U.S. President Donald Trump has given himself a royal moniker, posting an image on his Truth Social account on Saturday that labeled him “the tariff king,” a nickname he embraced publicly while reiterating his willingness to use trade penalties as a policy weapon.
Speaking at a White House event on rural health care on Friday, Trump declared, “I’m the tariff king and the tariff king has done a great job,” as he defended his aggressive use of tariffs during his presidency. He said the threat of imposing duties on foreign goods could be leveraged to pressure other countries into lowering pharmaceutical prices for the U.S. market.
Trump’s remarks came just minutes after he suggested he could use tariffs for broader geopolitical aims, including to penalize countries that oppose his push to take control of Greenland. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” he said.

