This is just the same old trump...saying things that people want to hear, acting as if he is the only one who can fix the trade deficit with China but, just like his campaign days and debates, has no answer as to how he is supposedly going to accomplish anything. I think he truly believes that the Chinese are just a bunch of dumb idiots that he can push around and when he can’t he will go back to hurting immigrants and demanding that stupid wall and Twitter rants about Obama and Hillary and The Special Council and how much bigger his inauguration was than Obama’s was, or whatever else. And in the meantime, Americans will hurt when companies continue to lay-off workers, move plants overseas, farmers (whose farms are land and equipment are now owned by huge corporations) lose more money, prices go up, the stock market continues to decline (but mostly the wealthy care about that), and our country continues to crumble. But his supporters will still fall over over themselves getting to another one of his rallies and claim that everything that is going wrong in their lives is because of democrats and liberals and fake news and Hillary needs to be locked up.
4
I fear our "Tariff Man" president does not know the definition of a tariff.
China does not pay these tariffs. Americans will end up paying these tariffs. Tariffs are another form of taxation.
35
Donald Trump has been the POTUS for more than twenty-two months now. How it might happen that a head of state could get this far into his term of office and still be so hopelessly confused as to his constitutionally definded duties is incomprehensible. Based on his public declarations and tweets, Mr. Trump appears to believe that his primary duty is to befriend foreign leaders, and, that having been accomplished, to make DEALS with his new pals. All sorts of DEALS.
Guys, with all due respect, would some literate well-educated member of the White House inner circle, take the president aside and explain to him how:
- International treaties are negotiated and ratified
- Economic policies are formulated and implemented
- Tariffs are levied
- And when a sovereign state may withdraw from an accord, agreement or treaty to which it is a signatory
- The executive branch and congress work together to carefully design and negotiate and implement a well-planned, sustainable foreign policy.
In the event that getting ideas such as these through to the president, and he continues to conduct himself as the unilateral ruler of the American federal government, would those of you resting in the House of Representative and Senate, please stand up and tell Mr. Trump that you are no longer willing to idly watch him overstep the powers granted him by the U.S. Constitution again and again and again.
17
Trade is very important between two countries because both countries can gain from trade. So, following this theory, it would be in China’s best interest to follow through on the trade deal that it made with the US and Trump on Saturday. Trump also mentions that he is the “Tariff-Man” and will increase tariffs on Chinese imports if China does not hold through on its trade deal. This will end up hurting American consumers because American consumers will have to pay higher prices for the foreign goods. This will also put a tax on American businesses that use Chinese components which would hurt Americans, instead of looking out for our country. There is also a very unclear timetable about how long Trump is giving China to hold through on their end of the deal before he imposes these tariffs. The initial timetable says that China has until March 1 but the deadline could be extended? When would Trump impose the tariffs? I don’t think Trump should impose tariffs and I think the countries should work together to get a mutually beneficial trade deal back as soon as possible.
How much longer do the leaders of this country allow an uninformed, unknowledgeable twit to throw our market, our businesses, our credibility into chaos?
2
In order for Mr. Trump to be even minimally fluent in "Intro to Economics," he would have had to read the book. We know about his non-relationship with books. People who make their living moving money and markets are typically serious about their work; which means they are data-driven and have an understanding of market dynamics. You cannot substitute show and staging for knowledge and substance. Sadly, as we know, Mr. Trump is lacking in these latter two attributes. Expect more idiocy. The man is way, way over his head here. Look at his business record. Without his father's money, he would be another character in a Glengarry Glen Ross joint on Queens Blvd.
3
This is the fundamental problem with Trump. You cannot trust anything he says. Anything.
