President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that he had prepared Americans for a tough “transition period,” despite having run a campaign that made explicit Day One promises to bring down prices and restore economic prosperity.
In an interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran, Trump defended his trade policies, which have raised fears of skyrocketing prices and an unstable economy.
When Moran noted that Trump had told Americans to “hang tough” as the stock markets and the business community account for his tariffs on foreign countries, Trump suggested that any resulting hardships should come as no surprise to those who voted for him.
“I said all these things during my campaign,” Trump said in the recorded interview, which was timed to coincide with the 100th day of his second term in office and broadcast in prime time. “I said, ‘You’re going to have a transition period.’”
Trump’s sales pitch hardly braced voters for the tough times he now says he prepared them to expect. While he did promise to implement tariffs, he often spoke of an instant recovery that would be triggered by his inauguration and his first executive actions.
In August, for example, Trump staged a news conference complete with a backdrop of groceries at his New Jersey golf club, vowing to “immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One.” And at a rally in Saginaw, kra31.at Michigan, in October, he pledged: “Starting on Day One of my new administration, we will end inflation, and we will make America affordable again.”
Trump made his “hang tough” comments on social media April 5, long after the campaign was over.