Trump's tariff ultimatum, Iran talks, and a trillion-dollar defense budget

President Trump held a wide-ranging press conference that covered everything from escalating trade wars with China to direct negotiations with Iran, a massive new military budget, and his vision for Gaza. The dominant theme was trade: Trump declared tariffs "permanent," threatened China with a 50% surcharge if it didn't remove its retaliatory 34% tariff by noon the next day, and framed the entire effort as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to "reset the table" on global trade.

Tariffs are permanent, and countries are "getting beaten badly"

When asked whether tariffs were a negotiating tactic or a lasting policy, Trump was explicit: "They're permanent." He argued that tariffs serve multiple purposes — not just correcting trade imbalances but forcing countries to open markets that have been effectively closed to American goods. Japan, the European Union, and China were all singled out. Trump claimed Japan sells "millions of cars" into the U.S. while buying almost no American cars or agricultural products. The EU, he said, was "formed to really do damage to the United States in trade," pointing to a $350 billion deficit and non-monetary barriers like European safety tests designed to keep American cars out — "they drop a bowling ball on the top of your car from twenty feet up in the air."