President Donald Trump‘s voice was noticeably hoarse during a meeting inside the Oval Office on Monday, as he shared with White House reporters that he had a screaming fit.
“Your voice sounds a little rough. Are you feeling OK?” a reporter asked Trump, who held a news conference to announce a new FIFA passport ahead of next year’s World Cup hosted in the United States.
Trump assured, “I feel great,” but added that he lost his voice because “I was shouting at people because they were stupid.” The president explained the yelling episode, “having to do with trade and a country, and I straightened it out, but I blew my stack.”
Trump’s candid explanation drew laughs from some in the room, which included Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
When asked by another reporter which foreign leader he screamed at, Trump demurred. However, he shared that a leader of the unknown country “wanted to try to renegotiate the terms of their trade deal.”
“I was not happy about it,” he asserted.
According to the nation’s top economists, Trump’s increased tariffs on foreign countries have caused costs to rise and even led to businesses closing.
An analysis from the Center for American Progress highlights that Trump’s tariffs are harming businesses and workers, most especially those who are Black.
“His erratic tariff policies will bring rising costs and almost nonexistent avenues for exemption that threaten the survival of Black businesses and the trajectory of communities they anchor,” said the CAP report.
During the Oval Office meeting on Monday, Trump repeated his plan to issue $2,000 dividend checks to working-class Americans amid growing concerns of affordability in the U.S.
“We are going to pay down debt. We have a lot of money from tariffs. If we did not have tariffs, this country would be in serious trouble,” said Trump.
An analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that such dividends could cost $600 billion, despite the projected tariff earnings being $300 billion.
“We estimate that $2,000 dividends would increase deficits by $6 trillion over ten years, assuming dividends are paid annually. This is roughly twice as much as President Trump’s tariffs are estimated to raise over the same time period,” said the report.
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the legality of Trump’s tariffs. If the high court rules against the administration, the federal government would have to pay back billions. Trade and customs experts say such a scenario would be a procedural “nightmare.”