3
Trump really believes he is a superb negotiator but he is really like the boy who cried wolf and few believe what he says anymore, if they ever did. Does he think he is smarter than other countries' leaders? Of course he does. He throws threats around without analyzing potential consequences. He roils markets? He is impervious to wisdom from people who know more than he does. He is the kind of "leader" who is not beneath starting a war to strengthen his authority and distract from his general level of incompetence in world affairs. Most importantly, his supporters seem to be uninformed and vulnerable to demagoguery - exactly what got the citizens of Germany and Italy and Japan in trouble 85 years ago
2
Mid-term election losses, a tumbling stock market, an inverted yield curve today, subpoenas to the family business, the ongoing revelations from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. With these increased pressures on Trump, it is worth being reminded again that Donald Trump is a dangerous, psychologically unstable man with a Twitter account that reaches millions all over the world.
6
Bluster, bluster, bluster, but when it is time to deliver... nada.
4
The stock markets biggest slide ever down because of Trumps failed tariffs . The culture of corruption GOP tried in 1932 to be a bully to the world and demand businesses in the world to do it there way and failed then. They were kicked out of office a year later. Now bringing back failed policies may wipe out the stock market altogether. I hope they screw it up. In Wisconsin and Michigan the state GOP controlled houses are sore losers who are taking power away from their newly elected Democratic governors. The catholics and evangelicals are an accessory to this for voting for Trump and his culture of corruption.
5
So if negotiations fail Trump will raise the price of Chinese good by tariffs. A tax on working Americans and businesses that use Chinese components. Less money, fewer sales, fewer jobs, less spending. The four horsemen of the Trumpian Recession. Tariffman indeed - still an idiot.
6
If you are over 60....kiss your 401K goodbye...Yea Trump!!
2
Trump is a 4 year old sitting at the controls of a 747. He has no idea what he's doing but he likes to push buttons and throw switches. The theory is, if he pushes enough of them, something might actually work...in the meantime!
4
We can take the stock market out of Trump, but we can't take Trump out of the stock market. He hates so-called elites so we're all going to suffer some more from his madness.
1
Congress:
GET TRUMPS THUMB OFF TARIFF TRIGGER
Do your job!
5
More like Rain Man but without
the math skills...
11
First " Little Rocket Man," then the "Space Force," and now "Tariff Man" - words uttered by the President of the United States. Let's just take that in.
Are President Trump's thoughts ever deeper than a Marvel Comic movie sequel? (No need to answer that.)
9
It's almost hilarious watching how completely incompetent Trump is when in comes to even basic economic concepts. He appears to think that a single Chinese man goes to a counter and purchases a fixed amount American products.
Regardless, China made the right move: get Trump to agree to a 90-day window on the basis of some vague promises to "buy more." In 90 days, maybe Trump will have decided he's now "Trade Man" or maybe he'll be "Treaty Man" or maybe he'll be "Treason Man." And if he's still "Tariff Man," then just make some more vague promises and repeat until someone competent comes along.
28
Tariff Man’s/Terrible Man’s bloviating, bragging and threatening since his meet with Xi has pretty much been met with silence by the Chinese. Very smart on their part. Let the Man in the hole keep digging.
8
"Tariff Man" that's one tough Hombre.
6
i thinks this is really another covfefe moment by Trump and what he actually meant to tweet with those unnaturally small thumbs was 'i am actually a complete and utter idiot...man'
6
Reading Donny's tweets in this article has me wondering if he even understands that American consumers and American company supply chain managers are the victims paying these tariffs. That's where those "billions" are coming from. Talk about a problem of his own making . . .
6
Because he completed six of them successfully shortchanging almost the same group of people half a dozen times, he is a better Insolvency Man than he is as a first timer Tariff Man.
3
Does Trump deliberately manipulate the overall market, as well as individual stocks (remember Amazon and the post office?) to benefit himself and his friends (perhaps including MBS, Putin, etc.). A wink, a nod and a market-moving tweet.
9
Investors have been whistling past the trade war graveyard for almost a year, finding comfort in any evidence that the Trump Administration had a strategy that might bring the war to a satisfactory end, or worse, doubting it was REALLY a war at all, and assuming that Trump, like them, was a free trade advocate at heart.
In my mind, the evidence always was that the administration had no strategy and no internal agreement on the goals that should be obtained as it started imposing tariffs. Trump will advocate for free and fair trade one minute and then denounce any trade deficit with any country as a form of robbery the next, those being mutually exclusive sets of beliefs.
