President Donald Trump held a Cabinet meeting on April 30 as his administration marked 100 days in office while touting his record on immigration and the economy.
Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce released a report showing that U.S. gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2025 declined by 0.3 percent from the last quarter of 2024.
China ‘Doing Very Poorly,’ Trump Says
Trump said that the Chinese economy is “doing very poorly right now” and made note of recent economic data that showed China’s factory activity declining.“At a certain point, I hope we’re going to make a deal with China. We’re talking to China,” Trump said. The Chinese regime, however, has said that it is not engaged in talks with the Trump administration.
In early April, Trump imposed 145 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, which led to Beijing issuing its own duties of 125 percent on U.S. products.
The Trump administration said that it raised the duties on China because the regime opted to retaliate after Trump’s initial announcement to place reciprocal tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. Other than China, Trump later announced a 90-day pause on the higher tariffs.
In the meeting, Trump also knocked the longstanding de minimis exemption on duties that was exploited by companies such as Temu and Shein, which rely on the loophole to export Chinese products into the United States.
“It’s very important, de minimis,” the president said, describing it as a “scam” that has harmed small American companies. “We put an end to it.”
Trump Reiterates Tax Cuts Plan
Also in the Cabinet meeting, Trump praised GOP-led efforts to pass a bill on taxes through Congress that he said will result in the largest tax cut in U.S. history.Trump said that both Republican congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), have led a “unified attack” to get the bill passed.
“We have to attack because the Democrats are trying to stop it at every turn. It would mean a 58 percent tax hike if they were successful and lots of other bad things beyond the tax hike, but with us, it’ll be the biggest tax cut in American history,” the president said.
Also in the meeting, Trump said that the decline in the GDP in the first quarter was, in part, caused by policies initiated under the Biden administration.
“I have to start off by saying, that’s [former President Joe] Biden, that’s not Trump,“ the president said. ”Because we came in in January, these are quarterly numbers, and we came in, and I was very against everything that Biden was doing in terms of the economy.”
In April, Trump also announced a baseline 10 percent tariff for nearly every country, along with the initial higher reciprocal tariffs that were paused a week later.
Elon Musk Present at Meeting
Elon Musk, a senior presidential adviser who is the driving force behind the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was seen at the Cabinet meeting wearing a “Gulf of America” cap.Trump said that Musk is invited to stay in his administration indefinitely, although the billionaire is expected to soon return to focusing on his companies, Tesla and SpaceX.
“You’re invited to stay as long as you want,” Trump said, adding that Musk had been “treated unfairly” for his role in helping Trump slash the size and scope of the federal government. “You really have sacrificed a lot.”
But she said that Musk-associated officials, including those working with DOGE, will remain in the White House.
Last week, Musk said during a Tesla investor call that he would be stepping away from the government in May, after the company posted lower-than-expected profits and net revenue for the first quarter of 2025.
Trump Talks ‘Judge Problems’
The president also responded to recent court rulings that have blocked his agenda on immigration, including orders to block his administration’s efforts to deport alleged gang members.“We’re expelling these monsters from our country rapidly and working with the Department of Justice,” Trump said, referring to the gang members.
While speaking to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump added, “We’re having some judge problems, and everybody’s reading some judges that don’t like killers, murderers being thrown out of the country.”
Perhaps the most notable deportation-related case involves Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an accused MS-13 gang member who was deported to El Salvador. The Supreme Court ruled in April that the government must “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia.
Meanwhile, several lower federal courts have issued rulings that block Trump’s executive order that would have limited birthright citizenship, as well as his decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport gang members.
“I don’t know what their problem is, but we have little difficulty,” Trump said of the judges who have ruled against his decisions.
Vance Says Media Focused on Wrong Priorities
In the meeting, Vice President JD Vance targeted the media, which he said was fixated on the wrong priorities during Trump’s first 100 days.Vance pointed to a rise in military recruitment numbers that he said the press should focus on, rather than other stories, such as the case of Abrego Garcia.
“Why is it that the press is so focused on the fake B.S., rather than what’s really going on in the country?” Vance asked.
