President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he speaks during the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit in Char... Read More

WASHINGTON: For decades, American politicians put their special interests ahead of the interest of the country, US President Donald Trump said Friday, asserting that he has done away with some of the "disastrous" trade deals of the past.

Launching a new nationwide campaign in North Carolina to revitalise underserved cities and towns all across America, Trump said the US is in the midst of the single greatest comeback that it has ever had. "This is a comeback. We were doing poorly," he said.

"For decades, Washington politicians put special interests ahead of American interests. They enacted disastrous trade policies. Like, it's unimaginable, frankly. I looked at some of these deals; I said, 'Who the hell would have done this? Who would have done this? A child wouldn't have agreed to this stuff.' Unbelievable," Trump said in his address at a business meeting.

"For years, I heard that China will take over as the largest economy in the world in 2019. I kept hearing that. I hated it because I said, 'If I run, 2019 is not so far away.' We are so far ahead. We are so far ahead now. We became a rocket ship, taking in billions and billions and billions in tariffs, giving a lot of it to our farmers and different people that were targeted," he said.

"Now, we have a deal with China. I just spoke to (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping) last night, and we're working on problem, the virus. It's a very tough situation. But I think he's going to handle it. I think he's handled it really well. We're helping wherever we can," he said.

His administration, Trump said, has signed the Mexico deal and Canada deal: USMCA and has signed trade deals with Japan and South Korea.

"Our economy is now the envy of the entire world. You have to see when leaders come to my office - this beautiful Oval Office. I've had people walk into the office - it's beautiful - but they have more beautiful, in many cases, I guess. But it's what it represents," he added.

"After years of building up other countries, we are finally building our country," Trump said.