#8221; asking, &#8220;What&#8217;s the emergency with Belgium?&#8221;
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“There is no tariff policy. It&#39;s just all chaos and corruption.” 
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren slams Pres. Trump’s shifting tariff strategy amid economic uncertainty. <a href="https://t.co/OMqE9hhvsl">https://t.co/OMqE9hhvsl</a> <a href="https://t.co/bQTzwR9s9q">pic.twitter.com/bQTzwR9s9q</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1911418057756410253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Warren went on to claim that Trump had actually created an &#8220;emergency,&#8221; saying that she believed it was time for Congress to step in and put a stop to it. &#8220;It is time for Congress right now to step into the emergency that Donald Trump has created, use our own powers.&#8221;
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> that Democrats “don&#39;t have to wait for the courts to step in” to act against Pres. Trump’s tariffs. 
“It is time for Congress right now to step into the emergency that Donald Trump has created, use our own powers.” <a href="https://t.co/tzFvfj3LmA">https://t.co/tzFvfj3LmA</a> <a href="https://t.co/BO8YonYd0r">pic.twitter.com/BO8YonYd0r</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1911421596796924397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Karl also spoke with Stephen A. Smith, who recently flipped on his previous statements and said he was actually considering a presidential run in the future. Smith took a similar tone, arguing that Trump&#8217;s tariffs were based on a whim rather than any well-thought-out economic strategy.
&#8220;This whole tariff war situation is utterly ridiculous,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There doesn&#8217;t appear to be a plan.&#8221;
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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on the first few months of the Trump administration: “I don&#39;t like what I&#39;m seeing, but I&#39;m not surprised.” 
“This whole tariff war situation is utterly ridiculous … There doesn&#39;t appear to be a plan.” <a href="https://t.co/P6PenqaXuY">https://t.co/P6PenqaXuY</a> <a href="https://t.co/DVWnauYHDO">pic.twitter.com/DVWnauYHDO</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1911428567071662264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Margaret Brennan teased her Sunday morning broadcast of &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; on CBS News in much the same fashion, saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s tariff chaos. As the U.S. trade war with China intensifies, how Americans, the stock market, and the entire global economy could be impacted.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This Sunday on Face The Nation with <a href="https://twitter.com/margbrennan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@margbrennan</a>:
It&#39;s tariff chaos. As the U.S. trade war with China intensifies, how Americans, the stock market, and the entire global economy could be impacted. <a href="https://t.co/IlkkXfxEiS">pic.twitter.com/IlkkXfxEiS</a>
&mdash; Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1910825146555736284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the quiet part aloud, telling Brennan that the more pundits and &#8220;experts&#8221; wrung their hands about the volatility in the market, the more volatile the market was likely to become.
&#8220;It is a serious situation. If everybody is nervous at the same time, businesses and consumers, and they all pull back at the same time, that can lead to an economic downturn, just by itself,&#8221; he said, adding that he hoped uncertainty would dial back amid J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon&#8217;s estimation that the odds of a recession sat at 50%.
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When asked if his estimate for the odds of a recession is as high as J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon predicts — at 50% — Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari says, &quot;Hopefully those odds can be brought down.&quot;
&quot;It is a serious situation. If everybody is nervous at the same time,… <a href="https://t.co/FvaVC04SXx">pic.twitter.com/FvaVC04SXx</a>
&mdash; Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1911462536525857178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Obviously, the market participants are trying to grasp for, where is this is all going to settle? And that&#8217;s causing volatility as they are trying to do these assessments. So, that volatility is to be expected,&#8221; Kashkari added, letting Brennan know that the sky wasn&#8217;t falling just yet. &#8220;But markets are functioning, transactions are happening, and so, I anticipate that&#8217;s going to continue.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Despite a tumultuous week in the markets, they look orderly at the moment, says Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari.
&quot;Obviously, the market participants are trying to grasp for, where is this is all going to settle? And that&#39;s causing volatility as they are trying to do… <a href="https://t.co/pkXz3qN3nx">pic.twitter.com/pkXz3qN3nx</a>
&mdash; Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1911462836389175629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator Warren also made a stop at CNN on Sunday, speaking with anchor Jake Tapper on &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; and repeating her claims of &#8220;chaos and corruption&#8221; and arguing that Trump was tailoring his tariffs and timing their announcements in order to benefit donors and billionaires: &#8220;Investors will not invest in the United States when Donald Trump is playing red light, green light with tariffs and saying, &#8216;oh, and for my special donors, you get a special exception.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Chaos and corruption.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ewarren</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a>: &quot;Investors will not invest in the United States when Donald Trump is playing red light, green light with tariffs and saying, oh, and for my special donors, you get a special exception.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/oaeGkCxKPU">pic.twitter.com/oaeGkCxKPU</a>
&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1911426512726667428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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CNN also used the magic word when sharing clips from the show from the official X account.
&#8220;.@jaketapper presses Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett on tariff chaos: &#8216;What do you say to small business owners, or even big business owners, who say they&#8217;re having difficulty making long term business decisions because the country seems right now to be run by capricious whim?'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a> presses Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett on tariff chaos: “What do you say to small business owners, or even big business owners, who say they&#39;re having difficulty making long term business decisions because the country seems right now to be run by capricious… <a href="https://t.co/0mjd7a8J49">pic.twitter.com/0mjd7a8J49</a>
&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1911409683618791890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Former Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) also let the buzz word slip during her appearance on CNN, saying, &#8220;This chaos is not a good state of being.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Former Dem Rep. <a href="https://twitter.com/wildforcongress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wildforcongress</a>: “This chaos is not a good state of being”<a href="https://twitter.com/RepTimBurchett?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepTimBurchett</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ashleyrallison?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AshleyrAllison</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/BradOnMessage?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BradOnMessage</a> join <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a> to discuss the fallout from Trump’s tariff rollout <a href="https://t.co/cvFKMC3cYe">pic.twitter.com/cvFKMC3cYe</a>
&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1911439945941533136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On X, @westernlensman even posted a montage of the Democrats and media delivering the buzzword:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The word has gone out: &quot;CHAOS!&quot; <a href="https://t.co/KTCVv7UpHM">pic.twitter.com/KTCVv7UpHM</a>
&mdash; Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1911097429253841028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And there&#8217;s more:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
New Democrat talking point, “chaos”. They all got the memo. <a href="https://t.co/Efi2YZFaJK">pic.twitter.com/Efi2YZFaJK</a>
&mdash; 𝕊𝕂𝕐 (@SKYRIDER4538) <a href="https://twitter.com/SKYRIDER4538/status/1910805841189437496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Elizabeth Warren

