“You can give up certain products. You can give up pencils. That’s under the China policy, you know every child can get 37 pencils—they only need one or two, you know they don’t need that many,” Trump said, adding, “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter, two or three is nice, but you don’t need 37 dolls.”
The rant echoed remarks Trump made back in April as prices for toys were forecast to rise thanks to his tariff policy, which has added costs for retailers that are being passed on to consumers. Back then he said, “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
Trump also reiterated another lie he has repeatedly mentioned in recent days, arguing that concerns about affordability are a “hoax” created by Democrats.
His comments stand in stark contrast to worsening economic conditions on his watch. These include rising costs, increased layoffs and a worsening job market. In his first term, Trump became the only president in modern times to have a net job loss and in his second term he has doubled down on the policies that contributed to that failure. |
