President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is not considering pausing tariffs to give markets a respite and negotiate with other countries in the meantime, adding that it's an "honor" to do so.
"We're not looking at that, we have many countries coming to negotiate deals with us. They'll be fair deals and in certain cases they'll be paying substantial tariffs," said Trump at the White House while talking to press after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We have one shot at this and no other president is going to do this. It's an honor to do it because we have been destroyed. We are $36 trillion in debt for a reason. We'll be talking to China, to a lot of different countries. We'll seek to make a really fair deal for the U.S., not for others. This is America first. Other people in the Oval Office put America last," Trump added. "We have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country. We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade."
REPORTER: "Would you be open to a pause on tariffs?"
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 7, 2025
TRUMP: "We're not looking at that... We're going to have one shot at this. No other President is going to do this... It's an honor to do it because we have just been destroyed." pic.twitter.com/il5I2ysTUQ
Trump was asked about the potential pause after markets surged during the morning over a false quote attributed to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.
However, the spike suddenly reversed as the quote couldn't be verified, and reviews of the official's interview with Fox News on Monday showed nothing of the kind. The White House's rapid response X account, Rapid Response 47, replied to a publication saying "Wrong. Fake News."
It is unclear how the quote originated, but Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, who strongly backed Trump in the presidential election, called precisely for a 90-day reprieve on tariffs on Sunday night, warning that the world would otherwise enter a "self-induced economic nuclear winter."
In a lengthy post on X, Ackman said that Trump "has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system." "Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down," he added.
Trump has repeatedly doubled down on the issue, saying "we have been destroyed."
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