Asian markets go into a 2008-style freefall, after Trump calls his tariffs needed ‘medicine’ for the U.S.

Asia spent Monday searching for comparisons to a historic market drop, after President Donald Trump affirmed that the U.S. needed “medicine” to fix its persistent trade deficit, even as his "Liberation Day" tariffs send markets off a cliff. 

Is Monday's market plunge the worst since the onset of the COVID pandemic? The worst since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008? Or, for some markets, is it the worst…ever?

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index fell by 13.2%, its worst decline...