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President defends tariffs and credits them with driving record investment
Summary
Asked whether newly announced tariffs and a probe of the EU would survive legal scrutiny, the president said the measures were standard, cited historical use of similar legal authorities, and claimed tariffs helped bring $19.2 trillion of investment into the U.S.
A reporter asked whether newly announced tariffs and a probe of the European Union would withstand legal scrutiny. The president responded that the tariffs used a longstanding legal approach and said: "These tariffs have been up for a long time. They've been approved for years... we've used that, and we're taking in billions of dollars."
He further claimed that tariffs were a major driver of investment into the United States and said: "...because of tariffs, largely, I think the election, November 5, but largely because of tariffs, we have $19,200,000,000,000 being invested in our country." The president framed tariffs as a tool to redirect trade and investment toward U.S. suppliers and allies and defended their use in prior administrations.
The briefing did not include legal memos or court decisions; reporters asked about potential challenges but were given an assertion of political and practical success rather than specific legal analyses or evidence in the briefing transcript.
