[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Donald Trump was unabashed last night as he claimed that America held all the cards in the ongoing trade war that is sending global markets to the brink of collapse.
'I am telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass,' the president said during a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner in Washington.
'They are dying to make a deal. "Please, please sir, make a deal. I'll do anything sir."'
It comes as markets puked again on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 and London's FTSE 100 were down 4 percent. Dow and S&P futures were trading down 1 percent and 0.75 percent before the bell.
Trump remained defiant as he spoke to his MAGA base last night.
'They ripped us off left and right. But now it's our turn to do the ripping,' the president declared.
'Japan is coming here as we speak. They're in a plane, flying lots of them, all tough negotiators, but things that people wouldn't have given us two years ago ... three years ago, five years ago, seven - they're giving us everything.
'They don't want tariffs on themselves.'
Last Wednesday Trump announced that every country - even uninhabited islands - would be hit with a 10 percent tariff on imports, with 'reciprocal' tariffs doled out to countries the White House considered to be the worst offenders.
Since then markets have cratered.
On Tuesday, after a brief rally attributed to a tariff pause possibly being on the table, the Dow ended more than 300 points down. Overall the tariff-related market drop amounted to more than 4,500 points. As 12:01 a.m. Wednesday approached - when the tariffs would kick in - U.S. stock futures and Asian equity markets dropped.
Trump escalated his trade war Tuesday - by announcing a 104 percent tariff on China would go into effect, after China refused to lift its retaliatory tariffs by Trump's deadline of noon on Tuesday.
'Until they make a deal with us, that's what it's going to be,' Trump said at Tuesday night's NRCC President's Dinner.
At the same dinner, Trump also teased more tariffs were coming.
'We're going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals,' he said.
Trump had initially pitched a 34 percent increase on China when he announced the new tariffs during last Wednesday's Rose Garden 'Liberation Day' event, on top of the 20 percent tariffs on China he had rolled out earlier this year. He then stuck Beijing with another 50 percent increase.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that 'it was a mistake for China to retaliate.'
'The president, when America is punched, he punches back harder,' she said, but added that 'if China reaches out to make a deal, he'll be incredibly gracious, but he's going to do what's best for the American people.'
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