US politics live: Chinese TikTok influencers hit back at Donald Trump’s trade war

China’s retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs is not just about imposing tariffs in return. It’s also wielding the power of social media.

Welcome to our continuing, and dare we say endless, coverage of US politics.

Former president Joe Biden, who was still in charge a mere three months ago, has popped up again to critique the Trump administration.

“Fewer than 100 days into this new administration, they have done so much damage and destruction,” Mr Biden said today.

“It is kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon. They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration, pushing out 7000 employees, including the most seasoned officials.

“Ask yourself, ‘Why is this happening?’ Why are these guys taking aiming at Social Security now? Well, they’re following that old line of tech startups. The quote is, ‘Move fast, break things.’ They’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later.

“As a result, there’s always a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights.”

Social Security is essentially the American pension system.

Elsewhere there is a growing phenomenon of influencers going viral on social media, particularly TikTok, for pointing out how cheaply the luxury goods Americans buy are manufactured in China.

That’s part of a concerted pushback against Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Read on for the latest updates.

Originally published as US politics live: Chinese TikTok influencers hit back at Donald Trump’s trade war