'An uneasy feeling' among White House aides over Trump announcement on Tuesday: report
Donald Trump's inner circle is approaching next Tuesday with a great deal of trepidation as the president prepares to launch what he has been promoting at "Liberation Day" with his closest advisers having little idea about what exactly will come out of his mouth this time.
According to a report from Politico, the president is about to launch a new wave of tariffs next week but details are scant about what is to come to the point where even Vice President J.D. Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have been left guessing.
Politico is reporting White House insiders have "privately indicated that they’re unsure exactly what the boss will do," with the report adding, "While some details of the administration’s plan for what Trump has dubbed 'reciprocal tariffs' on global trading partners are starting to trickle out, the president has at times upended them or floated contradictory policies that are keeping everyone — even his inner circle — guessing."
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One insider put it bluntly, telling Politico, "No one knows what the f--k is going on. What are they going to tariff? Who are they gonna tariff and at what rates? Like, the very basic questions haven’t been answered yet.”
According to the report there are fears the next wave of tariffs will face the same "rocky" reception previous ones have, and the lack of specifics has them worried about even more blow-back.
Noting there is an "uneasy feeling" casting a cloud over the White House, the report adds, "Part of the uncertainty stems from the president seeming to undermine his own team at times. After Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in recent weeks that only about 10 or 15 countries — or the 'dirty 15,' as Bessent put it — would face reciprocal tariffs, Trump said Wednesday that actually every country will be hit with a tariff."
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