Spin Cycle: And The Word Of The Day Is ‘Chaos’

Spin Cycle: And The Word Of The Day Is 'Chaos'

ABC News

CBS News

Media

NBC News

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that the previously-announced tech exemptions to President Donald Trump&#8217;s sweeping &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariff plan were not permanent.
Lutnick spoke with &#8220;This Week&#8221; host Jon Karl on ABC News about the Friday reports <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-exempts-smartphones-other-electronics-from-additional-tariff-on-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing</a> the exemption of approximately 20 electronic products — including smartphones, chips, and several components needed to make flat screens or tablets — from the additional reciprocal tariffs the Trump administration has levied against China. They are still subject to a 20% tariff, and Lutnick said on Sunday that they would not be exempt from additional tariffs for long.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After Pres. Trump exempts tech like phones, computers and chips from new tariffs, Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> they will be included in semiconductor tariffs to be released in coming months.
“This is not a permanent sort of exemption.” <a href="https://t.co/p9xXrT2Xvx">https://t.co/p9xXrT2Xvx</a> <a href="https://t.co/RoVH72kfM1">pic.twitter.com/RoVH72kfM1</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1911409906407682355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lutnick explained that several items the Trump administration has deemed necessary for national security reasons — things like medications, semiconductors, and automobiles — would be subject to &#8220;sector tariffs&#8221; rather than tariffs specific to one country or another.
&#8220;We need to make medicine in this country, we learned it during COVID, we need to make it in this country,&#8221; Lutnick said. &#8220;We need to make semiconductors in this country, because if we don&#8217;t own semiconductors here, remember, all — virtually all semiconductors are made now in Taiwan and they&#8217;re finished in China, it&#8217;s important that we reshore them.&#8221;
Lutnick went on to add that for those national-security related items, Trump planned to introduce a new policy that would cover them &#8220;outside the reciprocal tariffs, and they&#8217;re going to have their own separate way of being considered.&#8221;
Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller gave a very similar update during his appearance with host Maria Bartiromo on Fox News&#8217; &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Deputy Chief of Staff <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StephenM</a>: &quot;When <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> issued his reciprocal tariffs, our government at the time specifically said that chips and semiconductors&#8230; were going to be dealt with through a separate Commerce authority known as a 232. That was ALWAYS the plan because those… <a href="https://t.co/79zDt9gydJ">pic.twitter.com/79zDt9gydJ</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1911428087989911764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;When the president issued his reciprocal tariffs, our government at the time specifically said that chips and semiconductors, which are critical components of our national security, were going to be dealt with through a separate Commerce authority known as a 232. That was ALWAYS the plan because those components are so essential to our national security, we need to have a separate process for dealing with how to reshore those essential industries,&#8221; Miller said.

