President Trump spoke to reporters on Sunday night upon returning to Washington, DC, from his Mar a Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The president addressed a wide range of issues from the busy news weekend and took questions from reporters.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump imposed his long-awaited 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and 10% tariffs on China on Saturday. This was met with pushback from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced he would impose his own tariffs on the United States, which many in Canada think is a big mistake.
In the fallout from the tariffs, the Canadian dollar’s value has reached a record low not seen since 2003, and Mexico’s peso has also dropped 2%.
Canadian Dollar and Mexican Peso Fall, Canadian Dollar Plummets to Lowest Level Since 2003 After President Trump Unleashes Tariffs
When asked if he was planning to increase the tariffs against Canada, President Trump responded, “It could happen. If they do anything, we will. Canada’s been very abusive of the United States for many years.”
“Canada has been very tough on oil, on energy. They don’t allow our farm products in, essentially. They don’t allow a lot of things in, and we allow everything to come in. It’s been a one-way street,” the President continued. “We subsidize Canada by the tune of about $200 billion a year, and for what? What do we get out of it? We don’t get anything out of it.”
He continued, “Millions of people flowed into our country through Mexico and Canada, and we’re not going to allow that. And by the way, we have among the lowest numbers we’ve ever had of people crossing our borders, the lowest numbers since my administration.”
The President says he plans to speak with Trudeau and Mexico on Monday. “They have to stop people from pouring in, and we have to stop fentanyl, and that includes China,” he said. “They’ve got to stop it. And if they don’t stop it, the tariffs are going to get worse, a lot worse. “
He also plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
President Trump also responded to a question about taxing the UK and the European Union. He said, of imposing tariffs on the EU, “it’ll happen” and on the UK, he said, “It might [happen].” The president added, “It will definitely happen with the European Union, I can tell you that because they’ve really taken advantage of us. And you know, we have over $300 billion deficit. They don’t take our cars; they don’t take our farm products. They take almost nothing, and we take everything from them: millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and bar products.”
“The UK is way out of line, and we’ll see the UK, but the European Union is really out of line. The UK is out of line, but I’m sure that one—I think that one—can be worked out, but the European Union is an atrocity, what they’ve done.”
He further acknowledged that “We may have short term some little pain, and people understand that,” noting that “long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world,” and “we’re going to change it.”
The President further addressed the USAID when asked, “What’s going on there?” As The Gateway Pundit reported, The Trump Administration put two top leaders at the US Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to give Elon Musk’s DOGE classified documents. However, despite claims from the two officials, no classified material was accessed without the proper security clearances. “I think Elon is doing a good job. He’s a big cost cutter,” President Trump told reporters.
Watch:
Trump: It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out. USAID run by radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision.
On the Panama Canal, President Trump declared, “We’re going to take it back.” He later told reporters, “China owns it all of a sudden? Not going to happen. We’re not going to let that happen. We have national security concerns, and they wouldn’t let it happen either.”
Watch the full press gaggle below:
Trump: So we had a very busy weekend. We got the six hostages out of Venezuela, as you probably know, and they’re very safe right now. They’re home with their families, and we appreciate the hard work of a lot of people, including Rick Grenell. We appreciate the cooperation from Venezuela, and we have some very happy people right now. Nobody thought that was going to happen. So, they are home, they’re safe, and they’re with their families. That was a big one.
Secretary of State Rubio is in Panama right now, and we’re talking about the Panama Canal. What they’ve done is terrible. They violated the agreement. They’re not allowed to violate the agreement. China’s running the Panama Canal. That was not given to China. That was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen. And as far as other things are concerned, as you know, we had a very busy weekend. We’re dealing with Israel, we’re dealing with Ukraine and Russia. We have meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia. And I think those discussions are actually going pretty well. The discussions on the Middle East with Israel and various and sundry other countries are progressing. Bibi Netanyahu is coming on Tuesday, and I think we have some very big meeting schedule.
The post WATCH: President Trump Speaks to Reporters Upon Return to Washington DC – Addresses Canada, Mexico, China Tariffs and Says European Union Tariffs “Will Definitely Happen” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.