trade Trump's new trade war rationale: ‘I am the chosen one’

President Donald Trump on Wednesday adopted a religious theme in describing his role in picking a trade fight with China, saying: "I am the chosen one."

The president turned to look at the sky as he made the claim, using language that some Christians might consider offensive, because in Christian theology Jesus Christ is the "chosen one" and the savior.


Trump made the comment during a rambling question-and-answer session with reporters on the White House South Lawn that lasted 35 minutes. The "chosen one" claim marked a departure from his past trade war rhetoric and came as he mainly recycled several oft-repeated statements.

He shrugged off responsibility for any economic fallout stemming from his trade actions against China, arguing that “somebody had to do it.”

“Somebody said it is Trump’s trade war. This isn’t my trade war,” he added. “This is a trade war that should have taken place a long time ago by a lot of other presidents.”

China wants to make a deal with the U.S., Trump said, in part because their economy and job market are suffering as a result of the tariff battle.

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“Probably we will make a deal,” he said, emphasizing that it must be “good for the United States.”

He did not elaborate on what a potential deal might look like, but he used the moment to take a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently running atop the polls in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Trump dismissed the idea that Beijing might be stringing the Trump administration along in trade talks this year in hopes of negotiating with a Democratic successor. He said China would rather make a deal sooner because “they’re losing too many jobs too fast."

“They want to negotiate,” Trump said. “And Sleepy Joe doesn’t have a clue.”