President Donald Trump waved off ominous forecasts that his tariffs could bring an economic recession Sunday, claiming America was experiencing a “period of transition.”
Speaking with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, the president ignored challenging questions by heaping praise on his own negotiation skills.
“I hate to predict things,” Trump said in response to a question on whether he predicted a recession for the year. “There is a period of transition.”
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U.S. economic output is set to contract by an annualized rate of negative 2.4% in the first quarter of 2025, the Atlanta Fed forecast estimated this week, according to Reuters.
“There are always periods. It takes a little time. But I think it should be great for us. I mean, I think it should be great.
He went on to ramble about his deal-making abilities in previous deals with China’s authoritarian President Xi Jinping, citing a previous deal for farmers during his first term.
Farmers took a big hit this week as China retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by imposing taxes on American farm imports.
“It’s going to be great ultimately, for the farmer,” Trump insisted. “Don’t forget, I made the deal with China.”
He described the autocratic Chinese leader as “great” because he did a “favor” to Trump.
But the Fox News host pressed him further on whether his business acumen was credible, pointing to nervous stock markets as shares tumbled over the last week.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1% on Thursday, making it the worst day for trading in the last three months.
“Now we’ve got tariffs, and the market has been going down,” Bartiromo told the president.
“Well, not much,” Trump awkwardly replied.
Bartiromo questioned him further, “You said, look, we’re going to have disruption, but we’re okay with that. Is that what you meant? The stock market going down?”
“What I have to do is build a strong country,” Trump said. “You can’t really watch the stock market.”
“If you look at China, they have 100 year perspective. We have a quarter, we go by quarters, and you can’t go by that. You have to do what’s right.
In another exchange, Trump bemoaned the “record-setting inflation under Biden.”
“And you may get it again,” Bartiromo cut in to say. “But you may get it again with these tariffs, right?”
“Well, guess what interest rates are down for the last three, four days at good levels,” Trump said.
Despite challenging questions, Bartiromo has found her own way to spin recent developments in the U.S economy.
Instead of pointing to uncertainty brought by Trump’s tariff threats, she used the president’s scapegoat.
“We’ll see if Joe Biden’s recession shows up,” she told Fox Business host Charles Payne in a discussion on Friday.
