Trump teases trade announcement while slamming NY Times

President Trump on Wednesday appeared to tease a new announcement on trade as he assailed The New York Times for its coverage of his marathon trip to Asia.

“The failing @nytimes hates the fact that I have developed a great relationship with World leaders like Xi Jinping, President of China,” Trump tweeted a day after returning from his five-nation tour.

The failing @nytimes hates the fact that I have developed a great relationship with World leaders like Xi Jinping, President of China…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2017

…They should realize that these relationships are a good thing, not a bad thing. The U.S. is being respected again. Watch Trade!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2017

It is actually hard to believe how naive (or dumb) the Failing @nytimes is when it comes to foreign policy…weak and ineffective!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2017

The comments come days after Trump said he would make a “major” trade announcement after returning to the White House from Asia.  

{mosads}

“A lot of things are happening on trade,” Trump said during a meeting with the leaders of Australia and Japan. “And I’ll be announcing pretty much what happened here, and also with other meetings, including China and South Korea and lots of other places.”

The president said he would “probably” speak on Wednesday, though he has no public events on his schedule. 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 

It’s unclear to which New York Times piece Trump was referring. Columnist Thomas Friedman in a Tuesday column accused Trump of being taken advantage of by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Xi has been brilliant at playing Trump, plying him with flattery and short-term trade concessions and deflecting him from the real structural trade imbalances with China,” Friedman wrote. 

One of Trump’s main goals in Asia was to persuade countries there to buy more American products to reverse decades of trade deficits. 

He appeared to score a quick win in China, announcing more than $250 billion in business deals with Beijing. But many of the agreements were nonbinding and short on specifics.