By Gloria Ogbonna

During a fiery exchange in the Oval Office on Wednesday, President Donald Trump placed the blame for America’s long-standing trade imbalance with China not on the Chinese government, but squarely on the shoulders of his predecessors in the White House.

Responding to a question from Breitbart News at the signing of an executive order, Trump delivered a pointed critique of the past seven U.S. presidents, whom he accused of gross incompetence, cowardice, or corruption in their handling of foreign trade policy.

“[China is] very capable, and I don’t blame China for what happened. I blame the people sitting … right behind this desk or another desk — you get your choice of seven,” Trump said, gesturing to the Resolute Desk behind him.

“I happened to pick the Resolute. But I blame the people sitting behind this desk for being stupid, incompetent, or not having courage. This should have been done years ago.”

Trump made it clear that the issue goes back far beyond President Biden or even President Obama. “This should have been done before Obama, in all fairness — not only Biden, Obama,” he said.

“This has been going on for decades, and the people responsible were too weak or too foolish to fix it.”

The 45th president traced the root of the imbalance to America’s relationship with the World Trade Organization (WTO), which he said gave China an unfair advantage for decades.

“This started with the World Trade Organization, which was owned by China. It was owned and paid for by China. They didn’t even have to do things. They consider them a nation that was undeveloped,” Trump said.

He went further to criticize the WTO’s classification of China as a “developing nation,” saying the label allowed China to benefit from trade exceptions and leniencies that disadvantaged the United States.

“Well, we’re a developing nation too, if you think about it. Look at our inner cities. Look at what’s happened. I think we’re starting from ground zero there, right?” Trump said. “So we’re a developing nation too.”

Trump continued to unload on previous administrations, suggesting they were either hopelessly naïve or potentially corrupt for allowing such unbalanced trade deals to go into effect.

“I know a lot of people would take heat for saying it, but I blame the people sitting at this desk more than I blame China … They were stupid people, maybe corrupt — I don’t know,” Trump said. “I don’t know how you could be that stupid. How do you get to be president and you’re stupid? But they certainly weren’t courageous, and they allowed this to happen.”

The former president, known for his aggressive stance on trade, reiterated that during his first term in office, he made a point of reading through the trade agreements crafted by earlier administrations. He said what he saw shocked him.

“We had deficits with almost every country. I used to read these things — first term — I’d read them. I’d actually read the agreements,” Trump recalled. “I’d say, ‘How could anybody agree to this stuff?’”

In addition to China, Trump pointed the finger at other nations, such as Japan, for taking advantage of poorly negotiated deals.

“And with Japan and with many other countries that took advantage of us,” he said. “They were rough, they were tough, and they were smart — and you can blame them, but I really blame the people that allowed them to do it.”

He closed by reiterating that the real issue lies not with America’s trading partners but with the American leadership that failed to protect its own economic interests. “If you could read first grade and you could read these agreements, you’d say, ‘These are terrible deals.’”

Trump’s comments underscore his long-held belief that the United States has been systematically undermined by weak leadership and unfavorable global trade practices — a message that has become central to his political brand and reelection campaign.

As the 2024 presidential race heats up, Trump is expected to continue using trade policy as a key talking point, arguing that only he has the courage and clarity to renegotiate America’s place in the global economy.

Whether that message resonates with voters again remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Trump is not letting his predecessors off the hook.

Source breitbart