Trump team touts genius tariff plan—but won't say what it is

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, appeared on Fox & Friends Thursday to boast about more than a dozen “offers on the table” in President Donald Trump's disastrous trade war debacle. “When will that happen, and which countries?” Host Ainsley Earhardt excitedly asked Hassett.“Yeah, well, I'm not going to name the countries yet,” he responded.xxYouTube VideoHassett's appearance was part of a media tour following yet another of Trump’s trademark flip-flops on his big, tough tariffs. After announcing that he is decreasing many of his tariffs to 10% for 90 days, Trump has been claiming that everybody suddenly wants to negotiate with him. And now Hassett is attempting to put a strategic sheen on Trump’s erratic and destructive handling of the U.S. economy.Appearing on CNBC on Wednesday, Hassett claimed that, despite Trump and his advisers waffling on using tariffs as a negotiation tool, this was all part of the plan. “There was a discussion about whether a general pause or a few deals that are just about finalized are the way to move to the next step and to make it clear to the markets that we’re serious about the strategy that we're following,” he said. Hassett also denied reports that fears of the stock market being on the brink of collapse spooked Trump into decreasing his tariffs. “[T]here was a very systematic, well-planned move that was just about to happen. That just turned out to be at the same time,” Hassett said.xxYouTube VideoWhile Trump gave the stock market a temporary breather, he has worsened tensions in his trade war with China by increasing his tariff to 125%. But on the bright side, Dear Leader claims that his tariffs will help Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Campaign Action

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, appeared on Fox & Friends Thursday to boast about more than a dozen “offers on the table” in President Donald Trump's disastrous trade war debacle. “When will that happen, and which countries?” Host Ainsley Earhardt excitedly asked Hassett. “Yeah, well, I'm not going to name the countries yet,” he responded.

x x YouTube Video Hassett's appearance was part of a media tour following yet another of Trump’s trademark flip-flops on his big, tough tariffs. After announcing that he is decreasing many of his tariffs to 10% for 90 days, Trump has been claiming that everybody suddenly wants to negotiate with him. And now Hassett is attempting to put a strategic sheen on Trump’s erratic and destructive handling of the U.

S. economy. Appearing on CNBC on Wednesday, Hassett claimed that, despite Trump and his advisers waffling on using tariffs as a negotiation tool, this was all part of the plan.

“There was a discussion about whether a general pause or a few deals that are just about finalized are the way to move to the next step and to make it clear to the markets that we’re serious about the strategy that we're following,” he said. Hassett also denied reports that fears of the stock market being on the brink of collapse spooked Trump into decreasing his tariffs. “[T]here was a very systematic, well-planned move that was just about to happen.

That just turned out to be at the same time,” Hassett said. x x YouTube Video While Trump gave the stock market a temporary breather, he has worsened tensions in his trade war with China by increasing his tariff to 125%. But on the bright side, Dear Leader claims that his tariffs will help Republicans in the 2026 midterms.

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