Nobody knows whether Trump thinks tariffs are a means to an end or good in themselves. Nobody knows if he is looking to trade tariffs for something or looking for an excuse to keep them.
Nobody in the administration can speak for him, nobody knows what he'll agree to, nobody can put a framework on talks.
Why would anyone think that the trade war is going away while Trump is in office?
25
I think we better prepare for our self to face the turbulent 2019. The G-20 meeting provided a good photo session for Trump and Xi, and a 3-month truce between the two countries. It did nothing to solve the trade problems except to meet again soon. I think president Trump took the wrong approach to solve the trade frictions. It is a serious problem and difficult to solve. Unfortunately, president Trump took it as a TV episode that he can constantly write, erase, modify, and edit the transcripts every way he likes. When fake news meet the reality, viewers suffer.
24
Tariff Man - a legend in his own mind. A disaster everywhere else.
14
Trump thinks he is holding the puppet strings making everyone dance. He loves that just for its own sake. But actually he is holding the plug string that will flush everyone down the drain, including him.
4
RE: Tariff Man, stable genius, and market volatility …
Interestingly, at just about the same moment the Times posted this story the Washington Post reported the following:
“The attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia are issuing subpoenas for financial records and other documents from more than a dozen of President Trump’s private entities Tuesday as part of an ongoing lawsuit alleging that the president’s business violates the Constitution’s ban on gifts or payments from foreign governments.
“The subpoenas seek details on some of the most closely held secrets of Trump’s presidency: Which foreign governments have paid the Trump Organization money? How much? And for what?”
Dow plummets.
Coincidence? Or pattern?
Meanwhile, look for three more “crucial court filings” from the Mueller team this week. Tweetstorm to follow.
And don’t forget … the trend is your friend.
14
No free press, no rule of law, no independent judiciary, no way to substantiate. China can say anything.
Hey tariff man! How about a document signed by China that spells out what was agreed to? Or are we to trust you, a serial prevaricator?
7
If Trump gets any moniker it would have to be "Chump".
6
These guys are not looking for a deal. And the Chinese know it.
3
" Tariff man ". No. Bailiff man, for ALL your friends and "associates ".
Seriously.
4
Does Trump tip his children and friends about this market moving tweets? Imagine how much money you could have made today shorting the market?
8
If I'm reading the tweet right, Trump declared "I am a Tariff Man." He did not give himself a nickname, which would have meant in some way declaring "I am Tariff Man."
Can’t someone in Washington take away his phone or delete his Twitter account? Please?
4
I'd simply refer to trump as the "Bully Man". I doubt that China will succumb to his mob talk and tactics. For all of Mr. Bone Spurs tough talk he doesn't even like to walk (has to use a golf cart) and doesn't like to get his hair wet.
6
This fool has historically been unable to keep his own money. Now "Tariff Man" will part us from ours. Just resign, in your 1st, 2nd and 3rd personas.
6
If he's in the market for a nickname, there are SO many to choose from, it's an embarrassment of riches:
Dictator groupie
Climate change denier
Conspiracy fanboy
Don the Con (that one will hopefully soon do double duty!)
Toxic Don (for both polluting the environment and for his cohort under indictment!)
Yes, it's an embarrassment of riches. Or, really, it's just plain embarrassing.
2
Trump- such an unstable man.
2
Would someone some how take his tweet-ability away!!!
3
Will no one say what's obvious?
Our. President. Is. Unwell.
6
Is he going to huff and puff until he blows the walled governing housing Chinese complex near the Forbidden City in Beijing down?
Or is he going to tweet and speak slurs and nicknames and hope the Chinese choke and die laughing?
MAGA died when President Dotard Barbarian Bone Spurs withdrew America from the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Paris Accords ceding the globe to China's " One Belt, One Road" initiative. We need to learn to speak Mandarin so that we can communicate with our looming overlords.
1
Can someone please take away his twitter account!
