Trump’s shocking latest reaction on China: ‘I don’t blame…’

President Donald Trump offered a calm response to concerns about the stock market’s decline, brushing off fears and doubling down on his administration’s ongoing tariff strategy during a press conference on Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Trump referred questions about the market to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, but made clear his stance on China and the broader economic outlook.

“Well, I haven’t seen it because I’ve been here for two and a half hours. So I’ll be saying it,” Trump said when asked for a reaction to the market drop. He then turned to Bessent for commentary, who offered a reassuring tone. “Sure. Look the up two down one is not a bad ratio, or up 10 down five. And I think, as we have talked about, as we go through the queue and settle with these countries who are going to bring us their best offers, we will end up in a quite great certainty over the next 90 days on tariffs.”

“I don’t blame China. I don’t blame anybody. I blame the people that were sitting at that desk in that other beautiful Oval Office for allowing it to happen,” Trump added.

The United States has raised its tariffs on Chinese goods to a staggering 145%, marking the most aggressive trade escalation yet under President Donald Trump’s second-term trade agenda.

Bessent also pointed to key economic indicators as signs of strength. “We have very good inflation numbers today. Oil’s down. We had a successful bond market, so I don’t think see anything unusual today,” he said.

Related: Trump Tariff Live Updates: Trump open to make a trade deal with Xi Jinping

When asked about the next steps with China, Trump expressed cautious optimism while reiterating grievances over past trade practices.

“Well, we’ll see what happens with China. We would love to be able to work a deal. They’ve really taken advantage of our country for a long period of time. They’ve ripped us off beyond anybody, nobody. How people stood for it, sitting in my position is not even believable,” he said.

“And we’re talking about many presidents, not just couples, but they did. And all we’re doing is putting it back in shape. We’re resetting the table, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to get along very well,” Trump added.

He also noted his personal rapport with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I have great respect for President Xi. He’s been, in a true sense, he’s been a friend of mine for a long period of time, and I think that we’ll end up working out something that’s very good for both countries. I look forward to it.”

In response to China’s move to limit U.S. film imports, Trump remained unfazed. “I think I’ve heard of worse,” he said.

Bitcoin was up 4.1% over the past 24 hours, trading at $82,363. It also gained 0.2% in the last hour, per Kraken’s price feeds.