WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, USA (AP) — Two days after causing chaos in the economy by announcing widespread tariffs, President Donald Trump insisted that his trade policies will never change, while remaining enclosed in his bubble of wealth and power in Florida.
He woke up on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago, his mansion in Palm Beach, and headed to his golf course a few miles away after writing on social media that “this is a great time to get rich”.
Later in the afternoon, he insisted on writing that “only the weak will fail”.
Trump arrived in Florida on Thursday afternoon
Several followers were on the sidewalk as Trump, wearing his characteristic red “Make America Great Again” cap and a white polo shirt, walked down a palm-lined street. They waved at him and he waved back, part of a ritual that is repeated every weekend he is in the city.
The Republican president was not expected to appear in public, although he is scheduled to attend a candlelit dinner on Friday night for MAGA Inc., a political ally organization.
He spent Thursday in Miami at another one of his golf courses, where he attended a LIV Golf tournament funded by Saudi Arabia. He landed in Marine One and was picked up in a cart driven by his son Eric.
Often, Trump has proven to be immune to the kind of scandals or mistakes that would damage another politician, but his decision to spend the weekend at his opulent properties, playing golf, could test the patience of Americans at a time when their retirement savings are evaporating along with the stock market.
Tariffs are expected to increase prices by thousands of dollars per year and slow down economic growth, and there are fears of a possible recession.
Tariffs could cause more inflation, says the Fed
The Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, said on Friday that tariffs were “significantly higher than expected” and it is “very likely” to cause more inflation, at least in the short term, but possibly also in the long term.
However, Trump has described his policies as a painful but necessary step to encourage companies to move their operations to the United States, and spent the morning defending himself on his social network Truth Social, promising to stand firm with his policies.
Although experts have strongly criticized Trump’s tariffs, the Republican has found some support on TikTok. He shared a video that said “Trump is making the stock market fall” and “he is doing it on purpose” as part of a “secret game he is playing, which could make you rich.”.
The objective, according to the video, is to pressure the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, something that Trump explicitly requested later in the morning.
“This would be a perfect moment for Powell to lower interest rates,” he wrote. “Lower interest rates, Jerome, and stop playing politics!”
A rate cut could help Trump’s image after starting a trade war with much of the world, but according to the Fed, it could lead to prolonged inflation.
Republicans come out in defense of Trump
The Republicans indicated that Trump’s policies would be the beginning of negotiations with foreign countries.
“In any case, the president is a negotiator, and he will continue negotiating with each country one by one,” said Wyoming Senator John Barrasso. He added that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Republican senators this week that tariffs would be set at a “high level with the ultimate goal of reducing them” unless other countries retaliate.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer described Trump’s tariffs as "a brutal pincer movement with American families caught in the middle."
Meanwhile, Trump also welcomed a new report showing that the United States added 228,000 jobs in March, surpassing expectations. Although the figures are a snapshot of the economy and are a response to policies taken many months ago, Trump claimed that they already show that his measures are working: “Stay strong!”, he wrote. “We cannot lose!!!”