Trump boasts about his tariffs despite China trade surplus hitting record $1 trillion: Live updates

Speaking on 60 Minutes, Taylor Greene said that many Republicans only switched to supporting Trump when he won the primary in 2024.

“I watched many of my colleagues go from making fun of him, making fun of how he talks, making fun of me constantly for supporting him, to when he won the primary in 2024, they all started — excuse my language, Lesley — kissing his a** and decided to put on a MAGA hat for the first time,” she said.

Taylor Green also alleged that Republicans are “terrified to step out of line” publicly, though, because they could “get a nasty Truth Social post on them.”

The representative for Georgia was one of the most vocal critics of Trump’s botched handling of the Epstein files.

Tensions between the United States and China were strained even further when the U.S. unveiled its controversial national security strategy.

In the 33-page document, Washington outlined that it does not “support any unilateral change” in the Taiwan Strait and that it maintains its “declaratory policy in Taiwan.”

In other words, the U.S. has said that the security of Taiwan remains vital for trade to continue to flow in the region.

Meanwhile, China, which has long coveted the island, warned against “external interference” from the U.S after launching a huge wave of naval vessels into East Asian waters last week.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, told Reuters that the U.S. should “handle the Taiwan question with the utmost prudence, and stop indulging and supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces in seeking independence by force or resisting reunification by force.”

Donald Trump has claimed that his tariff policy has led to a “DECISIVE NATIONAL SECURITY RESULT,” despite China recording a $1 trillion trade surplus.

His rambling Truth Social post was uploaded yesterday evening, hours before the news of China’s historic economic success broke.

“While the United States has other methods of charging TARIFFS against foreign countries, many of whom have, for YEARS, TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF OUR NATION, the current method of Tariffing before the United States Supreme Court is far more DIRECT, LESS CUMBERSOME, and MUCH FASTER, all ingredients necessary for A STRONG AND DECISIVE NATIONAL SECURITY RESULT. SPEED, POWER, AND CERTAINTY ARE, AT ALL TIMES, IMPORTANT FACTORS IN GETTING THE JOB DONE IN A LASTING AND VICTORIOUS MANNER,” Trump wrote.

Data from China’s General Administration of Customs revealed that the country’s trading performance in November had added $112 billion to its trading surplus. That is the third-largest increase ever recorded by China.

Despite shipments to the United States plummeting in November, sales to the European Union and Africa surged. That allowed China to offset the balance, hindering the effectiveness of Trump’s strategy.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that the EU may be forced to take “strong measures” to address the trade imbalance.

“I’m trying to explain to the Chinese that their trade surplus isn’t sustainable because they’re killing their own clients, notably by importing hardly anything from us any more,” Macron told Les Echos newspaper.