Trump holds firm even as tariff criticism mounts
by TheHill.com
President Trump is holding firm in his economic plans, even as stocks opened Monday morning at a loss and discontent grew over the weekend with his tariff agenda.
He pushed back on criticism quickly on Monday, calling on Americans to be patient.
“Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump’s Monday agenda includes a meeting with a key ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tariffs are certain to come up, as Israel was among the dozens of nations hit with an import levy. But the escalated war in Gaza will also be front and center.
Congress also returns to work Monday. House Republican leaders are urging their members to adopt the Senate’s version of the budget resolution, passed early Saturday, which will tee up Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda.
Follow along all day for updates.
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a minute ago
Trump threatens additional 50 percent tariff on China
Brett Samuels
President Trump on Monday threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on imports from China, a massive escalation of a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump’s threat is the latest tit-for-tat between the U.S. and China in the last week. The White House last Wednesday announced it would impose a 34 percent tariff on Chinese imports as part of “reciprocal” tariffs against dozens of countries.
Beijing responded by announcing a 34 percent tariff on American imports, leading to Trump’s warning on Monday.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that China made the move, “despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set.”
“Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” Trump added. “Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!”
11 minutes ago
Labor Department touts strong jobs report with meme amid tariff meltdown
Sylvan Lane
The Trump administration is attempting to focus attention on a sturdy U.S. job market as stocks plunge and recession fears rise in the wake of the president’s tariff plans.
The Labor Department sought to highlight the better-than-expected March jobs report, posting a meme on X to celebrate amid another bad day for the stock market.
“🔥Our mood since Friday,” declared the Labor Department, with an image featuring coverage of the March jobs numbers and Aziz Ansari’s character from the sitcom “Parks and Rec.”
The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, far better than economists had expected.
The stock market still plunged in the wake of the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 2,200 points on the day over fears of Trump’s tariffs derailing the U.S. economy.
17 minutes ago
Jamie Dimon says tariffs will weigh down economy
Elizabeth Crisp
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is warning investors that the U.S. economy is facing “considerable turbulence,” calling President Trump’s escalating trade war, which has sent markets reeling, “one large additional straw on the camel’s back”
“The recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession,” Dimon wrote in a letter to shareholders Monday morning. “Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.”
The markets continued to freefall early Monday, but then bounced back later in the morning, apparently on optimism that Trump was considering a 90-day pause in tariffs. However, the White House pushed back on that notion.
44 minutes ago
White House dismisses rumor that led markets to jump: 'Fake News'
Alex Gangitano
The White House pushed back on the idea that President Trump is considering a 90-day pause on tariffs as “fake news” after it spread on social media and caused the stock market to jump.
“Wrong. Fake News,” the White House said on X, sharing a post that Trump is reportedly expecting to do a pause.
A White House official also told The Hill “fake news” when asked about the reports.
Read more here.
an hour ago
Goldman raises recession risk
Aris Folley
Goldman Sachs analysts are again raising the odds of a recession as markets continue to reel in the wake of President Trump’s sweeping tariff actions.
The bank warned in a new report on Sunday that it increased the probability of a recession in the U.S. to 45 percent, just a week after it forecasted odds at 35 percent as fears rise of an impending trade war.
Stocks fell again at the start of the week amid blowback over Trump’s latest move imposing hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on foreign goods.
Read more here.
an hour ago
Bondi on third Trump term: ‘I think he’s going to be finished probably after this term’
Sarah Fortinsky
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday brushed off concerns that President Trump might seek a third term in the White House, saying she thinks the president will “be finished probably” in 2028.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” anchor Shannon Bream asked whether Bondi thinks there is a method by which Trump could run for a third term in office, as he has suggested recently, barring any constitutional amendment.
“President Trump has served one full term. He’s on his second full term. He’s a very smart man. And we – I wish we could have him for 20 years as our president,” Bondi said.
“But I think he’s going to be finished probably after this term,” she added.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
'Orange Monday': Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy mocks Trump's tariffs
Dominick Mastrangelo
Barstool Sports owner and internet personality Dave Portnoy mocked President Trump over major losses the stock market took Monday in response to the new sweeping tariffs his administration announced last week.
“Welcome to Orange Monday,” Portnoy said five minutes before markets opened on his “Davey Day Trader” financial livestream show, adding “there’s no political agenda to this.”
Portnoy, who has spoken positively of Trump, ranted against the tariffs which he said has personally cost him millions in the stock market.
Read more here.
an hour ago
Ex-Fed bank leader: Trump tariffs dramatically raise risk of ‘Smoot-Hawley type outcome’
Sarah Fortinsky
Former Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said early Monday that President Trump’s tariffs could risk severely worsening the economy, in a way that mirrors the consequences of the protectionist trade measures put in place in the early days of the Great Depression.
“The main thing is that this has dramatically raised the risk of a Smoot-Hawley type outcome,” Bullard, dean of Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” referring to the Smoot-Hawley Trade Act of 1930.
Read the full story here.
an hour ago
Appeals court halts Trump independent agency firings
Zach Schonfeld
Ella Lee
A federal appeals court flipped on President Trump’s firings of two independent agency leaders, temporarily reinstating them Monday and likely setting up a battle at the Supreme Court.
In a 7-4 vote, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wiped a ruling from a three-judge panel on the court that sided with the government late last month by greenlighting Trump’s firings of Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris and Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board.
Monday’s ruling clears the way for Harris and Wilcox to return to their posts, for now, though the Trump administration could now file an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court.
an hour ago
Trump's court losses spark battle over nationwide injunctions
Rebecca Beitsch
Zach Schonfeld
The Trump administration’s repeated losses in courts have sparked Republican efforts to limit the reach of the judiciary, something Democrats argue is designed to hamstring reviews of lawless orders.
Congressional Republicans have rolled out two legislative vehicles that would curb nationwide injunctions, arguing this will restore order to the judiciary and put district court judges in their place.
“These rogue judge rulings are a new resistance to the Trump administration and the only time in which judges in robes in this number have felt it necessary to participate in the political process,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the sponsor of one such bill to limit nationwide injunctions, said at a hearing last week.
But Democrats say the bills are an attack on a system that is rightfully reviewing a record-high number of executive actions from President Trump that exceed the bounds of the law.
Read the full story here.
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