"He can basically kill their economy": Asmongold thinks Donald Trump's tariff plan will work out in the end

Twitch streamer and political commentator Zack "Asmongold" recently gave his take on the tariff plan recently announced by United States President Donald Trump. During an address at the White House Rose Garden, Trump showcased a list of new tariffs that would be imposed on countries around the world.

Claiming that smaller nations may not retaliate to the new tariffs as Donald Trump could supposedly "kill their economy," Asmongold said:

"It's not even 4D chess, this is a basic rule... You gotta keep in mind, also, like a lot of these stragglers and these smaller countries, they can't afford to get into a trade war the same way that maybe China can, or even European countries can, because they don't have that level of wealth in their countries. And he knows that. He knows that he can basically kill their economy, so they have to come to the table."

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"Like a self-fulfilling prophecy": Asmongold claims that Donald Trump's tariff plan will work out in the end

These tariffs, announced by Donald Trump on April 3, 2025, have been dubbed "reciprocal tariffs." They are based on the percentage of tariffs charged by each country to the United States. These percentages, however, are defined by Trump and are meant to include "currency manipulation" and "trade barriers," and thus, do not necessarily align with the official tariffs listed by each country.

Reacting to the news of Vietnam cutting down its tariffs on United States goods to avoid having reciprocal taxes imposed on it, Asmongold explained how such "roaching out" by countries could cause the tariffs to succeed as a "self-fulfilling prophecy:

"If Trump enforces really really rough tariffs on like one country, then it's not really gonna matter for the US, because we can make up that difference. But if he's able to do that for every country, and the country isn't willing to get rid of their tariffs, that's when US would really see a big risk, and that's when Trump's plan would work. So, the fact is that that these countries roaching out before this happens... it's like a self fulfilling prophecy."

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Asmongold recently also reacted to news involving Luigi Mangion, who has been charged in New York for the murder of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson. With prosecutors being directed to pursue the death penalty, Asmongold claimed that doing so may cause him to become a "martyr."