Trump launches fresh trade threats before D-Day ceremonies in Normandy

06/06/2019

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Caitlin Oprysko | Politico

President Donald Trump was heading off to France Thursday morning to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the famed Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy, where he would be flanked by dignitaries and world leaders. But first, he wanted to talk about trade.

Amid all of the pageantry of his whirlwind trip to Europe, which included a state dinner in which he was honored by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Trump has drug his domestic battles alongside him, casting the solemn anniversary he was there to celebrate into sharp relief with his Twitter feed.

“The Democrats — Congress has been a disaster. They won’t change. They won’t do anything. They want free immigration — immigration to pour into our country,” Trump told reporters on the airport tarmac in Ireland before departing for D-Day ceremonies in France. “They don’t care who it is. They don’t care what kind of a record they have.”

The president expressed hope about Wednesday’s progress in trade talks with Mexico, which is looking to head off a 5 percent tariff on its exports to the U.S. over what Trump says is a lack of support on stemming the flow of Central American migrants. But the president doubled down on his threat, though he predicted that “something pretty dramatic could happen” in talks with Mexico. “We’ve told Mexico the tariffs go on” beginning Monday, he warned. “And I mean it, too. And I’m very happy with it.”

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