We’re now well into the “wild and chaotic flailing” part of the Trump economic plan. The last month has seen the world in financial turmoil due entirely to Donald Trump’s whims. First, there were tariffs, then there weren’t, and then there were only a little bit. By the time you read this, who knows what crazy thing the White House will have announced?
Though every country in the world (and some penguins) was left confused and frightened by Trump’s tariffs, China is specifically in Trump’s sights. His enormous tariffs (and China’s reciprocal response) have already sent prices skyrocketing, and the Trump istration is clearly fearful of how the American public will react when they discover the extent of the “Trump tax” they’ll be forced to pay very soon.
As such, Trump is insisting that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are hard at work hammering out a deal that’ll end this stalemate. In an interview with Time Magazine on Friday, Trump specifically said Xi had called him up for a polite chat. When asked what Xi specifically said, the President gave the following response:-
“If people want to–well, we all want to make deals. But I am this giant store. It’s a giant, beautiful store, and everybody wants to go shopping there. And on behalf of the American people, I own the store, and I set prices, and I’ll say, if you want to shop here, this is what you have to pay.”
Mr President, that doesn’t quite answer the question. In fact, it almost sounds like you’re spouting a bunch of random nonsense in the hopes you can get away with an obvious lie. To nobody’s surprise, China’s foreign ministry has said Trump’s claim is complete nonsense. Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakum said:
“As far as I know, the two heads of state have not called each other recently. I would like to reiterate that China and the U.S. have not conducted consultations or negotiations on the tariffs issue. If the U.S. really wants to solve the problem through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop threatening and blackmailing (China).”
The literal President of the United States telling a massive and very easily disprovable lie about a key diplomatic and economic discussion with another world leader would ordinarily be shocking news. But, well, this is Trump we’re talking about, so compulsive and instinctive lying just kinda comes with the territory.
Given that the Trump istration has repeatedly blinked and reversed tariff policy with other countries, all China has to do is sit there, wait, and simple economic pressure alone will mean they come out on top. In the meantime, expect yet more obvious lies to tumble out of the Oval Office like blossoms from a spring tree. It’s going to be a funny year, except for all the ways it’s going to be awful.
Published: Apr 28, 2025 08:51 am