TSMC Unveils $100 Billion In New US Investment, Joined By Trump

Commerce Secretary Lutnick: Tariff Tech ‘Exemptions’ Are Not Permanent

Commerce Secretary Lutnick: Tariff Tech 'Exemptions' Are Not Permanent

Technology

Three Democratic-led states accounted for the vast majority of unemployment fraud since 2020, according to an initial survey of such fraud by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
California, New York, and Massachusetts tallied nearly 80% of improper unemployment insurance benefits handed out since 2020. An initial review of claims by DOGE found $382 million in fraudulent payments.
The DOGE audit found that “24.5k people over 115 years old claimed $59M in benefits,” “28k people between 1 and 5 years old claimed $254M in benefits,” and “9.7k people with birth dates over 15 years in the future claimed $69M in benefits.”
“In one case, someone with a birthday in 2154 claimed $41k,” DOGE added in a post on X.
Of those flagged claims, California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for over $300 million.
“California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for most of these improper claims, totaling $305M in unemployment benefits,” said DOGE. “Additionally, California accounted for 68% of the unemployment benefits paid to parolees identified by CBP on the terrorist watchlist or with criminal records.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for most of these improper claims, totaling $305M in unemployment benefits.
Additionally, California accounted for 68% of the unemployment benefits paid to parolees identified by CBP on the terrorist watchlist or with criminal… <a href="https://t.co/6jYGfxW7Fr">https://t.co/6jYGfxW7Fr</a>
&mdash; Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE/status/1910449939487895905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
White House spokesman Harrison Fields said the revelation is an example of the kind of governance that pushed people to move from deep blue states such as California and New York to Republican-led states such as Texas and Florida.
“There’s a reason for the mass exodus from Democrat-run states that have mismanaged their economies and driven residents to the nearest Republican-led state,” Fields told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-states-blame-most-nearly-400-million-unemployment-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. “High taxes, poor stewardship of taxpayer dollars and progressive policies continue to yield negative results, which is why Americans overwhelmingly support the work of DOGE.”
California, New York, and Massachusetts are under solid Democratic control. Democrats control the governor’s office, the state House, and the Senate in each state, while also having the offices of secretary of state and attorney general as well.
DOGE is spearheading the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. DOGE analysts have been working with government departments to identify potential wasteful spending and spending that does not align with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced $5.1 billion in cuts to Pentagon spending on Thursday that were identified by DOGE.
“This one is, as they say, a big one,” said Hegseth in a <a href="https://x.com/SecDef/status/1910462447795716557" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> posted to social media. “We’re signing a memo right now directing the termination of $5.1 billion in DOD contracts – not million, that’s with a B – $5.1 billion in DOD contracts.”

DC Department of Employment Services

DOGE Review Finds Three Dem States Account For Most Unemployment Fraud Since 2020

