Sunday shows – White House stresses Trump’s determination in China trade fight as GOP challenger emerges
by The Hill staff
Administration officials on Sunday stressed that President Trump is determined to win a trade war with China after the president made comments earlier at the Group of Seven summit that White House said were misinterpreted.
The development came on the same day that a Republican challenger announced that he will mount a primary campaign against Trump.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that President Trump is “as determined as ever” in the ongoing trade war with China after Trump suggested he had regrets about escalating the standoff in comments the White House insists were misinterpreted.
“The president is determined to have fair and reciprocal trade,” Mnuchin, speaking from the Group of Seven (G-7) Summit in France, told Fox’s Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “He’s as determined as ever on this issue, he wants a good deal.”
President Trump’s national economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Sunday that reports that international leaders are warning that U.S. tariffs may lead to a global recession are wrong.
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that the “pain that comes with standing up to China” is a necessary aspect of the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing.
“We’ve got a guy in the White House who is unfit, completely unfit to be president and it stuns me that nobody stepped up, nobody in the Republican Party stepped up, because I’ll tell you what George, everybody believes in the Republican party, everybody believes he’s unfit,” former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “He lies every time he opens his mouth.”
Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), who announced on Sunday that he would challenge President Trump in the GOP primary, said that invoking the 25th Amendment and removing him from office “should be looked at.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, the first Republican to mount a primary campaign against President Trump, encouraged even more GOP challengers to announce White House bids.
“He creates chaos and I don’t think that’s good for getting an agreement with a country like China,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a 2020 presidential hopeful, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “You’ve got to keep your promises and you’ve got to keep your threats and he has done neither… this negotiating by tweet hasn’t been working.”
Former Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell said in a new interview that he believes former Vice President Joe Biden has locked in the Democratic Party’s 2020 nomination for president.
Former Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said in a new interview that the Democratic Party’s leftward push ahead of the 2020 elections presents an opportunity for Republicans.
On the one-year anniversary of Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) death, his wife, Cindy McCain, said her husband would be disappointed by the state of politics today.
