If we've learned anything over the last decade, it's that Donald Trump is never "above" an argument.
In a post to Truth Social on Sunday, the president shot back at a Wall Street Journal op-ed criticizing his tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He called the paper a shill for the "tariff lobby" and "always wrong" before saying that two of our biggest trade partners had been engaging in a "decades-long ripoff of America" prior to the tariffs he ordered on Saturday.
"The USA has major deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and almost all countries!), owes 36 Trillion Dollars, and we’re not going to be the 'Stupid Country' any longer," he wrote. "MAKE YOUR PRODUCT IN THE USA AND THERE ARE NO TARIFFS!"
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that Trump's tariffs double back on the deal that Trump himself negotiated during his first term.
"The U.S. willingness to ignore its treaty obligations, even with friends, won’t make other countries eager to do deals," they wrote. "Maybe Mr. Trump will claim victory and pull back if he wins some token concessions. But if a North American trade war persists, it will qualify as one of the dumbest in history.”
Trump countered that his tariffs would usher in a "Golden Age of America" even if they might cause pain to U.S. consumers.
"THIS WILL BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA! WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!). BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," he wrote. "IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID. WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW BEING RUN WITH COMMON SENSE — AND THE RESULTS WILL BE SPECTACULAR!!!"
