Some may view it as underestimating President Donald Trumpās authority, but the president is saying it is āone mistake.ā
That mistake is on the part of Democrats regarding the ongoing Government shutdown.
āI think they could just stay out forever, I mean, to be honest with you. Now, what weāre doing is weāre cutting Democratprograms that we didnāt want because⦠I mean, they made one mistake. They didnāt realize that that gives me the right to cut programs that Republicans never wanted,ā Trump said to Fox Newsā Maria Bartiromo on āSunday Morning Futures.ā
āYou know, giveaways, welfare programs, et cetera. And weāre doing that, and weāre cutting them permanently,ā Trump added.
Bartiromo asked Trump about the upcoming āNo Kingsā rallies.
āDo you think that the Government shutdown is all about this rally thatās happening this weekend, the āNo Kingsā rally?ā she asked.
āI mean, some people say they want to delay it for that. This is not a king, you know, theyāre saying, theyāre referring to me as a king. Iām not a king,ā Trump said in response.
āNo, but just so that Chuck Schumer could go and say, āIām fighting Trump,'ā Bartiromo said.
āWell, Chuck is, you know, at the end of the line. Heās being beaten by everybody that they poll against him,ā Trump said. āAnd you know what he did is he did the right thing a couple of years ago on something like this. And he got hurt by his party. And it doesnāt⦠I donāt think it matters to him. I think heās just so dead that heāll do anything.ā
āWeāre cutting a $20 billion project that Schumer fought for 15 years to get, and Iām cutting the project. The project is gonna be dead. Itās just pretty much dead right now,ā Trump continued.
That project is the Gateway Project, which is plans for a new train tunnel under the Hudson River that would connect New Jersey and New York.
Not long into the shutdown, the Trump administration said it was freezing billions of dollars for the tunnel. It also froze funds for the extension of New York Cityās Second Avenue Subway.
The topic them turned to the Chinese and trade.
Trump wrote on Truth Social last week, āIt has just been learned that China has taken an extraordinarily aggressive position on Trade in sending an extremely hostile letter to the World, stating that they were going to, effective November 1st, 2025, impose large scale Export Controls on virtually every product they make, and some not even made by them.ā
āBased on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only for the U.S.A., and not other Nations who were similarly threatened, starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying,ā Trump wrote.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics has said the average U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports is now 57.6%. This means the new tariffs would be about 157%.
Bartiromo asked Trump if that number could stand.
āItās not sustainable, but thatās what the number is. Itās probably not, you know, it could stand, but they forced me to do that,ā Trump said.
āWeāll see what happens with China. Iāve always had a great relationship with , as you know, but they are always looking for an edge,ā Trump continued.
āWe are going to meet in a couple weeks, we are going to meet in South Korea actually with President Xi and other people too,ā he said. āWe have to have a fair deal, itās got to be fair.ā
āWe have a very strong adversary, and they only respect strength, they really do,ā Trump said.
