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Donald Trump sold himself to American voters in 2024 as the greatest deal-maker the world has ever known. And promised that he would make the best deals ever for the country.
But, twice now in his first three months as president, Trump has blinked when it comes to his efforts to bring the world economy more in line with his vision.
First, a week after putting “reciprocal” tariffs in place — Happy “Liberation Day”! — Trump paused them in nearly every country, a move the administration insisted would allow him to make great deals with these countries. (Nota bene: No deals have been announced in the intervening two weeks.)
Then, on Tuesday, amid reports that the Dow Jones and and the S&P 500 were headed for historically bad months — and with both markets cratering again — a closed-door speech by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leaked in which he suggested that the ongoing trade war with China was not “sustainable” and that he expected a “de-escalation” between the countries sometime soon.
Just in case you though that leak was an accident — it, of course, was not — Trump himself echoed that sentiment later in the day. “I think we’ll make a deal with China,” Trump told reporters, noting that he had a terrific relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
But Trump wasn’t done! In that same back and forth with reporters, Trump said he never even considered trying to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and dismissed the whole thing as the media overreacting.
Which is, of course, wrong. A week ago Trump called for the “termination” of Powell and said that if he wanted the Fed chairman gone, Powell would be gone — and fast.
So, uh:
The markets continued to tank amid Trump’s threats about Powell. The CEOs of Home Depot, Target and Walmart — in an Oval Office meeting on Monday — warned Trump that while prices hadn’t gone up yet, they absolutely would if he continued on this current course. “And this wasn't about food,” a source familiar with the meeting told Axios. “But he was told that shelves will be empty.”
So, yeah. Faced with the possibility of a stock market panic and empty shelves at stores, Trump, er, shelved the hard-line, tough-guy rhetoric.
Which, to be clear, I am fine with! I don’t want the stock market to drop any more! I want there to be stuff on the shelves of Target when I go there!
But, make no mistake: This is Trump capitulating to economic and political realities. I think most Republican elected officials will a) welcome this change in rhetoric and b) wonder why we needed to go through the last 3 weeks of stock market plunges and uncertainty to get here.
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