Social media users praised President Joe Biden ‘s clapback to former President Donald Trump after they clashed over a clampdown on Chinese imports to support American industries. Building on tariffs imposed by the Trump administration , the White House announced a new wave of tariffs on a range of Chinese goods on May 14, HuffPost reported.
Dark Brandon showing out again. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/lqAYMmtskJ
— Radical Leftist Vermin (@genexer3) May 14, 2024
The goal of the tariffs is to increase the cost of some imports for American consumers, per CNBC . A 25% tax will be imposed on Chinese solar panels, batteries, semiconductors, and permanent magnets that are imported into the United States. All Chinese electric cars will be subject to a 100% tariff. Early in the day, Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, blasted the new policy before his latest court appearance for his hush-money case. “China’s eating our lunch,” Trump added, implying that he wants to go farther than Biden.
Talk that talk. This the only way you shut them up pic.twitter.com/l9OhHVCz7l
— Leave No Doubt (@TrophyKingston) May 14, 2024
After he signed the order enacting the new tariffs, Biden was questioned by reporters about Trump’s “eating our lunch” remark. He said that Trump had been “feeding them a long time.” The president received overwhelming plaudits on social media, with many users seeming to enjoy his fresh, punchy approach.
https://t.co/KE6oxIHcuf pic.twitter.com/IoOPQZX91N
— libby smith 🇺🇦 🐝💙💛🐝 🚉🛫🚘 🛤 (@libbysjournal) May 15, 2024
“Savage Dark Brandon diss!” a user appreciated , while another agreed in a similar vein, saying , “Dark Brandon just knocked out The Press and Agent Orange in one punch!” A user proclaimed , “Biden one ups DJT once again.” Another user explained why Trump was worse off in China policies, saying, “Trump’s China trade war scr**ed us royally. He & Ivanka enjoyed getting 34 Chinese trademarks shortly before he unsanctioned partially owned by the Chinese govt ZTE. Trump helped his family WHILE helping President Xi. Biden’s trying to get us an edge.”
A user hailed Biden’s tone, saying , “That’s friggin classic Dark Brandon. He’s correct trump got many of his products made there, bought windows and steel from them, bank loans, and somehow his daughter got trademarks from them, that most folks could never get” Another user appreciated , saying, “This is a devastating and beautiful hit.” A user agreed, saying , “My man…” Another user commented , “Quick-witted Dark Brandon comes in under the buzzer with a mic drop moment!”
A user appreciated the tone shift in Biden, saying , “The most combative Democratic nominee of my lifetime,” while another user asked for more of the same, saying, “We need more of this unapologetic President Biden.” Another user commented , “I wish I was 1/gazillionth as cool as Biden,” while a user simply appreciated saying, “We love Spicy Joe!”
Though it’s unclear exactly to what Biden was alluding with his “feeding them” comment, Trump has expressed some empathy with the Chinese government. Trump recently spoke to Fox News describing Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “brilliant man” last year. “If you went all over Hollywood to look for somebody to play the role of President Xi, you couldn’t find it. There’s nobody like that. The look, the brain, the whole thing,” he said.