“This is absolutely FAKE NEWS based on anonymous sources out to sabotage Trump trade policy,” Navarro said in response to the Financial Times report.
The White House is worried about rising prices and bad poll numbers with midterm elections coming up in November, three people close to the discussions told Financial Times. The administration will look at what’s getting hit with tariffs and take some items off the list.
Trump put duties up to 50% on metal imports last summer, then kept adding more products, washing machines, ovens, even pie tins and food cans.
The numbers tell the story. Over 70% of Americans say the economy is fair or poor right now, per Pew Research Center polling. Furthermore, 52% think his policies made things worse, not better.
Wednesday brought a political gut punch. Six Republicans voted with Democrats to overturn Trump’s Canada tariffs, 219-211. Trump went on social media, warning that Republicans who vote against tariffs would “seriously suffer the consequences come Election time.”
Didn’t work. Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska said the White House tried offering special deals for his state. He told them no. Most of the Republicans who broke ranks come from swing districts where voters and businesses are fed up with tariff costs.