Reporters got the boot Tuesday afternoon from a Business Roundtable event featuring President Donald Trump as Trump doubled down on his steep tariffs, calling them a "big win."
Speaking at the event, held by the nonprofit group of CEOs, Trump touted a "good spirit" for the economy.
"There's a renewed spirit and also very importantly the tariffs are — they don't want to 25% or whatever it may be — it may go up higher. Look, the higher it goes, the more likely it is they're going to build. And ultimately, the biggest win is not the tariff — that's a big win, that's a lot of money — but the biggest win is if they move into our country and produce jobs," Trump told a packed room of business executives. "That's a bigger win than the tariffs themselves. But the tariffs are going to be throwing off a lot of money to this country."
Trump continued to assert the United States has been "ripped off for years by other countries — many, many decades."
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After the president called the United States a "piggy bank" for other countries, reporters livestreaming the event — including CNN and LiveNow from FOX were forced to move their cameras while streaming. As the audio fades into the background, journalists haul away their recording equipment.
The ordeal didn't go unnoticed by a LiveNow reporter.
"All right, you can see them moving away, getting kicked out of this event just a short time there at this Business Roundtable. President Trump talking about these comments, talking about tariffs, saying they will be a good thing in the long run, also reiterating the quote, 'period of transition.' Also talking about the economy in a big way," the host said.
He later reiterated the journalists were "kicked out of the event."
Trump has clashed with reporters in several notable instances recently. In July, Trump had a confrontational exchange with ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott during an appearance before Black journalists. He called her question "nasty" and referred to ABC as "fake news" when she pressed him on his rhetoric and treatment of Black leaders.
Last month, Trump also barred The Associated Press from the Oval Office over a dispute over the organization's refusal to go along with the administration's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
