Somebody Had To Take China On, Says Trump

President Donald Trump acknowledged his aggressive China trade policies may mean economic pain for Americans but brushed off the warnings of a possible recession as "irrelevant" and said it was imperative to "take China on."

"It's about time, whether it's good for our country or bad for our country short term," Trump said on Tuesday.

Paraphrasing a reporter's question, Trump said, "Your statement about, 'Oh, will we fall into a recession for two months?' OK? The fact is somebody had to take China on."

The Republican president indicated that he had no choice but to impose the tariffs that have been a drag on US manufacturers, financial markets and, by some measures, American consumers.

Trump was clear that he didn't think the nation is at risk of a recession and that a boom was possible if the Federal Reserve would slash its benchmark interest rate.

"We're very far from a recession," Trump said. "In fact, if the Fed would do its job, I think we'd have a tremendous spurt of growth, a tremendous spurt."

Yet he also said he is considering a temporary payroll tax cut and indexing to inflation the federal taxes on profits made on investments, moves designed to stimulate faster growth. He downplayed any idea that these thoughts indicate a weakening economy and said, "I'm looking at that all the time anyway." (AFP)