What Trump Meant When He Said, 'I Am The Chosen One' To Take On China, As Trade War Continues

President Trump on Wednesday defended his trade war with China while speaking with reporters outside the White House, saying "I am the Chosen One" to take on China while he looked towards the sky.

"This isn’t my trade war. This is a trade war that should have taken place a long time ago by a lot of other presidents," Trump said.

"Somebody had to do it. I am the Chosen One. Somebody had to do it. So I’m taking on China. I’m taking on China on trade. And you know what? We’re winning."

On his Twitter account, Trump posted 12 messages Wednesday, with much of the content touching on the economy. But his "chosen" comment at the White House comes after he posted gratitude on Twitter for claims made by conservative pundit and conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root, who said, "the Jewish people in Israel love [Trump] like he's the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God."

In his comments at the White House, Trump claimed that China has "ripped $500 billion out of the United States," echoing past false assertions about the trade deficit under former President Barack Obama.

The latest rhetoric might be considered Trump's way of absolving responsibility for himself, as criticism mounts about tariffs.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Wednesday in a report that the tariff war is expected to shave off 0.3% of U.S. GDP by 2020. By September, virtually every Chinese-made good coming into the U.S. will be slapped with a tariff of 10% to 25%.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the tariffs are a "persistent headwind" on economic growth and that the tariffs, along with slowing economic conditions, "could have negative effects on the U.S. economy."

The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates last month, the first time the central bank had done so since 2008.

Last week, Wall Street saw a warning signal in the bond market called an inverted yield curve, which resulted in the Dow dropping 800 points last Wednesday, the worst-performing stock market day of the year.

U.S. GDP increased by only 2.1% in the second quarter of 2019, the lowest since the beginning of Trump's term.

Trump has frequently criticized China since his presidential campaign, and has accused the country of taking advantage of the U.S. and flooding the global market with cheap exports.

Trump has had the Treasury Department declare China a "currency manipulator" and hit Chinese telecommunications company Huawei with a blacklist due to spying allegations.