Trump says he used tariffs as leverage to end wars globally

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has ended eight wars using trade measures and tariffs as leverage.

"I've ended eight wars, largely because of trade and because of tariffs," he told reporters as he arrived at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

He defended his tariff approach as superior for national security purposes.

"If we go the other tariff route, and there are other routes we can go, it won't give you the same pure national security as this one," he said. "This one is swift and very powerful."

Asked about concerns that tariff revenues should be used to pay down national debt rather than fund dividends, Trump said: "We will. I agree with them on that. But I also think that we're making so much money with tariffs that we'll also be able to make a nice dividend to middle income people...and lower income people."

Trump has proposed using tariff revenues to fund "$2,000 tariff dividends" for most Americans as direct payouts, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested dividends "could come in lots of forms" beyond checks.

Earlier on his Truth Social platform, he wrote that the current tariff method before the US Supreme Court is "far more direct, less cumbersome, and much faster" than alternatives.

"Speed, power, and certainty are, at all times, important factors in getting the job done in a lasting and victorious manner," he added.