Trump inaccurately asserted that he had predicted during his election campaign a 'tariff transition period', which did not actually occur.
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Donald Trump, oh boy, he's at it again. During an interview with ABC News, the former president claimed he warned during the 2024 campaign that his tariffs would require Americans to undergo a "transition period." But let's take a quick trip down memory lane, shall we?
In reality, Trump's 2024 campaign rhetoric about tariffs held all the charm of a summer blockbuster, sans the warnings. Trump promised his tariffs would make us "so rich" and remarked they'd "not be a cost to you." Strange change of tune, don't you think? The White House couldn't even back up the guy's claim.
During the interview, Terry Moran from ABC News brought up that, according to economists, Trump's tariffs would hike up prices. Moran then referenced a social media post from early April where Trump urged Americans to "hang tough" in the midst of his trade battles, suggesting it wouldn't be a walk in the park (before he'd assured they'd win).
When Moran asked whether Americans should brace for some hard times, Trump let slip: "I've said that during my campaign." But here's the kicker - he didn't. A thorough review of Roll Call's Factba.se database revealed no examples of Trump mentioning a "transition period" or anything similar during the campaign, relating to tariffs or his economic agenda.
When CNN asked the White House to provide any evidence supporting Trump's claim about his campaign rhetoric, they didn't even pull out the big guns! A White House official, oh so secretly, directed CNN to a comment Trump made in an interview post-election, as president-elect, where he couldn't guarantee Americans wouldn't have to pay more because of tariffs. And remember, a post-campaign comment clearly doesn't qualify as evidence for what Trump said during the campaign.
By the way, during the campaign, Trump was as enthusiastic as a kid in a candy store when it came to tariffs. At an August 2024 press conference, he promised, "So, when I win, I will immediately bring prices down," and he repeated this promise at various 2024 rallies, emphasizing speed. He even promised, "We'll get the prices down. We're going to get them down quickly."
Even in the few instances when the topic of inflation came up, Trump spoke in rosy terms about tariffs. "Smart tariffs will not create inflation. They will combat inflation," he pledged at one 2024 event. And, despite importers making the tariff payments, Trump repeatedly claimed that tariffs would only raise costs for foreign countries, not Americans.
Even his staunchest supporter, Elon Musk, admitted that his planned cuts to federal spending would involve "temporary hardship" for the sake of long-term prosperity. But, dear reader, Trump never mentioned that possibility.
Slippery as an eel, ain't he?
Related findings:- Trump's actual campaign statements regarding tariffs were optimistic and lacked warnings.- The White House couldn't find any evidence to back up Trump's claim of warning about a "transition period" related to tariffs during his 2024 campaign.- When questioned about "transition period" during the interview, Trump actually did not say that during his campaign.- Trump made such statements regarding tariffs only after his presidency, prompting questions about the truthfulness of his claims.- If you want to dig deeper, you can research Trump's campaign speeches and interviews from 2024, but as of now, there seems to be no documented discussion of a tariff "transition period."
- Despite assuring Americans that Trump's tariffs would not be a cost to them during his 2024 campaign, he subsequently claimed during an interview in a different year that he had warned about a necessary "transition period" for Americans.
- Throughout war-and-conflicts, policy-and-legislation, and general-news, there is no documented evidence of Trump mentioning a "transition period" related to tariffs during his 2024 campaign.
- In contrast to his optimistic campaign rhetoric, Trump promised a "transition period" for Americans during an interview, which was not consistent with his original statements.
- Terry Moran from ABC News questioned Trump about the potential need for Americans to brace for hard times due to his tariffs, to which Trump responded by noting he had mentioned a "transition period" during his 2024 campaign – a claim later found to be baseless.
- After the 2024 campaign, Trump made statements suggesting a "transition period" for Americans would be necessary because of his tariffs, but these statements were made post-election and did not form part of his campaign policy.
