An economist said on Sunday that Donald Trump was wrong to claim he "can destroy the economy of any foreign country" using various trade embargos.
Peter Schiff, a financial commentator and radio personality who has been raising alarms about America’s affordability crisis, weighed in over the weekend. Previously, Trump himself went nuclear when Schiff did an appearance on Fox News.
“Why would Fox and Friends Weekend (of all things?) put on a ‘Stockbroker’ named Peter Schiff, a Trump hating loser who has already proven to be wrong. Either the show made a mistake, or it is heading in a different direction,” Trump wrote in December.
More recently, Schiff issued an ominous prediction to the president.
Now, stockbroker Schiff is dropping a correction.
"Trump claims that he can destroy the economy of any foreign country by putting an embargo on our imports," Schiff wrote. "If Trump cuts off American consumers, there is an entire world of foreign consumers who would gladly buy what Americans can’t. It’s the U.S. economy that would be destroyed."
When a detractor said to Schiff, "No country in the world has the consuming power of the US!" the economist responded with, "They will as the dollar falls and their currencies rise. Ultimately consuming power comes from producing power, which foreign countries have and America lacks. Supply creates its own demand."
Another user asked, "If foreign companies have so many other buyers lined up, then why don’t they walk?" to which he replied, "They should and they will. But not until the dollar tanks, which will happen soon."
In a separate post, he added, "The Trump administration is threatening to use presidential authority to impose full embargoes that prevent Americans from buying any imported products from particular countries or from all countries. This would be even more harmful to Americans and the U.S. economy than tariffs."