Trump tries to rally optimism with social media posts from West Palm Beach golf club
Trump’s stated goal is to recast global commercial trade along a neo-19th-century tariff system designed to boost domestic production for national markets.
Antonio Fins- The stock market plunged further amid investor anxiety over the escalating trade war.
- Trump touted a strong jobs report but his economic policies continue to draw criticism and skepticism.
- The president spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate, his eighth visit to Palm Beach County since taking office.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
From his golf club, President Donald Trump on Friday sought to rally support for his tariff policy, saying China “panicked,” called on the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates and even shared a wild internet-spread theory that his administration is strategically "crashing” the stock markets.
Trump offered a series of missives on his social-media account shortly after arriving at his West Palm Beach-area golf club amid another upsetting start to a day of trading on Wall Street. Investors were further rattled by China’s retaliatory duties a day after Trump’s initial tariff salvo sent the markets reeling toward a 1,600-plus point drop.
Trump’s online cheerleading did not assuage investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 2,000 points on Friday, dropping below the 40,000-point threshold. Overall, the equity losses have topped $6 trillion.
Since unveiling the measures April 2, which Trump dubbed "Liberation Day," the administration has come under withering criticism and pushback, ranging from European allies to global trading partners to even some Republicans in Congress.
Trump’s posts from Trump International, where he spent part of Friday, did not solely defend and promote his policies. They also sought to play up his brand — a businessman-turned-politician with expertise in deflecting and one who possesses a skill in negotiating who can strike deals that others, including his predecessors, simply couldn't because of a lack of imagination and acumen.
“Trump is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers,” wrote one social-media user in a post Trump shared.
Trump hails talks with Vietnam, says China 'panicked'
Trump reported Friday that he held "a very productive call" with To Lam, leader of Vietnam's communist party, who the president said is willing to slash "tariffs down to ZERO" but then added that it is possible "if they are able to make an agreement with the United States."
The president's post contrasted with an earlier missive in which Trump suggested his Chinese counterparts misplayed their hand by applying their own retaliatory tariffs.
“China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do,” Trump wrote in an all-capitalized missive that perhaps also revealed the president might have miscalculated on how Beijing would respond.
Trump later posted that he signed an executive order to keep the social-media platform TikTok" "up and running" for another 75 days in order to reach an agreement with Chinese officials, who "I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs."
Trump added that "this proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool" and that "we look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal."
Fed chair shrugs off Trump call to lower interest rates
The president also reposted a link to a TikTok video purporting a chess-style strategy underpinning the tariffs.
The video stated Trump was "purposely crashing" equity markets to drive investor cash into U.S. Treasuries, thereby forcing the Federal Reserve to bring down interest rates. The purported objective was to allow the U.S. government to refinance the national debt and lower mortgage borrowing costs.
The rationale, however, contradicts Trump’s stated goal to reorient global commercial trade along a neo-19th-century tariff system designed to boost domestic production for national markets.
Trump later appealed to the central bank's chairman, Jerome Powell, to cut interest rates, writing "this would be a PERFECT time" to reduce lending costs.
"He is always 'late,' but he could now change his image, and quickly," Trump taunted the Fed leader, adding that energy prices and inflation are down.
Speaking at the Society for Advancing Business and Writing, Powell held out little help of throwing Trump a lifeline amid fears his imposed tariffs had raised the prospects for a recession.
The Fed chairman said the "incoming data" still shows "a solid economy," but also that "the uncertainty is high" and that the level of the tariffs the administration has imposed exceeded expectations.
"We're watching to see what the policies will be and how they impact the American economy," Powell said in a moderated discussion. "I realize the uncertainty is high. What we've learned is the tariffs are higher than anticipated, higher than almost all forecasters predicted. We still don't know where that comes to rest, though. And we're just going to have see that through."
The unknowns, he said, are in large part from the drastic, fast-paced changes, including the tariffs, immigration, fiscal changes and regulatory reforms, that the administration is putting in place. They act, he said, as a brake on Federal Reserve action for now.
"It's just too soon to say what the appropriate monetary policy response will be to these new policies. It is just too soon to say," Powell said. "We've taken a step back and we're watching to see what the policies turn out to be and the ways in which they affect the economy. And then we'll be able to act."
He added: "We're waiting for greater clarity before we consider adjustments."
Strong jobs report juxtaposed against trolling, memes about tariff formula
That Trump seemingly endorsed the narrative in the TikTok video added confusion to the imposition of import duties that economists and others find inexplicable.
Online commenters have ripped what they have called an overly simple mathematical equation being used by the White House to apply tariffs. On social media, others have ridiculed the formula by speculating it was derived via an artificial intelligence application.
Trump also heralded Friday’s employment report that showed hiring rose sharply in March as the American economy added 228,000 jobs.
Trump lauded the “great job numbers,” and urged followers to “hang tough, we can’t lose” — seemingly acknowledging the doubts and skepticism about his policies.
On the way to Florida on Thursday, Trump showed off the initial immigrant visa “gold card” for rich foreigners committing at least $5 million worth of investment in America. The card — official U.S. government immigration status — bears Trump’s image and signature.
On Friday, he also posted a pitch to one-percenters in other countries on the benefits of doing business in America, writing “this is a great time to get rich, richer than before.”
After arriving in Miami, a swap of Marine One helicopters
This is Trump's eighth weekend in Palm Beach County since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump was scheduled to attend a "candlelight dinner" hosted by the MAGA Inc. organization Friday night.
Trump landed at Miami International Airport at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday aboard Air Force One. He then boarded a presidential helicopter for the short ride to his Trump National Doral Golf Club in western Miami-Dade County, only to change helicopters on the airport tarmac because of a "wheel issue."
He spoke at the resort, which is hosting a LIV golf tournament. Trump then flew from Miami to Palm Beach International Airport and arrived at Mar-a-Lago at about 10 p.m. Thursday.
On Saturday and Sunday, Trump is expected to travel to his Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, about 18 miles north of Mar-a-Lago. It would be the first time visiting the golf course during his second presidency.
While the White House hasn't said why Trump will travel to his Jupiter course, the club's senior championship, in which Trump has been known to compete, runs Friday through Sunday.
Also, Trump National in Jupiter on Saturday night will host the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association's 17th annual Police Officer's Ball, according to an invitation for that event.
According to restrictions from the FAA, Trump likely will leave Palm Beach for Washington at about 9 p.m. Sunday.
Trump has spent part or all of 28 days of his first 75 days in office in Palm Beach County.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.