Trump rips reporter who asked if he always chickens out on tariff threats: Thats a nasty question

President Trump bristled when asked by a reporter Wednesday whether markets have been calm in the face of his tariff spree because they believe he “always chickens out” on tariff threats, blasting the question as “nasty.” During a brief gaggle in the Oval Office after the swearing in of Interim Attorney for the District of Washington Jeanine Pirro, CNBC White House correspondent Megan Casella asked Trump about his credibility on tariffs.“Mr.President, Wall Street analysts have coined a new term called the TACO trade.

They’re saying ‘Trump always chickens out’ on your tariff threats.And that’s why markets are higher this week.

What’s your response to that?” she asked.Trump appeared frustrated by the question, which seemingly referenced Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong’s assessment of how Wall Street is interpreting the administration’s tariffs.“Oh, isn’t that nice.Chicken out.

I’ve never heard that,” Trump replied before turning indignant.“You mean because I reduced China from 145% that I set down to 100 and then down to another number.

I said you have to open your whole country.”“And because I gave the European Union a 50% … tariff and they called up and they said, “Please let’s meet right now,” he added.“And I said, ‘I’ll give you until July’ … you call that chickening out?“Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead,” he later said.

“People didn’t think it would survive, and you ask a nasty question like that.It’s called negotiation … Don’t ever say what you said.

That’s a nasty question.”Back on April 2, which he dubbed “Liberation Day,” Trump had fired off a 10% baseline tariff rate, then a blitz of customized rates against virtually every country on the planet.The move sent markets into a nosedive.But just before the customized rates were poised to take effect, Trump announced that he would pause all of them, except the one on China, until July 8 to give hi...