Why does Trump think a trade deficit is a subsidy?

Because his dad paid his professors to get passing grades and didn’t actually read those books in college. According to Epstein, Trump doesn’t even know how to read a balance sheet…

Because the Dunning-Kruger poster boy doesn’t know much of anything.

I’m embarrassed and ashamed of his boorish treatment of your country, and I want to apologize personally.

Because he is using a colloquial definition of “subsidy” and not the actual defined usage. C’mon, you know exactly what he means even if he does not know the real definition. People incorrectly use it like this all the time.

I don’t even believe that Trump thinks the things he says.

He just says things.

Some people are even saying he says things, to distract people and waste their time, and to cause chaos.

Not making sense is part of that.

When we try to figure out his nonsense, that’s one of the desired effects.

See for example Unravelling the Kremlin’s disinformation strategy .

Do you not know that when you go to the store to buy carrots, you are subsidising the store? And they never buy any of your tiny cabbages that you grow in your garden!

Many people simply don’t know the meaning difference of some words and use a wrong one to slant meaning. Here is another case for the Orange Man.
I am not even going to state meaning differences here as well all can look it up.

The man is a walking disaster distraction! He has brought out Musk & Co to distract us from his real damage to foreign policy and trade.