Donald Trump tried to argue against math during a recent conversation with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait.
For weeks, Donald Trump's handlers have avoided having him answer any difficult questions. So, it was a strange decision to have him answer financial questions from someone who knew what they were talking about. And when Trump was questioned with real numbers, he didn't know how to handle it.
Micklethwait began, “If you add up all the promises you have made then your plans would add $7.5 trillion to the debt. That is more than twice the total for Vice President Harris. You're on course to push debt up to 150 percent of [gross domestic product]. This is a very business-like audience, why should they trust you with that?"
The question continued:
"What about consumers? People out there? They're going to be the big critic. Critics say your tariffs will end up being like a national sales tax because America at the moment has $3 trillion worth of imports, you're going to add tariffs to every single one of them that is going to push up the cost for all those people who want to buy foreign goods. It is just simple mathematics, President Trump."
Trump didn't have any idea how to answer the question and replied, "It's not. It is, but not the way you figured. I was always very good at mathematics."