During his trip from Florida to Washington on Air Force One, President Donald Trump commented on the market downturn following the new customs tariffs applied to 185 countries, stating, “I do not want anything to go bad, but sometimes you need to take medicine to fix something.”

Addressing the reporters on the plane, Trump evaluated the tariffs. When asked whether there was a pain threshold in the markets that he would not tolerate, Trump replied, “I think your question is very stupid. I do not want anything to go bad, but sometimes you need to take medicine to fix something.” He also emphasized, “I WILL NOT MAKE A DEAL UNTIL WE SOLVE THE TRADE GAP WITH CHINA.”

Stressing that the United States has trade deficits of billions of dollars with some countries and a trillion-dollar deficit with China, Trump stated, “We are losing hundreds of billions of dollars to China each year, and I will not make a deal until we solve this problem. I am ready to make a deal with China, but they need to solve this problem. We have a big trade deficit problem with China.” Trump expressed the desire to solve the trade deficit issue with China, the European Union (EU), and other countries, stating, “If they want to discuss this issue, I am open to discussing it. Otherwise, why should I talk?” he said.

Furthermore, Trump mentioned on his Truth Social social media account that there are significant financial deficits with China, the EU, and many other countries. He stated, “The only way to solve this problem is through the tariffs that are currently making billions of dollars for the U.S. These tariffs are already in effect, and it’s a beautiful thing.” Trump argued that the trade deficit with these countries increased during the previous administration of Joe Biden and emphasized, “We will reverse this, and very quickly. People will one day realize that tariffs are a very good thing for the U.S.”