WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump addressed reporters from the Oval Office on Monday, discussing his latest trade tariffs, conversations with Canadian and Mexican leaders, and signing an executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund for the United States. However, his remarks left many observers questioning his grasp of key issues.
The press event began with confusion, as Trump asked a staffer to clarify which executive order he was signing. From there, he faced a barrage of questions about the economic fallout from his tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, Elon Musk’s abrupt closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s office, and Musk’s reported access to personal data of government employees.
Trump’s responses drew immediate scrutiny, with fact-checkers and analysts dissecting his claims in real-time. Journalist Aaron Rupar highlighted an inaccuracy in Trump’s assertion that 300,000 Americans die annually from fentanyl overdoses. Trump’s own executive order on tariffs against China cites 75,000 fentanyl-related deaths—a stark difference.
“This is a lie,” Rupar wrote. Meanwhile, epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding criticized Trump’s executive order on the sovereign wealth fund, comparing it to financial structures often found in authoritarian regimes.
“Kings and dictators have sovereign wealth funds,” he noted. Observers also pointed out Trump’s lack of familiarity with the orders he was signing. “Trump is again doing that weird thing where he signs executive orders that need to be explained to him just before he signs them,” Rupar added.
Trump’s tariff policy was also met with skepticism. Policy director Ned Resnikoff posted on BlueSky: “Neither the mainstream press nor our political system seems to have digested the fact that the U.S. president is trying to illegally annex a NATO ally using economic coercion.”
Regarding Musk’s expanding influence in government operations, legal analyst Bradley Moss remarked: “He has no idea what Elon is doing. He let loose Elon to go wild.” Ex-conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin went even further, claiming: “Musk is running the government. Trump is a feeble figurehead.”
Radio host Nicole Sandler bluntly summed up the chaotic press event: “Delay, whine, lie. Blather, wince, repeat.” The president also raised eyebrows when he questioned past trade deals, asking, “Who the hell came up with some of these trade deals?”
Author and activist Majid M. Padellan, known as BrooklynDad on social media, responded by posting a screen capture proving Trump himself had signed the “new NAFTA” deal during his first term.
As Trump’s policies spark economic uncertainty and his executive actions face mounting scrutiny, critics argue his leadership appears increasingly erratic. The coming weeks will reveal whether his trade moves have the intended effect—or simply add to the turbulence.