1
Is it just me, or does anyone else have the feeling he's finally and utterly jumped off the rail?
Somebody please intervene! Where's that Kellyanne when you need her...? Or Ivana? Munchkin? Nobody in that WH today?
1
Rocket Man ... Tariff Man .... Who's on 1st?
MAGA
3
More like "Idiot Man". They had agreed on a 90-day "break" and the market was doing fine on Monday. Then this morning he has another episode of word diarrhea on Twitter and the DOW goes down 800 points. This guy cannot be gone soon enough.
Trump considers himself Mr Very Stable Genius... yet every day, he makes a fool of himself, and a mockery of the country he supposedly serves.... The very stability of our democracy receives yet a new jolt of seismic disruption each time this maniac Tweets...
The GOP gave us this idiot... the question is, when are they gonna do something about him?.... or are they willing to sink the country and take us all down Trump's sinkhole?
4
@Woody
Very well said. Kudos.
Woody, when you clicked the “Submit” button, you may have wondered if you’d gone to far.
“Will the moderators post a comment this critical of the president?”
Well, as you can see they did. Probably because Mr. Trump’s mismanagement of his office is deserving of criticism far more harsh.
1
"Lighthizer who has a reputation as a tough negotiator" Translation, he has absolutely no negotiating skills at all.
3
Mr. President, as a citizen, can I make a request - that we get to see you talk tough to another tough dude, not just to your minions or via a tweet before you leave the office?
As always, you talk tough only when you are not facing his opponent. You just stood there, next to Putin, pandering to whatever he was saying. You complimented Kim Jung Un in Singapore. All I heard from Rio was what a great chemistry you have with Xi. But when no one's around, you proclaim yourself as the best negotiator and promise you can deliver. Any 9-year can do that.
5
Tariff Man, my absolute favorite Marvel Character!
His super power is inverting the gravitational field around the income of ordinary people so that it flows upward--SHAZAM!-- to those who know best how to use it (credit derivatives, leveraged payday loans, Queens real estate).
When is the movie coming out?
10
The 25th Amendment is looking good these days.
6
And here’s his theme song:
“Tariff Man, Tariff Man,
Ruining the economy as fast as he can.
Can’t get enough of a good trade war,
It’s the fight he’s living for.
WATCH OUT!
Here comes Tariff Man!”
I’m more a fan of “Special Prosecutor Man” and I hope he comes to the rescue in time.
17
Everything Trump touches dies. His simpleton bravado will surely make this all worse. Rex Tillerson described him correctly. The NYT can't print it here.
19
Can you imagine how the Chinese laugh themselves sick watching Trump negotiate against himself? The Twitter and and the Twit they chortle, munching popcorn as they watch him punish American farmers and companies because he's too venal to admit he's drunk at the wheel of our economy. The bridge with black ice approacheth. Pray he spots a McDonalds first.
13
When is this man going to learn to keep his mouth shut?
He just continues to be the clown of the world.
11
Trump is just a conman and the Chinese are adept at dealing with cons, frauds and charlatans.
10
“Tariff Man” - hiliarious - President “T” - vacuous, idiotic, asinine, and completely useless. “Get me out of here” Mueller will be happy to oblige!!!
10
He really is an impulsively stupid man.
Sorry, genius and the greatest negotiator the US has ever seen.
So much winning ... it hurts.....
13
China could care less what Trump thinks. Each day is one day less of the Trump administration. China can wait. When Trump leaves office there will be no discernible difference in North Korea or China than when Trump came into office. And, Trump will claim victory.
8
'Nowhere Man." With thanks to John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Lennon would have a field day with Trump.
10
What are the chances that trump's well-placed tweets which cause market gyrations are just another ploy to increase the family fortune by manipulating the stock market?
If only we knew what holdings the family has and if they are in a position to gain from his bombast.
Just sayin'.
