A source deeply embedded in the Trump administration’s ongoing trade talks accused the Republican president of waging a tariff war for TV ratings.
“[Donald] Trump knows the most interesting part of his presidency is the tariff conversation,” the White House insider, who chose to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisal, told Politico. “It’s all fake. There’s no deadline. It’s a self-imposed landmark in this theatrical show, and that’s where we are.”
In April, the MAGA figurehead paused his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs to announce a three-month window for the world to negotiate new trade agreements with the United States—or face the full fury of his levies.
In a subsequent interview with Time magazine, Trump claimed to have in principle already “made all the deals” with more than 200 foreign partners, before later suggesting the real number would likely be closer to just a few dozen.
Yet ahead of a self-imposed July 9 deadline, only the UK and China have inked relatively limited arrangements, with less than four days now left to go.
As global markets brace for the Wednesday deadline, Trump has lately appeared full of tough talk in his public appearances, telling reporters Friday he’d already signed more than 12 “take it or leave it” letters to various countries reminding them of the levies they’ll face if a deal is not soon reached, Reuters reported.
On other occasions, Truymp appeared to revel in the uncertainty that his tariff regime has created. “We can do whatever we want,” he said of the deadline during a White House press conference Tuesday, CNBC reported. “We could extend it, we could make it shorter. I’d like to make it shorter.”
That ambivalence apparently has some of the president’s allies questioning just how far he’s willing to go to net new trade opportunities for the country.
“You have wins. Take them,” as the White House insider put it to Politico. “You only have to assume he doesn’t want to take them because he likes the game too much.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House spokesman Kush Desai said “the hollowing out of American Main Streets and industries by unfair foreign trade practices is not a theatrical show.” Desai added, “President Trump pledged to use tariffs to level the playing field and restore American Greatness, and the Administration is committed to delivering on this pledge.”
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