This is basically the Kim Jong-Un approach to foreign policy:

Kim: threaten a nuclear war, see if people will pay you to stop

Trump: threaten to crash the world economy, see if other countries will pay to stop you

He doesn't care that this will shrink the global economy, or even, at least in the short term, the US economy. If other countries submit in order to negotiate tariffs down then he has his "win" politically, if not then he has someone to blame.