Editor's Newsletter

Did you hear the one about everybody worldwide, probably even the penguins on those islands, telling Trump they would do whatever Trump says because he’s the greatest tariff negotiator in the whole history of ever?

Nevada Democratic U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford heard it, while he was in a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Wednesday in which Trump’s U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, was testifying.

And Horsford wasn’t buying it.

Asked by Horsford for details on Trump’s “pause” on the trade war against pretty much the entire world that Trump launched with much fanfare last week, Greer said “my understanding is that because so many countries decided not to retaliate…”

“Excuse me?” interjected an incredulous Horsford.

Is this market manipulation? — Congressman Steven Horsford asked Trump's U.S. Trade Representative.

“China increased their tariffs on the United States. Trump blinked,” Horsford told Greer.

Horsford could have added that the European Union Wednesday approved 25% tariffs on a host of U.S. goods aimed primarily at Republican states — not in response to Trump’s preposterously named “reciprocal” tariffs he announced on the also preposterously named “Liberation Day” last week, but in retaliation for 25% tariffs Trump slapped on EU steel and aluminum last month. (Thursday the EU announced it would pause implementation of those tariffs to see if the 78-year-old toddler gets a clue while in his self-imposed time out over the next 90 days, although the EU phrased it more diplomatically.)

Horsford might also have reminded Greer that rather than trembling in terror at Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the EU had been crafting retaliatory tariffs to those, too, through joint consultation between not only member nations but also potentially affected industries, in a methodical and thoughtful process of the sort unthinkable under the Trump-Musk freak show.

And Hosford could have even noted that Canada Wednesday announced 25% tariffs on U.S. autos and parts exports, matching Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canada autos and parts that went into effect last week.

Who’s reciprocal now?

While Horsford was pressing Greer for details on what Trump’s tariff policy is now and how and when the determination to pause the big beautiful tariffs Trump announced last week was made, it became obvious that Greer — Trump’s top trade negotiator — only learned about it when a staffer whispered it into his ear during the Ways and Means hearing.

“WTF? Who’s in charge?” Horsford exclaimed, adding that Trump had “pulled the rug out from under” Greer and Horsford would feel sorry for him, except he doesn’t.

“There’s no strategy. You just found out, three seconds ago, sitting here. We saw you,” Horsford added.

“What does this even mean for your negotiating strategy?” Horsford continued. “How are you in charge of negotiations if the president is tweeting about this from wherever the hell he is?”

At one point Wednesday Horsford referred to Trump administration tariff policy as “amateur hour.” He’s right. Trump’s tariff policy isn’t the product of some brilliant and carefully calibrated strategy. It’s dictated by Trump’s erratic temperament and crackpot obsessions.

But that’s no reason to ignore Trump’s venal side. And Horsford didn’t.

Before Trump tweeted his tariff policy, he took to social media to tell everyone “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”

When he posted that, did Trump already know that within hours he would make an announcement that was sure to prompt the markets to rebound, and the social media post was a signal for those in the know? Did Trump by some other means tip off people prior to his announcement, thus allowing them to score a substantial financial windfall yesterday?

Or as Horsford put it to Greer, “Is this market manipulation?”

“No,” Greer responded.

“Why not?” Horsford asked. “If it was a plan. If it was always the plan, how is this not market manipulation?”

“It’s not market manipulation,” Greer responded.

“So if it’s not market manipulation, what is it?” Horsford asked again. “Who’s benefitting? What billionaire just got richer?”

Whatever else it was, “it sure is not a strategy,” Horsford added.

It’s hard to imagine some billionaire or three didn’t make a killing yesterday because Trump, wittingly or not, spilled the beans early. Trump and his courtiers are nothing if not messy.

Alas, even if Wednesday was a day of historic-folkloric insider trading, Oval Office style, the U.S. Supreme Court has decreed that laws are for mere mortals, not Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump wants everyone to believe he perfectly executed his “Liberation Day” tariffs and the world surrendered to his invincible Trumpness, and it was all part of his brilliant plan.

But Horsford’s right. Trump didn’t “pause” his tariffs because the world bowed down before him. Faced with markets crumbling because of him, nations standing up to him, and even some congressional Republicans publicly (gasp!) questioning his greatness, Trump lost his nerve, and blinked.

By the time the markets opened Thursday morning, Wednesday’s rebound, which fell far short of recouping losses since Trump’s Rose Garden “reciprocal” tariff tantrum last week, was already in quick retreat.

And whether it’s in 90 days, or 30 days, or every ten days, Trump’s aforementioned erratic temperament, combined with Republican congressional cowardice, guarantees a lot more episodes just as nerve-wracking and destructive as the fiasco Trump foisted on us with his asinine “Liberation Day.”

• • •• • •

This story is provided by States Newsroom, a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. See the original story here.