Trump calls China 'chief ripper-offer' amid trade tensions

President Donald Trump said Thursday that while the United States might face some hardships as a result of his trade policies, including tariffs, China will face the brunt of the pain.

“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are gonna be open,’” he said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally. … They have ships that are loaded up with stuff – much of which, not all of it, but much of which we don't need. And we have to make a fair deal.”

Trump noted that while the U.S. has “been ripped off by every country in the world,” China is “the leading candidate for the ‘chief ripper-offer.’”

The president's comments followed a Commerce Department advance estimate earlier in the day that the U.S. economy experienced its first drop in three years. The nation’s gross domestic product, or total output of goods and services, shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025.

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