BURSTPresident Trump said Friday that he thinks that China would have suffered more harm than the U.S. in a prolonged trade war because America "has spirit again" after electing him to a second term.
"If I didn't do that deal with China, I think China would have broken apart. We are not going to break," Trump said during an appearance on Fox News's "Special Report."
"Our country has a lot of spirit, and you know why? Because of November 5, our country has spirit again," he told host Bret Baier.
Trump was referring to Election Day, when he defeated former Vice President Harris to reclaim the presidency after losing to President Biden four years earlier.
His comments come days after the U.S. and China announced a temporary truce in their battle of escalating tariffs since Trump upped the tax on Chinese imports with his "Liberation Day" tariff plan last month.
Under the agreement the Trump administration hashed out with China, the U.S. lowered its tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent. Beijing then lowered its tax rate on U.S. goods from 125 percent to 10 percent.
Beijing also agreed to lift nontariff retaliatory measures taken against the U.S. since early last month.
Media outlets have also reported that Trump backed off his initial sweeping tariff agenda because the impact hit hardest on his supporters.
"The key argument was that this was beginning to hurt Trump’s supporters — Trump’s people," a person briefed on the talks told The Washington Post.
The president had already halted most reciprocal tariffs on other global trading partners for 90-days amid market turmoil, leaving room open for negotiations. The first major trade agreement was announced last week between the U.S. and U.K.
Trump signaled on Friday that once the pause lapses, the administration would announce new tariff rates.