Trump threatens tariffs on China, faces campaigning woes

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump works behind the counter during a visit to McDonalds in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 20, 2024.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump works behind the counter during a visit to McDonalds in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 20, 2024.
Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS

Donald Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on China if it blockades Taiwan. “I would say: If you go into Taiwan, I’m sorry to do this, I’m going to tax you at 150% to 200%,” he told The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board last week.

When asked whether he would use military force for Taiwan, the former president said: “I wouldn’t have to, because [Xi Jinping] respects me and he knows I’m f— crazy.” Beijing reportedly does see more upside in Kamala Harris, precisely because of Trump’s erratic behavior.

When asked about Vladimir Putin, Trump said, “I got along with him great,” but noted that he once told the Russian leader he’d hit him “right in the middle of fricking Moscow” if he invaded Ukraine.

Are Trump’s numbers fake news? Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign may not be reaching critical voters in Arizona and Nevada, where leaked data revealed nearly a quarter of door-knocks could be fraudulent. Canvassers for America Pac, a political action committee founded by Elon Musk, stand accused of falsely claiming to visit homes, potentially undermining Trump’s ground game with just 15 days to go before Election Day.

America Pac denies widespread fraud, but if true, it could be a serious setback as Trump and Kamala Harris remainneck and neck inboth states.

More from GZERO Media

FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' face appears as a video plays on a screen, during a rally at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. October 18, 2024.
REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

The US election will likely be decided in the seven highly competitive swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada.

Members of an electoral commission count votes after polling stations closed in the course of Moldova's presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union, in Chisinau, Moldova October 20, 2024.
REUTERS/Stringer

Moldovans voted in a presidential election and a referendum on European integration on Sunday.

A woman sitting at her house, looks on as Cuba suffers a third major setback in restoring power to the island, with millions still without electrical service, in Havana, Cuba, October 20, 2024.
REUTERS/Norlys Perez

Millions of Cubans remain in the dark amid a worsening power crisis.

Israeli soldiers stand guard as they deny access to Palestinian farmers to harvest olives, in Burqa near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 20, 2024.
REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman

Washington is investigating a leak of highly classified intelligence about Israel’s preparations for a strike on Iran.

FILE PHOTO: MF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a press briefing at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) plenary session at the IMF and World Bank?s 2024 annual Spring Meetings in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2024.
REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

The great and the good of international development are in Washington, DC, this week for the most important event on their annual calendar.

- YouTube

What is the Russian stake in the EU referendum in Moldova? What was the main outcome of the EU Summit last week? Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from London.

There’s a new strain of cybercrime in online retail. It targets consumers going about their everyday business, whether it’s booking flights on a major airline or purchasing concert tickets from their go-to platform. It’s called digital skimming, also known as e-skimming, online card skimming, or web skimming, and it’s the evolution of an older scam known as card skimming. That’s when criminals install equipment on point-of-sale systems or tiny cameras at ATMs or gas pumps to capture card data. With digital skimming, hackers plant malware at online stores to harvest that information. It can be harder than physical skimming to detect, and it can strike more victims at once. Read our explainer to learn more and understand how to stay safe.