I have to admit that I sometimes get nervous when Donald Trump does interviews. I'm sure it's not even close to the nerves that the Harris-Walz campaign feels when Kamala Harris does anything unscripted, but it's still somewhat uncomfortable. 

I've never been one to say that "Trump did awesome" for the sake of convincing others or myself. I didn't think his Q&A session during the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention went particularly well for him, and he could have answered some questions better.

But his interview with Bloomberg’s John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago on Tuesday was fantastic, and I wish the Trump who showed up to that had been on the campaign trail much earlier.

Of course, the club invited Harris for her own interview, but she declined.

Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait: Just for the record, The Economic Club of Chicago and Bloomberg invited Vice President Harris to a similar interview. She has declined. pic.twitter.com/pREBYoHhFp

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024

It was amazing to see Trump handle loaded questions with ease, responding to them much better than he usually does. For example, when Micklethwait pressed Trump on the potential negative effects of tariffs, he insisted that the "overall effect could be massive."

"I agree it's gonna have a massive effect," Trump said, beaming with confidence, before adding, "positive effect."

You could tell Micklethwait was ready to argue with him on this point because he kept interrupting Trump, to which Trump silenced him by saying, "I know how committed you are to this, and it must be hard for you to, you know, spend 25 years talking tariffs as being negative and then have somebody explain to you that you're totally wrong."

Micklethwait responded by saying, “There’s 40 million jobs in America that rely on trade.” 

Trump, unfazed, responded, “They’re all coming back.”

He highlighted his handling of the iconic American company John Deere, which had announced plans to build plants in Mexico last year.

"And you threatened them with tariffs, and they stopped," Micklethwait admitted.

“They just announced yesterday they’re probably not gonna build the plants. Okay? I kept the jobs here,” Trump replied.

Interviewer: You're talking about 10-20% tariffs on the rest of the world. That is going to have a serious effect on the rest of the economy.

President Trump: "I agree it's going to have a massive effect — positive effect... it must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking… pic.twitter.com/zyb1GfXCTi

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024

Trump then explained that the higher the tariff, "the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States and build a factory in the United States so it doesn't have to pay the tariff."

Trump won over the audience at various times, including when he used his nickname for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.).

TRUMP: "Gavin Newscum. He's the Governor of California."

BLOOMBERG: "Newsom."

TRUMP: "Newscum, I call him."

BLOOMBERG: "There are CEOs out here if they said things like that about a rival CEO..."

TRUMP: "They don't have to go through what I have to go through." pic.twitter.com/UTuNzsXYNF

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024

He even handled questions about 2020 well, pointing out that Democrats still protest 2016.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: "You had a peaceful transfer of power."

Interviewer: "It was by far the worst transfer of power in a long time."

*Crowd boos* pic.twitter.com/C9wFi2qBpE

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 15, 2024

You should watch the whole thing. Trump was as good as I've ever seen him during an interview — and a hostile one at that.

FULL: President Trump's Interview with @Bloomberg at The Economic Club of Chicago pic.twitter.com/Z8iVoKdDK3

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) October 15, 2024