'Let's not pretend Trump's tariff U-turn was the Art of the Deal - sometimes he's just wrong'

I must pull the Trump Card the next time I make a balls of something. Make a u-turn, then claim it was all part of the plan and say: “The art of the deal, baby!” Within a week, Donald Trump’s triumphant tariffs plan went wallop quicker than a Conor McGregor meme coin. After standing in front of the world with a blackboard of his “big, beautiful tariffs” he had to row back when reality hit.

His Liberation Day announcement on April 2 detailed the most sweeping tariff hikes since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which anyone who’s seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off knows ended badly. Trump’s tariffs rocked the world economy - markets tanked, retirement funds had zeroes knocked off them, and ordinary Americans were looking at deep financial pain in the short-term. He came under increasing pressure, with recession fears and senior Republicans voicing strong concerns.



In the end, he had to retreat. He thought he was the all-knowing Oracle, but really he was more like another figure of Greek mythology, Icarus, who flew too close to the sun on his wax wings. So the cool thing is - he actually backed down.

On Wednesday, he announced a 90 day pause on tariffs, with the exception of China, who he doubled down on. Instead of a complicated structure of different tariffs for different jurisdictions - including on an island inhabited by penguins - there will now be a 10% universal tariff and negotiations. He had a look at the reaction from financial experts, high-profile advisers and public figure followers and conceded: I overshot the mark.

He reversed his message of: “Be Cool!” to acknowledging: “People were getting a little bit yippy...

getting a little bit out of line.” But ultimately, he listened, reconsidered and re-adjusted; and as a result, he now has more of a chance of success and crucially, can take the win. In fact, he was happy to admit as much, saying the reversal came from the heart and he was "acting on instinct.

" The pause is proof of the influence Trump’s powerful supporters have on him. In this case, everyone who is normally behind him through thick and thin, were against the tariffs plan, including Elon Musk. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro was one of the most vocal, describing it as”pretty crazy” and “probably unconstitutional” and “wrongheaded”.

He noted the effect of public feeling on Trump, saying: “If the headlines are bad, he adjusts. He lives in reality. “Uncertainty is its own form of economic risk.

This is a major gamble by the Trump administration." Shapiro concluded: “Now it relies on Trump making deals. It’s deal-maker time.

” Even the New York Post, usually Trump’s biggest cheerleader, warned it could hit US households for an extra $3,800 this year, due to knock-on inflation Editorials warned any potential long-term gain would not be worth the short-term pain on the average worker. Most significant of all, I reckon, was pro-Trump hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s warning of a “self-induced, economic, nuclear winter” unless Trump took a more deliberate approach. Ackman advised a “90-day time out” saying of the tariffs: “This is not what we voted for.

” The main thing is Trump called the time out. He didn’t close his ears and go ahead and press the economic nuke button. He was wrong, and that’s fine - he was open to correction.

But his administration and his supporters should realise he doesn't have to be right about everything, all the time. He’s the most volatile leader in the world and thinks on his feet. All this wasn’t part of some “strategy all along” as it was spun, or “Textbook Art of the Deal” big pre-meditated scheme.

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