WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump offered a rosy assessment after the Thursday over his tariffs, saying, 鈥淚 think it's going very well.鈥�
鈥淭he markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,鈥� he said when asked about the market as he left the White House to fly to one of his Florida golf clubs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday as U.S. stocks led a worldwide selloff after the Republican president's announcement of tariffs against much of the world like none seen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump on Wednesday on imports, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries like China and those from the European Union.
The announcement , but Trump said that was to be expected. He compared the United States to a sick patient in need of surgery when asked by a reporter for his reaction to the worst stock market drop in years.
鈥淚 think it's going very well. We have an operation, like when a patient gets operated on and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is,鈥� he said, an apparent reference to the selloff.
He talked about trillions of dollars in investment that is 鈥渃oming into our country鈥� from companies that want to make their products in the U.S. to avoid tariffs.
鈥淭he rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal," he said.
Later, speaking with the reporters on aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he'd be open to using tariffs to negotiate with other countries and that it would depend on whether they had something 鈥減henomenal鈥� to offer in return.
He maintains that other countries have been taking advantage of the U.S. for a long time and he wants it to stop.
鈥淔or many years, we鈥檝e been at the wrong side of the ball and I鈥檒l tell you what, I think it鈥檚 going to be unbelievable," Trump said as he left the White House to attend a Saudi-backed golf tournament at his club in Doral, Florida.
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Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