20
The President of the United States is not intended to be a “Tariff Man” and he shall only have the power to unilaterally impose a tariff unless there in a threat to national security. Again, Mitch McConnell defers a power of the Senate to the President. Tariff Man Trump wants to pick winners and losers for his own benefit such as the 350 exemptions he has passed out as a result of the steel tariffs and the 20 billion in subsidies he has passed out to farmers. Mitch McConnell is enabling Tariff Man to steal from the American people again and again..
16
"Tariff Man", "Little Rocket Man", and the multitude of playground taunts about the names of elected officials.
We need an adult.
12
Pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership was obviously short-sighted to say the least.
10
There’s plenty of reason to fear,
Mar-ket Crash Man is here!
9
Ah, the art of a deal!
First, you lied about what was agreed to in rosy terms to hype "optimism". Second, you issue warnings to calm the hype because you know the first announcement was a lie and this will provide you with an exit ramp when stuffs don't happen.
Finally, and I am just wondering, if you or your family in the mean time can sell the market short to make a bundle. This beats emolument and will not get you to a court of law. You know, it is not beyond a guy who is always self dealing.
14
It's funny that Mr T / the Tariff man is the same person who pay no taxes or little tax.
15
The president proves again that America first is the only game in town.
China, North Korea, Europe and every other competitor gets the message loud and clear... cooperate and prosper... cheat and fail.
Remember that prior to Trump, we had a 350 Billion deficit and were exporting millions of American jobs. The president is the only one addressing this disaster. Another Big win for American workers.
@obummer In what way is it a win? Did you even read the article? It is all smoke and mirrors, amigo. No one outside of the Fox News bubble believes anything that comes out of his puckered pie hole.
1
Hopefully this is just a minicorrection in a market that's increasingly wary of Tariff Man's utterances. Hope for an easing of this arbitrary, ineffective Trade War drove the market up on Friday, replaced by cautious optimism on Monday, tempered with the reality of who the President is and how little he understands macroeconomics. And now today, we all come back to earth with a bump, remembering that this it Tariff Man's world, and we just live in it.
3
On the other hand, in 90 days "President" Trump will have forgotten what he said, and, especially, what he mean.
3
Does China, or any other independent nation, actually listen to him anymore?
3
@Derf
Never mind "nations"; does anyone, human, nation, or otherwise, actually listen to him?
(Well, excepting The Deplorables.)
Wow, my portfolio can’t take much more of this kind of winning ...
12
More like a "Blustering, Buffoonish Boy", I'd say. Has any previous President ever conducted international diplomacy in such an incoherent, impulsive, contradictory, and disingenuous manner? In addition to the Chinese and North Korean leaderships' wily, strategic handling of the Fake President, Trump does all he can to further solidify our diminished image to them as a "tissue paper tiger". In 90 days, the F.P. will be consumed even further by deeply threatening Mueller-related issues, and his already empty trade threats can be expected to disappear into the ether. Has he read a single briefing book since he assumed office?
6
Trump struck what he calls "an incredible deal" with the Chinese. The only problem is they aren't buying what he is selling.
6
Mr. Trump discovered a new toy a while back: watching how he can turn the Stock Market on a dime with a tweet.
Whether it is a bullish pre-release tweet about official
GDP reports forthcoming, threats targeting companies/industries, or unsubstantiated proclamations as Monday's concerning 'China to drop American Car Tariffs'.
Looking into Mr. Trump's and his associates' personal trading history is a good idea.
37
Tariff Man is a lousy poker player, betraying in his post-G20 tweets just how desperate he was to reassure those supporters back home that the deal was as good as done.
Farmers sitting on mountains of soybeans piled up on tarps heard all the right words from Trump but nothing of the sort from any of the statements from China. Did Trump just imagine it?
Those US supply chain managers who were less concerned about 10% tariffs, largely offset by a similar devaluation of China's currency, have big problems at 25%.
And exporters to China, like those fancy US made car and SUVs of Tesla, Mercedes, BMW and others are drying up at a 40% retaliatory tariff, accelerating consideration or action on plants in Asia.
A smarter strategy would have been to organize multilateral action against China, who can hardly afford to fight the whole world at once. That was the idea behind the quickly discarded TPP.
