Trump Is Trying To 'Fake News' His Way Out Of Tariff Crisis
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spox called Trump claims that US-China are talking on tariffs “fake news."
The Daily is journalism that is committed to truth and democracy. Please support our work by becoming a subscriber.
In an attempt to calm his disastrous stock market plunge, Donald Trump told Americans that the U.S. was in talks with China over the tariffs and they would come down “substantially” from the current 145%.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson calls Trump’s claims “fake news.”
“Chinese Foreign Ministry Spox says US claims that US-China are talking on tariffs is “fake news ‘China and the United States have not consulted or negotiated on tariff issues, let alone reached an agreement. The tariff war was launched by the United States,” Selina Wang reported.
The issue is that instead of caving to Trump and being open to negotiations after punitive tariffs, China is demanding “mutual respect” and that negotiations must be conducted “in an equal manner,” ABC News reported.
“China’s position is consistent and we are open to consultations and dialogues, but any form of consultations and negotiations must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and in an equal manner,” said Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong. “Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis.”
Beijing responded to Trump’s Art of the Deal tariffs by raising its own tariffs and “vowing to ‘fight to the end.’ For example, China restricted exports of rare earth minerals and raised multiple cases against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization.”
The spokesperson also said if the U.S. “really wants to solve the problem, it should face up to the rational voices of the international community and all parties at home, completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and find ways to resolve differences through equal dialogue.”
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is Trump’s Art of the Deal in action.
Trump used his typical mafia-esque tactics, and China refused to cower. Instead, they are hitting the U.S. hard in return, which is eroding confidence in Trump’s economy and therefore his approval numbers.
The man who ran on the price of eggs and promised Americans that just electing him would fix inflation can now, in just 100 days, be called Herbert Hoover.
How does Trump answer for his complete and total economic failure? He blames former President Joe Biden.
An NBC News analysis found in his first 100 days, “Trump has spoken about Biden, his family or his administration at least 580 times either in public remarks or on his social media site.”
It’s not an accident that China is weaponizing Trump’s favorite crutch of “fake news” accusations against him by calling his claims fake news. Of course, in their usage, they are actually correct as Trump’s own Treasury Secretary said there were no formal negotiations happening right now.
Fake News
This brings us back to when CNN fact-checked Trump’s claim that he invented the term of “fake news,” a term that has been around since 1890 and 1891.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Daily to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.