In a candid and wide-ranging Cabinet meeting, US President Donald Trump launched a fresh critique of America’s closest allies, singling out Japan and South Korea while discussing the global tariffs imposed under his administration. Trump accused both countries of exploiting the United States for years in trade arrangements that, according to him, unfairly benefited their economies at Washington’s expense. Framing the criticism jokingly, he told his Cabinet that he would not “mention names” before immediately referencing Japan and South Korea, prompting laughter from those present. Trump insisted that the tariffs now in place were generating significant revenue and argued that the United States was finally reclaiming money that allies had been “ripping away” for decades.
Throughout the meeting, which ran for more than half an hour, Trump returned repeatedly to one central theme — the belief that the US has been chronically disadvantaged by international partners, global alliances, and past trade agreements. He suggested that revenue from tariffs could eventually be redistributed directly to American citizens in the form of dividend checks and even claimed that such income could one day allow the United States to eliminate federal income taxes altogether. His comments ranged far beyond tariffs, however, touching on NATO security obligations, healthcare, energy policy, and partisan messaging. The president dismissed Democratic concerns about the cost of living as nothing more than political rhetoric, calling affordability “a fake narrative” designed to mislead voters.
Trump went further by attacking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, portraying him as an adversary and labelling him a “stubborn ox” who held personal animosity toward the president. On domestic policy, Trump said his administration had dramatically slashed drug prices — citing exaggerated figures rolling from “200 percent” to “800 percent” — and returned to his long-standing condemnation of the Affordable Care Act, calling Obamacare a failure that funnels taxpayer money to insurance companies instead of citizens. He also reiterated his opposition to climate-focused initiatives, referring to green policy efforts as the “green new scam” and dismissing concerns about global warming as “crap.”
The president also took aim at media coverage and contrasted himself with former President Joe Biden, complaining that journalists exaggerate concerns about his public schedule and fitness for office. Trump insisted that the frequency of his press conferences had become a fixation for the press and said that critics invent stories about his condition if he goes even a day without public remarks. Cameras captured a noticeable patch of makeup or cover-up on Trump’s hand during the meeting, which the White House later explained as cosmetic coverage for bruising caused by frequent handshakes and the use of aspirin as part of his preventive medical routine. Trump closed the meeting by boasting about his physical health, saying he had recently taken a medical exam and “got all A’s,” adding that he now felt sharper mentally than he did 25 years ago.
