The "nationalists" in President Trump's White House have had a bad run lately, with chief strategist Stephen Bannon, national security aide Sebastian Gorka, and several allies on the National Security Council pushed out over the past month. But the more moderate faction shouldn't get too comfortable, either, Jonathan Swan reports at Axios.
First, Swan recounts an Oval Office meeting on trade during Chief of Staff John Kelly's first week on the job, earlier this month, attended by Trump, Kelly, Bannon, top economic adviser Gary Cohn, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and senior trade adviser Peter Navarro. Trump let Kelly know he wanted tariffs against China. "John, you haven't been in a trade discussion before, so I want to share with you my views," he said, according to several Axios sources. "For the last six months, this same group of geniuses comes in here all the time and I tell them, 'Tariffs. I want tariffs.' And what do they do? They bring me IP. I can't put a tariff on IP." (You actually can use tariffs to combat Chinese IP theft, Swan notes.)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Is the media 'sanewashing' Trump?Talking Points Critics say there's a disconnect between 'reality and reported news'
-
FDA OKs Apple AirPods as OTC hearing aidsSpeed read The approved software will turn Apple's AirPods Pro 2 headphones into over-the-counter hearing aids
-
Mexico ratifies contentious judicial overhaulSpeed Read The reform pushed through by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will require all judges to be elected
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billionSpeed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
