Bloomberg’s interview with Trump – Fact checking remarks on economic policy

In an interview with Bloomberg's Editor-in-Chief, Donald Trump discussed his plans to impose new tariffs and his view on immigration's impact on local economies. He emphasized that these tariffs would generate significant revenue but faced criticism from economists who warned of increased inflation and economic slowdown. Trump also claimed that inflation was low during his presidency, overlooking key factors such as pandemic-related spending. His remarks on immigration and crime were also fact-checked for accuracy..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..By Mark Niquette, Enda Curran and Gregory Korte .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Donald Trump sat down with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait to outline his vision for using tariffs as a stick to influence corporate behavior, his view of the role of the Federal Reserve and how immigrants are affecting local economies..The interview, hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday, came exactly three weeks before a presidential election in which voters have persistently cited the economy as a top issue in deciding who they will support. .Here are the former president's key statements from the interview, fact-checked and contextualized.."It's going to have a massive effect, a positive effect," Trump said about plans to impose new tariffs..This needs context. Economists have warned that Trump's proposed tariffs would slow economic growth and push up inflation, and they have questioned the revenue projections from them. .Trump said the tariffs his administration imposed on imports brought in "hundreds of billions of dollars just from China alone." But China isn't paying. Importers are responsible for the duties, and ultimately US businesses and consumers pay through higher costs..One academic study in 2019 concluded that consumers and US companies were paying most of the costs of Trump's tariffs, and that after factoring in the retaliation by other countries, the main victims of Trump's trade wars had been farmers and blue-collar workers in areas that supported Trump in 2016..The Peterson Institute for International Economics calculates that a 10% tariff on all imports, plus 60% on China – ideas Trump has floated if he wins in November — could raise $225 billion a year, without factoring in blow-back from fresh trade tensions. .A Bloomberg Economics analysis earlier this year found that Trump's vow to impose 60% tariffs on imports from China and 10% duties on those from the rest of the world would likely send inflation above the Federal Reserve's target and pressure the central bank to raise interest rates. Just before Trump took the stage, Bloomberg News reported that the European Union has prepared a list of American goods it could target with tariffs if Trump follows through on his threat to hit the bloc with punitive trade measures..Read more: 🔒 RW Johnson: The data is unequivocal – Donald Trump is heading for another term."Biden went two years with no inflation because he inherited from me. And then, they started spending money like drunken sailors. They spent so much money. It was so ridiculous, the money they were spending." .This needs context. Trump said there was no inflation when he was president. The annual rate was 2.5% when he took office, higher than the Federal Reserve's 2% target, and peaked at 2.9% in 2018 during his term. It was 1.4% when he left office..While Trump and Republicans blame President Joe Biden for federal spending that drove up prices, the former president also pumped in $3.5 trillion for stimulus checks and other pandemic relief, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates..Trump's policies and supply chain constraints when the US roared back to life after pandemic lockdowns that affected the worldwide economy also played an important part in annual US inflation hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 before falling to 2.4% in September..The national debt has also grown by $7.9 trillion since Biden took office, and increased $7.8 trillion during Trump's tenure. But even excluding pandemic-related spending, Trump's policies, including a major tax cut law, added twice as much to the national debt over the 10-year budget window, according to the nonpartisan committee.."China is building massive auto plants in Mexico. They're very near the border, and they're going to have all the advantages and none of the disadvantages, and that's going to be the end of Michigan.".This needs context. There is only one small Chinese car manufacturing plant in Mexico right now — and it was announced in 2017, during Trump's term. Some companies, including BYD Co Ltd., have said they want to build plants there in the future. However, more Chinese auto parts makers are establishing plants in Mexico, after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement established some regional requirements for cars made in North America..Trump also claimed that Deere & Co. called off plans to build a production plant in Mexico, after he threatened to put tariffs on any of Deere's machinery that's built in Mexico and sold in the US. A spokesman for the iconic tractor maker said no changes have been made to their June