But Tariff Man, steeped in 19th century mercantilism, doesn't do multilateral.
120
@Look Ahead, Trump can't spell multilateral.
4
I think Trump is the only world leader who does major negotiations via Twitter. Since no one else does, it's like yelling into an empty cave. Watching our President yell into an empty cave is not a very satisfying image.
38
My children studied revenue and protective tarriffs in 5th grade. They exhibited a better understanding of the drawbacks to protective tarriffs than our President.
63
All this winning is just too overwhelming!
16
Sadly for us Trump is confronting a Chinese leadership that is much smarter and tougher than he is. Their country went from poverty to world leadership in a generation.
What has Trump accomplished? A record number of Tweets!
In what direction are we heading? Down!
44
A record number of lies, provable lies.
God help us! Does our president now imagine himself to be some sort of super hero named Tariff Man? The thought of Mr. Trump in a red, white and blue spandex suit with a big letter "T" on his chest creates a mental image that is painful at best.
As far as anyone can tell (including the Chinese), the conversation between Presidents Trump and Xi was little more than a verbal agreement to do nothing for the next 90 days while trade talks continue. An actual deal is likely to take much longer and it could take 90 days just decide where to hold the next meeting and the shape of the table at which trade representatives will sit.
Frankly, this sounds like more of usual Trump negotiating tactic: first, create the problem, make outrageous demands, cave on outrageous demands, agree to modest changes and then hold victory parade to celebrate "major win" in problem that he created in the first place. Repeated too often, this tactic will become predictable and the wins our president so craves may be harder to come by.
75
@Scott B There is no God that will save us. We need to turn up the heat on our elected representatives to contain this mess STAT.
4
@Scott B
Exactly, he created this problem when Tariff Man pulled us out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Failing Tariff Man. Very sad.
5
@Scott B, it's already predictable, and the Chinese are going to eat America's lunch until we get this ignorant criminal and his cronies out of office.
3
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it’s Tariff Man, here to ruin the economy!!
77
Can the NY Times please investigate whether it's Hillary's e-mails or the DEMS or "the caravan" who are causing the market to tank today?
And NY Times...PLEASE revise the article on Trade "calming the market". Ummmmmm....check your business section maybe?
I THINK It may be the fact that Trump told a whopper to the American people about a "trade truce."
Sheeesh....even his own staff ( kudlow, etc) have NO IDEA what to report or what is accurate.
This is really frightening.
32
Tariff man continues to destroy the U.S. economy.
47
Trump doesn’t care about the US economy. He only cares about his economy. That should be plain by now.
And that $5 Bn he wants for the wall? Remember when he stood before his adoring fans at his rallies and yelled out “who’s gonna pay for the wall? Mexico!”.
Yeah right. Now he wants to shut down the government because we won’t pay for it. Let him go shut down Mexico’s government.
@John Poetic Justice with the one-percenters supporting him and they will be soon wiped out just like the rest of us--ha ha ha ha.
Does anyone take any of this seriously?
Trump is playing us like fish. He engineers panic so that he ride in again like a hero. At the end he'll declare his Big Deal to be the greatest in the history of trade economics and expect us to bow to his feet. And, of course, it'll all be about nothing, or very little.
21
Is Trump shorting the market through intermediaries? No one sane person would say these things without a reason.
89
@Jack
I believe some people use the same tactics in business that were successful during some era where they imagine they were real superstars. The grammar, the attitude, the contempt and game playing of today are reflective of the games he played decades ago.
Ethics and sincerity are not at play here.
11
@Jack I have often wondered the same thing - stinks to high heaven of market manipulation.
34
Did you just call Elon Musk insane?
The fanboys won't be pleased.
The Dow is down nearly 600 points at the moment, thanks to the latest from Trump.
The winning just never stops, does it?
74
@marks
No the winning never stops if you short the market on every hyped-up overstatement. You can join the winning crowd too. Next time you hear some major breakthrough statement from the liar-in-chief, short the market.
1