President Donald Trump<\/a> boasted about the state of the U.S. economy under his administration during his Detroit<\/a> Economic Club speech Tuesday afternoon, asserting that he had \u201cdefeated\u201d inflation and growth was booming. <\/p>\n Kicking off the speech in Michigan<\/a>, Trump immediately attacked his predecessor \u2013 a common talking point for the president \u2013 and claimed he had steered the \u201cstrongest and fastest economic turnaround\u201d since taking office. <\/p>\n Despite the president\u2019s claims, the Consumer Price Index, released Tuesday morning, indicated inflation remained steady, at the end of 2025, at 2.7 percent but accelerated at a 0.3 percent rate compared to November. <\/p>\n Trump also boasted about his tariffs \u2013 a controversial economic policy that had adverse effects on global markets when Trump first unveiled them in April \u2013 and defended any criticisms of them. <\/p>\n Trump is in Detroit to promote the U.S. economy and jobs continue to decline<\/a> and affordability becomes a focus for the president.<\/p>\n The president also toured a Ford factory that makes F-150 pickup trucks, the bestselling domestic vehicle of 2025<\/a>, before giving remarks.<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump will announce housing affordability policies at Davos<\/p>\n Trump reiterated that he will announce new policies on housing affordability at the World Economic Forum at Davos next week.<\/p>\n Ariana Baio13 January 2026 19:44<\/p>\n <\/a>\u2018We have a real stiff in the Fed\u2019 <\/p>\n All day, Trump has been lashing out at Federal Reserve Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates at a speed and volume that he wants. <\/p>\n In his speech, the president attributed stock market dips, even after good economic news, to investors’ fear that the Fed will raise interest rates. That pattern does occur, but many economists claim it’s justified. \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cYou announce unbelievable numbers, and the market goes down,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have a real stiff in the Fed, but that’s for another day.\u201d<\/p>\n Ariana Baio13 January 2026 19:43<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump aggressively defends tariffs<\/p>\n The president has dedicated several minutes to defending his \u201cfavorite word:\u201d tariffs. <\/p>\n As expected, Trump is brushing off criticisms of his sweeping tariffs, which sent global markets into a tailspin when he unveiled them in April. He denied that consumers are paying the price for tariffs \u2013 despite economists across the political spectrum agreeing that consumers pay the extra cost. <\/p>\n Trump stressed the importance of tariffs, for economic and national security reasons, a claim that comes as the Supreme Court is weighing whether to allow the president to inact the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. <\/p>\n Ariana Baio13 January 2026 19:27<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump touts US has the strongest economy under his administration<\/p>\n President Donald Trump began his speech by bragging about the strength of the U.S. economy under his administration \u2013 claiming inflation was \u201cdefeated,\u201d and growth was booming.<\/p>\n As usual, the president insulted his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and compared the current state of the U.S. to 2024.<\/p>\n Trump said his White House takeover had led to the \u201cStrongest and fastest economic turnaround in our country.\u201d <\/p>\n According to Tuesday morning\u2019s CPI, inflation remained steady in December at 2.7 percent, which was consistent with inflation numbers in November. <\/p>\n Ariana Baio13 January 2026 19:09<\/p>\n <\/a>Watch Live: Trump gives economic speech in Detroit<\/p>\n Live: Trump gives economic speech in Detroit<\/p>\n Independent Video13 January 2026 19:02<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump takes the stage at Detroit Economic Club<\/p>\n Trump has taken the stage at the Detroit Economic Club, where he\u2019s expected to give a speech about the state of the economy.<\/p>\n Ariana Baio13 January 2026 18:57<\/p>\n <\/a>‘Hopefully he’ll be out of there soon’ Trump says of Powell<\/p>\n Continuing to lash out at Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump said he was hopeful that Powell would be \u201cout of\u201d the Fed \u201csoon\u201d while touring a Ford factory in Michigan. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the most expensive job in history and it\u2019s only a renovation. I could have done that job for $25 million; they\u2019re spending billions and billions of dollars. He either doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s doing or it\u2019s worse than that,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cSo hopefully he\u2019ll be out of there soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Powell\u2019s term is up in May.<\/p>\n Ariana Baio13 January 2026 18:47<\/p>\n <\/a>Trump dismisses necessity of US-Mexico-Canada agreement for autoworkers<\/p>\n During his tour of the Ford factory, Trump praised Ford and other US vehicle manufacturers for building their cars in the U.S. and claimed the country did not need help from Canada or Mexico. <\/p>\n \u201cGeneral Motors is doing really well. Stellantis is doing really well\u2026 I just want them to build their product in the U.S.A.,\u201d Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon. <\/p>\n When asked about renegotiating the US-Mexico-Canada agreement in favor of autoworkers, the president said he doesn\u2019t \u201cthink about\u201d the agreement and claimed it \u201cwouldn\u2019t matter\u201d if it were re-negotiated. <\/p>\n \u201cWe could have it or not, it wouldn\u2019t matter to me. I think they want it. I don\u2019t really care about it,\u201d Trump said of the agreement. <\/p>\n \u201cNo real advantage to it. It\u2019s irrelevant to me. Canada would love it. Canda wants it. They need it because we don\u2019t need Canada product. That\u2019s the thing. I want to see Canada and Mexico do well, but the problem is we don\u2019t need their product,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Ariana Baio13 January 2026 18:39<\/p>\n![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI280688349.jpg\")
Trump dismissed the necessity of the USMCA while speaking about domestic vehicle manufacturing (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI280686180.jpg\")
Trump tours the Ford manufacturing floor with executive chairman Bill Ford (far left), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (second from left), Ford CEO Jim Farley (second from right) and Corey Williams (far right) (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n