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Fraud

Unemployment

The overall strategy of containing China, of hampering its economic growth, of preventing it from stealing our IP by basically cutting it off from world markets, has to be implemented with smart, cohesive tactics.
A trade war is just like any other war.
It&#8217;s not enough to know your objective. You also have to know exactly how to attain that objective in the most expeditious possible fashion.
And herein lies the issue with regard to China. How fast you go and the measures that you take in order to box China matter tremendously.
China absolutely deserves this. China is a geopolitical enemy of the United States.
The pretend pussyfooting that&#8217;s been going on with a wide variety of administrations over the course of my lifetime with regard to China is wrong, and President Trump is the only president who&#8217;s had the courage to actually just confront it. He&#8217;s the only president who&#8217;s had the courage to say China is not just a strategic competitor, as Joe Biden said. They&#8217;re not a rising market that we need to find a way to integrate with, which was the view of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Donald Trump clearly recognizes that China is a geopolitical enemy of the United States, that they have been ripping us off. They&#8217;ve been stealing our IP. They&#8217;re spreading their tentacles all over the world.
And they’re working with all the countries that hate our guts.
President Trump has the courage to say the truth.
Jordan Schachtel, an excellent foreign policy analyst, has a <a href="https://www.dossier.today/p/decoupling-from-china-is-worth-the">list</a> of the various IPs that have been stolen by the Chinese over the course of the last ten years or so. Those include:
<blockquote>F-35 Fighter Jet data used for China’s J-20 stealth fighter. Lockheed Martin F-22 data used for China’s J-31 fighter. Missile guidance to enhance Chinese missile systems. NASA space tech: hacked data on propulsion and materials research. Chip designs worth billions taken for China’s memory chip industry. Nuclear missile sensors. Infrared detection tech stolen for military applications. Boeing C-17 Data. Military transport plane specs hacked, linked to China’s Y-20. Apple’s Self-Driving Car Tech. Chip technology to advance Chinese semiconductors. Nuclear reactor designs. American radio systems. American semiconductor processes. Software code for Chinese tech firms.</blockquote>
It is estimated by certain measures that China steals no less than $600 billion per year in American technology and IP — $600 billion per year. That is a massive number.
So, yes, we should be seeking to contain China. Yes, we should be seeking to build an economic ring of fire around China.
In order to do that, a few things have to happen. First, you need better alliances around China. That means better trade deals, better relations with Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, the entire Indo-Pacific region. It means better relations with the EU, which is a major trading partner for the Chinese.
It means that you actually need to strengthen your alliances just like any other war. A trade war works like this. If you&#8217;re going to isolate China, you have to build better relations with everybody else on the planet so you can isolate China.
This is what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been pitching. He says that President Trump’s strategy here is to isolate China in this way, to flip everybody against China so it&#8217;s the U.S. and all of our friends against China.
The other thing that matters here is the strength of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency. That matters an awful lot. It matters because everybody is still trading in U.S. dollars, giving us leverage. If you cut yourself off from world markets, what you end up doing is reducing the leverage you have against other countries.
Economically speaking, one of the amazing things that has happened in terms of American power over the course of the last 30 years has been the integration of global financial systems. It is what has allowed the Trump administration to successfully sanction the nation of Iran.
The state of Iran has been sanctioned by the United States. Russia has been sanctioned by the United States through use of international financial mechanisms.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2178-member-exclusive?elementPosition=2&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Doing these things is only possible because of the integrated nature of technological commerce in the modern era.
It&#8217;s not just that the United States can say, “We&#8217;re not going to trade with Russia anymore. We&#8217;re not going to buy Iranian oil anymore.” It’s that the United States could threaten any bank or entity that did business with America with a cut-off if they did business with the Russians or Iranians, and that has a major effect.
So, in other words, removing yourself from the international system actually damages you if you&#8217;re the most powerful country in the system. The United States is the most powerful entity in that system. It is the sun around which all of the other economies orbit.
If we just disappear, if we just dissociate, that doesn&#8217;t increase our power, it radically reduces our power.
Thus we need to increase our economic power. And that means greater integration with other countries economically, more integration into international financial systems that we control.
This is how you build up the power to take on China, which is a rising power with the ability to truly throw a wrench into the global economy in amazing ways while stealing American IP.
You also need to build up the American military. That means greater expenditure and different types of military tech. Shem Sankara, the chief technology officer for Palantir, which is one of the new defense firms that does business with the American government, said we need to reorient away from any of these big-ticket items in the American military that have a legacy, and instead orient toward new technologies that allows for the United States to defend the Taiwan Straits or break a blockade around Taiwan.
That requires serious expenditure. It also requires serious oversight and requires a real military strategy, not just throwing things against the wall and not just assuming that America&#8217;s heretofore power is going to be its power dynamic going forward.
So you need better trade relations with everybody and better military tech.
And finally, you need the actual reshoring of national security-laden industries in the United States. That requires time. You can&#8217;t just do that overnight. There&#8217;s a bunch of stuff that we need that is made in China, including certain forms of semiconductors, including rare earth materials. All these things are necessary. 
To fight this trade war, we need to put our ducks in a row, and tactics matter. You have to figure out how China will respond and what tools they might use.
Tool #1: They could cut off rare earth mineral exports. They control 90% of global rare earth markets. They did that to Japan. It takes an average of 29 years to go from mineral discovery to production in the United States.
But in China, where they don&#8217;t give a crap about the environment, they just drill it and get it in months. They go and get all that stuff in months.
Tool #2: China could sell off a massive number of U.S. treasury bonds. China likely owns well over $1 trillion in U.S. bonds at this point. If China decided to sell off those bonds at bargain basement rates and just take the loss, it would destroy America&#8217;s capacity to borrow in the market, because bonds are a debt instrument. That would be a shock to the American system and crater the economy pretty much overnight.
Tool #3: China could simply try to blockade Taiwan and hold the U.S. hostage until the tariffs were removed. They might not just blockade Taiwan, they could theoretically invade Taiwan. Blockade of Taiwan is the safer option for the Chinese because they would dare the United States to fire on their ships.
If they blockaded Taiwan, the question is would the United States actually be able to or have the courage to break the blockade around Taiwan at the risk of a possible hot war with China?
If China blockades Taiwan, all the semiconductors that are sophisticated semiconductors, all the stuff in your phone, your computer and our military tech, would be held hostage.
One of the realities of the beginning of World War II in the Pacific sphere is that it was the Western cut-off of oil and rubber, largely to the Japanese, that created the impetus for the Japanese to invade Pearl Harbor. What the U.S. did had to be done, Japan was expanding its grip in Manchuria and the South Pacific.
The tragedy of Pearl Harbor is not just that we were surprised. The tragedy is that we weren&#8217;t ready to fight back immediately, because FDR had not done the necessary work in order to ensure that we were ready to go to war at that time. It took a couple of years for the United States industrial complex to fire up such that it could actually take on a war.
So all of this means everything has to move in lockstep. It means that when you take a trade policy that is likely to push in a more confrontational direction, you have to be ready with the iron fist inside the velvet glove.
Economics is the velvet glove, military force is the iron fist.
We need to have a very concerted strategy for how we go about that trade war with China, because international relations is a delicate business.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-RETURN

