Speaking in the Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on countries across the globe while issuing a full throated defense of the American worker and taxpayer.
"My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day, waiting for a long time. April 2nd, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike, American steel workers, auto workers, farmers, and skilled craftsmen," Trump said.
"We have a lot of them here with us today. They really suffered gravely. They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs. Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream," he continued. "We had an American dream that you don't hear so much about. You did 4 years ago and you are now, but you don't too often for many years and decades even, you didn't hear too much about. Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore."
The tariffs went into place at midnight and on Thursday, the markets reacted negatively with the DOW Jones Industrial Average tanking to negative 1400.
"THE OPERATION IS OVER! THE PATIENT LIVED, AND IS HEALING. THE PROGNOSIS IS THAT THE PATIENT WILL BE FAR STRONGER, BIGGER, BETTER, AND MORE RESILIENT THAN EVER BEFORE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social ahead of the opening bell.
The focus of the day is on tariffs, but that's just one piece of Trump's overall economic strategy.
Tax cuts and spending reductions, which Congress is currently working to codify in legislation, are a big part and he mentioned them during his remarks at the White House.
"We're going to pass the largest tax cuts in American history, and that's where we're relying on [House Speaker] Mike and [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune," Trump said. "They've been working tirelessly on taking the next step to pass the plan for our one big beautiful bill."
"We need to get our shared priorities done, including certain permanent tax cuts. We want the tax cuts to be permanent spending cuts, energy and historic investments in defense, border, and so much more. We're covering everything. These will be phenomenal," he continued. "We're going to cut spending and right-size the budget back to where it should be...every Republican congressman and senator must unify. We have to unify. We can't be separated. We have to get it done. We have to get absolutely everything we can, and we have to take care of the American people. That's the only thing that matters. We have to take care of the American people first."
In addition, deregulation is another piece and his Cabinet has been hard at work slashing burdensome red tape inside every federal agency.
Trump and his administration argue that combining these factors will lead to a new and emboldened economy that will "Make America Wealthy Again."
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