Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick timed a meeting with Trump.
Trump’s Tariff-Loving Trade Adviser Out of the Room
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Advisers Took Advantage of Navarro’s Absence to Push for Tariff Pause
On April 9, financial markets were going haywire. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wanted President Trump to put a pause on his aggressive global tariff plan. But there was a big obstacle: Peter Navarro, Trump’s tariff-loving trade adviser, who was constantly hovering around the Oval Office.
Navarro isn’t one to back down during policy debates and had stridently urged Trump to keep tariffs in place, even as corporate chieftains and other advisers urged him to relent. And Navarro had been regularly around the Oval Office since Trump’s “Liberation Day” event.
So that morning, when Navarro was scheduled to meet with economic adviser Kevin Hassett in a different part of the White House, Bessent and Lutnick made their move, according to multiple people familiar with the intervention.
They rushed to the Oval Office to see Trump and propose a pause on some of the tariffs—without Navarro there to argue or push back. They knew they had a tight window. The meeting with Bessent and Lutnick wasn’t on Trump’s schedule.
The two men convinced Trump of the strategy to pause some of the tariffs and to announce it immediately to calm the markets. They stayed until Trump tapped out a Truth Social post, which surprised Navarro, according to one of the people familiar with the episode. Bessent and press secretary Karoline Leavitt almost immediately went to the cameras outside the White House to make a public announcement.
The Truth Social post sent the stock market soaring and helped stabilize the Treasury market. Later that day, Trump said he made the decision because financial markets were “getting yippy” and because he was keyed into warning signs from the bond markets. Just hours earlier, he had told people in a separate Truth Social post to “stay cool,” suggesting he might stay the course.
“More mischief from anonymous sources seeking to divide and conquer the trade team,” Navarro said in a text message in response to a request for comment.
Navarro was a polarizing figure inside the White House during Trump’s first term, often clashing with National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. At one point, Mnuchin and Navarro went together on a trip to Beijing to discuss trade with Chinese officials, and tension between the two men became so heated that they engaged in a heated back-and-forth outside the talks.
Trump has long been fond of Navarro, though, as they share a maximalist view on trade policy that calls for more dramatic changes. Navarro co-wrote a book, “Death By China,” which shares many of Trump’s views on Beijing.
Navarro’s hard-line views on China have helped him win the support of large parts of Trump’s base, many of whom are anti-Wall Street. But it has made him a pariah with many financial executives and business leaders.
Get Rid of Navarro
Navarro needs to be out of the White House permanently. But that is impossible because of Trump’s misguided faith in his trade advisor.
And Lutnick continually runs hoops to support Trump’s contradictory mission, assuming there is a mission. But at least Lutnick was on the right side of this effort.
Bessent is running a tightrope but he managed to pull this stunt off.
Liberation Day Flashbacks
Liberation Day was April 2 on which Trump announced his definition of reciprocal tariffs on the world.
February 13, 2025: Trump Fails to Pull the Trigger on Reciprocal Tariffs, Will Study the Issue
Despite a miserable PPI report, bonds rallied with long-term yield dropping significantly. Tariff postponement is the likely reason.
March 24, 2025: Trump Postpones “Liberation Day” to Focus on the “Dirty 15”
Damn. I was all geared up for liberation.
March 31, 2025: Trump’s Tariff Liberation Day Ceremonies Start Two Days Early With Confusing Statements
Across-the-board tariffs of up to 20% are back on the table ahead of April 2 “Liberation Day”.
April 2, 2025: Trump’s Big Announcement Is Half-Reciprocal Tariffs on the World
Factoring in value added taxes and other alleged manipulations, Trump announces Half-Reciprocal Tariffs with a minimum baseline of 10 percent.
April 4, 2025: S&P Down 10 Percent in 2 Days, Semiconductors Worst Week Since 2001
How Does it Feel on Liberation Day Number Two?
April 9, 2025: Trump Capitulates with a 90-Day Pause on Tariffs, DOW Jumps 2,200 Points
Trump has had enough of the stock market decline.
However, Trump did not fully back down on Mexico or Canada, treating our two best trading partners worse than the rest of the world.
What we did not know at the time was Bessent’s role in this pause.
April 9, 2025: Administration Lie of the Day: “Trump Goaded China into a Bad Position”
Treasury Secretary Bessent is a bad liar. Clowns portray it as 5D chess.
It’s safe to say I called that correctly.
How the 5D Plan Works
- Collect taxes from US consumers via massive increases in tariffs. Claim they will fund tax cuts, bring jobs back, and balance the budget, not noting the contradictions.
- Goad China into a response.
- Explain this was part of the master plan.
Bessent is bragging that over 50 countries want to negotiate. Well la de da. Of course they do, but in practice it’s impossible because of Trump’s idiotic definition of reciprocal.
April 13, 2025: Tariff Clown Show Continues, Tech Tariffs Back On, Separately
What a revolving door circus Trump’s tariff policy has become.
Lutnick Says Tariffs Can Eliminate the IRS and Balance the Budget
On March 12, I commented Lutnick Says Tariffs Can Eliminate the IRS and Balance the Budget
We have an annual trade deficit of $918 billion.
Team Trump proposes $918 billion in “reciprocal tariffs” to make the trade deficit go away.
But to balance the budget and eliminate personal income taxes, Trump would need to collect $7 trillion in tariffs on a net trade deficit of $918 billion.
I would love to hear a detailed explanation of exactly how that works.
Are you ready for that miracle? Me too. But wait, there are still more benefits to this amazing deal.
Trumps Claims
- Tariffs will increase revenue enough to balance the budget
- Tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the US
- Tariffs will reduce inflation
- Tariffs will increase exports
Conflicting Economic Madness
Points 1 and 2 conflict. Tariffs cannot simultaneously bring back manufacturing and raise enough revenue to balance the budget.
Points 2 and 3 conflict. Since the US is one of the world’s highest cost producer of goods thanks to unions, tariffs will not reduce inflation.
Points 2 and 4 conflict. Since the US is one of the world’s highest cost producer of goods, and other countries will retaliate, tariffs will not increase exports.
No one yet can fully explain Trump’s economic plan because it’s all double- or triple- counting of contradictory ideas.