Trump complains that "poorly managed" companies attribute tariffs to economic problems



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President Trump said Friday that "misguided and weak companies" blame him, not their own "mismanagement," for an economic slowdown. attached to its commercial policy.

"If the Fed went down, we would have one of the biggest rises in the stock market for a long time," Trump tweeted. "Mismanaged and weak businesses cleverly charge these small rates instead of themselves for mismanagement … and who can really blame them? Excuses!"

The president canceled a weekend in Poland to monitor Hurricane Dorian, who threatens his many properties in Florida. But he remains concerned about the possibility of an economic slowdown, or even a recession, on the horizon as he heads for a re-election campaign.

Friday's comments continued for a period of time during which Trump was present mainly on Twitter – publishing seven missives on the economy, defending his trade war with China and once again criticizing the Federal Reserve for failing to take more dramatic measures to revive the economy.

"We do not have a tariff problem (we reign
in bad and / or unfair players), we have a problem with the Fed, "Trump tweeted. "They do not have a clue!"

Behind closed doors in the White House, Trump and his collaborators have engaged in a number of discussions this week, some more tense than others, on what they could possibly do to counter the economy, according to several contributors.

"There is real frustration and some concern, of course, about what could happen if it goes wrong," said a senior administration official, speaking under the guise of 39; anonymity. "And we feel we have to send messages about it because the media will focus on the bad news."

Earlier this week, a new poll showed, for the first time under Trump's presidency, that more Americans thought the economy was deteriorating, 37%, better than 31%. The same survey by Quinnipiac University showed that Trump was substantially losing to the top five presidential candidates in the Democratic presidential election.

The president's messages this week have been a mix of reproaches and cheerleaders to convince the public that the economy is still flourishing and that an agreement with China is suddenly at hand. Both go against the facts: the unemployment rate remains low, but employment growth has slowed and there is no evidence that the Chinese are willing to accept Trump's conditions to resolve the trade dispute.

While he was leaving the White House for Camp David on Friday night, Trump told reporters that the economy was "doing well" and that the extra 5% of customs duties that he ordered on 300 billion dollars of Chinese imports are expected to come into effect Sunday, planned.

"The economy is incredible, in fact," he said. "In the world, we are by far the # 1."

Repeating his morning tweet, Trump said that "a lot of misguided companies are trying to blame the tariffs."

"These are not the rates. This is called bad management, "said Trump. "The rates put us in an incredible bargaining position."

Trump also said that US farmers "are very happy" to continue to be firm in their trade negotiations. Many farmers have reported economic damage as a result of China's retaliatory tariffs, and legislators in agricultural states have become increasingly concerned about Trump's policy.

"They want me to continue this fight," said Trump. "The people who support me the most are the farmers."

Two of Trump's tweets on Friday hinted that he might reconsider an idea that he seemed to dismiss just days ago: capital gains indexing. He retweeted a tweet from the Club for Growth, a conservative group, who urged him. And he quoted an equally encouraging tweet from Steve Forbes, asking, "An idea appreciated by many?"

Trump has been back and forth over the last 10 days regarding the indexation of capital gains tax based on the inflation rate, which could reduce taxes that investors pay on profits from the sale of shares or other assets. Some legal experts believe that the administration could modify the rules of indexing by regulation, bypassing the Congress, but
others dispute this.

Last week on Tuesday, he said that he was considering this idea. The next day, he told reporters that the issue was probably unresolved, pointing out that almost all the tax benefits of indexing would go to the rich.

"I studied indexing for a long time and I think it will be perceived, if I do, as a little elitist. I do not want to do that, "Trump told reporters at the White House last Wednesday." I think indexing is probably better for high-income groups. "

While Trump's contradictory statements only add to the uncertainty in the markets, it has now been revealed that an effort to resolve them was largely based on a lie.

After heightened tensions with China a week ago before heading to France for the Group of 7 summit
, a movement that
Trump told reporters Sunday morning that he had talked overnight with Chinese officials who were suddenly interested in resolving the trade dispute that had been dragging on for several months.

When reporters insisted to get more details after a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Minister said that Beijing was not aware of such a phone call, Trump and the secretary at the Treasury, Steven T.
Mnuchin will not say to whom they spoke, but insists that "communication" has taken place "at the highest level".

This week, two sources in the administration privately acknowledged that there had not been such a call. The president, who sought to stem a decline in stock markets, relied heavily on a public statement by Vice Premier Liu He that Trump saw it as a positive sign, they said.

On Friday, as he was leaving the White House, Trump was much less sure of the state of talks between the United States and China, telling reporters that he thought the next scheduled talks between the two parties would continue in September.

"They have not been canceled," he said.

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