announcement to shift some production from Iowa to Mexico..Read more: 🔒 FT: Trump holds rally with Elon Musk at site of assassination attempt."I think it's the greatest job in government," Trump said about the Fed chair role. "You show up to the office once a month and you say, 'Let's see, flip a coin,' and everybody talks about you like you're a God.".This needs context. The Fed chair's duties include running the central bank, overseeing Wall Street banks, monitoring risks to the financial system, delivering speeches, routinely meeting with stakeholders such as lawmakers and business executives, liaising with Fed policymakers around the country and fulfilling the Fed's obligations to international gatherings such as the G-20, among other duties. .The job is a full-time position, and decisions about interest rates are based on Fed officials' assessments of the health and direction of the economy, including looking at labor market data and inflation.."Over the last three and a half years, 13,000 plus people came in, murderers. They're in jail for murder. Some were having the death penalty. We had drug dealers released. We had street gangs released." .This is false. There is no evidence other countries are sending their prisoners to the US. Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris of allowing 13,000 murderers in the country after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement released immigration enforcement data to Republican Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas about the people under its supervision. They included 13,099 people who were found guilty of homicide and hundreds of thousands of convicted criminals. But those numbers span decades, including during Trump's administration..Trump said that migrants are responsible for crime in the country. But study after study has shown that undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes compared to other immigrants — and even fewer compared to US-born citizens..Trump dodged questions about immigrations contributing to growth, something economists have said is helping to support economic expansion. A surge of 8.7 million immigrants over five years could add $8.9 trillion to the gross domestic product through 2034, the Congressional Budget Office estimated..That analysis applies factors such as increased demand from the growing population and higher labor force participation. Those numbers are adjusted downward to compensate for lower wages paid to immigrants compared to native-born workers..Read more: Chuck Stephens – The disturbing truth behind the two Trump assassination attempts."If I'm elected, the dollar is so secure. Your reserve currency is the strongest it'll ever be." .This needs context. Earlier this month, Trump warned: "You're losing your reserve currency, the dollar. China wants to take that over.".No country has abandoned the use of the dollar, but the increasing use of economic sanctions by the US, particularly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has prompted a China-led coalition to discuss the prospect. Still, 88% of all foreign-exchange transactions involve the dollar, compared to less than 10% for China, according to the Atlantic Council. A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar rose to session highs during the interview as Trump defended proposals to dramatically raise tariffs on foreign imports.."You had a peaceful transfer of power," Trump said of the presidential transition after the 2020 election..This needs context. Trump said he went peacefully to Florida on the day Biden was inaugurated after the 2020 election, but he tried to whitewash the violent assault on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that interrupted the certification of Biden's victory over Trump. The former president pointed out that he said at a rally before a mob stormed the Capitol that people should march there "peacefully and patriotically." But it has been clearly shown that Trump summoned his supporters to Washington that day as his final chance to overturn the election by stopping the finalization of electoral votes from the swing states he lost..Demonstrators attempt to enter the US Capitol on Jan. 6. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg.The former president said "nobody was killed except for Ashli Babbitt" on Jan. 6, a reference to the protester who was shot by the police while trying to force her way into the chambers of the House of Representatives. But Trump ignored the five Capitol Police officers who died in the days and months after the attack, including Officer Brian Sicknick, who was sprayed with chemical spray while protecting the Capitol and died of a stroke a day later..Read also:.🔒 Trump's pet-eating rant: An effective act of misdirectionHow Donald Trump has paved the way for future demagogues: Francis Wilkinson🔒 Trump is right about World War III, wrong about the analysis: Andreas Kluth.© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg’s interview with Trump – Fact checking remarks on economic policy

Related Stories

UK demographic crisis: Birth rates hit historic lows

Mass drone production has turned the war in Ukraine's favour

Mark Oppenheimer: Joburg Bar's undeniable race-based admissions

Epstein files trigger sweeping police probe into (former) Prince Andrew