Showdown: Trump Stares Down China

Ben Shapiro

Opinion

President Trump

Xi Jinping

China announced further retaliatory measures against the United States on Friday, raising tariffs on American goods to 125% as the trade war between the two countries continues to escalate. 
The action comes after President Donald Trump on Wednesday raised tariffs on China to 125% in addition to a 20% tariff he had placed on the communist nation, citing its role in the fentanyl trade. American products <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/10/us-news/trump-tariffs-on-china-will-actually-be-145-for-some-imports-white-house-clarifies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to be most impacted by the new tariffs include soybeans, pharmaceutical drugs, and airplanes. 
While Trump has said that China has taken advantage of the United States for decades through unfair trade and warned the country not to retaliate, Chinese leaders have accused America of “bullying” in its latest round of tariffs. 
“The U.S.&#8217;s imposition of abnormally high tariffs on China seriously violates international economic and trade rules, basic economic laws and common sense, and is completely a unilateral bullying and coercion,” China’s Ministry of Finance said on Friday, according to a translation. 
“Given that at the current tariff level, there is no market acceptance for U.S. goods exported to China. If the U.S. continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the U.S., China will ignore it,” the ministry added. 
In response to the new tariff hike from China, Trump administration trade representative Jamieson Greer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04/11/business/trump-tariffs-stocks-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the move was “not terribly surprising but certainly unfortunate.”
“While there may be an adjustment, I think we’re going to be on a good path, and I don’t think we’re going to see that level of increase in household expenses,” he said during a Fox News appearance. 
China’s Ministry of Commerce has also filed complaints with the World Trade Organization, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04/11/business/trump-tariffs-stocks-china">accusing</a> the United States of undermining “the rules-based multilateral trading system and international economic and trade order.”
Xi Jinping, president of China and leader of the Chinese Communist Party, met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday, and the two reportedly discussed strengthening ties between the European Union and China. 
Trump said he believed the United States could get a deal done with China but warned the nation not to retaliate. He said on Wednesday that China has shown a “lack of respect” to the world market. 
“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” he said in a Truth Social post.

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