Trump news: President explodes in astonishing attack on Federal Reserve and orders US companies to cease trading with China 'immediately'
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on the Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell while seemingly demanding US companies cease trading with China “immediately” as the rival superpower upped the ante in their ongoing trade war by hiking tariffs on $75bn (£61bn) of American goods.
After Mr Powell addressed a central bank symposium in Wyoming and declined to say he would cut interest rates in accordance with the president’s wishes, the commander-in-chief exploded on Twitter and asked who is the “the bigger enemy” of the US, Mr Powell or Chinese premier Xi Jinping.
“Our Country has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Dollars with China over many years,” he ranted, ordering American businesses to seek alternatives to working with China and telling US delivery companies like FedEx and UPS to “SEARCH FOR & REFUSE all deliveries of Fentanyl from China”, blaming Beijing for the US opioid crisis.
Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street after Mr Trump said he would respond to China’s latest tariff increase and called on US companies to consider alternatives to doing business in China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 300 points after the president made the announcements on Twitter.
The stocks of all three companies the president mentioned also dropped as traders tried to understand what the implications for them were.
Stocks had been wavering between gains and losses earlier after China said it would retaliate against the latest round of tariffs imposed by Washington.
China said Friday that it will also increase import duties on US-made autos and auto parts. The retaliation pulled global markets into negative territory.
Mr Trump’s current economic rating in a new Associated Press poll represents a 5 percentage point drop from the same time last year, but for a president who has struggled to win over a majority of American voters on any issue, the economy represents a relative strength.
Even some Democrats approve: Just 5 per cent of Democrats approve of his job performance overall, but 16 per cent approve of his handling of the economy.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Wow, this really is next level.
"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."
Here's how the markets reacted to the president's latest ravings...
...and here's some timely background on Fentanyl.
While all that was going on, Paris's chief prosecutor announced an investigation into the alleged rape of children and other charges linked to Jeffrey Epstein, late former friend of the president.
The disgraced financier was facing accusations of child sex trafficking when he apparently committed suicide in his jail cell in New York this month and the new inquiry will try to establish whether he committed any crimes against minors while on French soil or against any French citizens abroad.
Phil Thomas has this report.
Ex-Illinois congressman Joe Walsh, who says he's considering challenging Trump to a Republican primary, has been doing banter with George Conway, one of the president's most consistent and dauntless critics - despite his being married to senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, whom he must infuriate beyond words.
Donald Trump has issued an astonishing order to US companies to withdraw from China, as he suggested his own appointment as Federal Reserve chairman was a greater enemy than the Chinese dictator.
The president began his outburst by asking: “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?”
It came shortly after China’s latest retaliation in the trade war as it said it would slap tariffs of five to ten per cent on $75 billion of US goods.
China has raised tariffs on around $75bn of US imports in retaliation for Donald Trump’s latest tariff increases, further escalating trade tensions that risk tipping the world economy into recession.
Tariffs of 10 per cent and 5 per cent on two tranches of goods will come into effect on 1 September and 15 December, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.
Oil, light aircraft, cars and agricultural products are among more than 5,000 products affected.
The move appears to be in direct retaliation to Mr Trump’s announcement earlier this month that the US will put 10 per cent tariffs on $300bn of Chinese imports.
Donald Trump has issued an ominous warning to his opponents amid mounting speculation a looming recession could cost him the 2020 presidential election, saying "I always find a way to win".
Reviving his repeated attacks on media outlets which write stories that reflect negatively on his administration, the president sought to dismiss growing fears over the US economy and suggested - without providing any evidence - that journalists were colluding with his political opponents to mislead the public.
"The Economy is strong and good, whereas the rest of the world is not doing so well," he said in an early morning tweet.
"Despite this the Fake News Media, together with their Partner, the Democrat Party, are working overtime to convince people that we are in, or will soon be going into, a Recession.
Donald Trump is reportedly meeting with his trade team at the White House after firing off his controversial tweets aimed at China earlier this morning, and after Beijing announced new retaliatory tariffs against US products -
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