| | | | | There remains a divide within the Trump administration about the goals and aims of the planned tariffs on Chinese imports. In the new issue of the magazine, I explore this tension between free-traders and protectionists within the White House, but I start by looking at the public comments, required by law, on the tariff plan: As far as Internet comments go, the public postings on the Trump administration’s forthcoming action against unfair Chinese trade practices are a pleasure to read. The subject matter—a proposal to levy a 25 percent tariff on a list of imports from China, as permitted under section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974—is pretty dry. But that helps weed out a lot of the trolls, as does the fact that commenters are required to provide their full name, address, and other identifying information. There’s a charm to informed citizens earnestly engaging with their government, even if it’s nearly certain the administration is preparing to plow forward on the tariffs anyway. Still, the comments are illuminating in the way they underscore the global reach of seemingly small players in the American economy. Alan Wilson of Kila, Montana, owns a company that sells and services plastic molding machinery. His comment is respectful, nuanced, and concerned about how the administration’s actions could affect his business. “Currently we sell and service a Chinese machine for the past 10 years, with some success keeping our remaining customers competitive with these machines,” Wilson writes. “This will penalize our companies to pay additional money for equipment they already agreed to, hurting our citizens not China. So please review and [provide an] exemption on items ordered prior to any new tax or tariff.” |
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Mark It Down— “Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told President Donald Trump last week that he isn’t a target of any part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter.” —Bloomberg, April 19, 2018
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| | Less than one day after the United States and Japan publicly recommitted themselves to their campaign of “maximum pressure” against North Korea, the hermit kingdom has reportedly offered a surprising diplomatic concession. South Korean President Moon Jae-In announced Thursday that North Korea is no longer demanding that the United States remove their military presence from South Korea, potentially eliminating a longstanding obstacle to peace on the Korean peninsula.
Moon told reporters that the demand was not included in a recent list of conditions for giving up their nuclear weapons North Korea had presented him. “The North Koreans did not present any conditions that the United States could not accept, such as the withdrawal of American troops in South Korea,” he said. North Korea has yet to confirm or deny Moon’s announcement.
On Wednesday, President Trump said he would need to see evidence of North Korea’s willingness to accept reforms before he would sit down to talk with Kim Jong-un, saying he would cancel the planned meeting if it “is not going to be fruitful.” | |
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Mueller Watch—At the Daily Beast, Betsy Woodruff first reported that Rudy Giuliani was “in talks” to join President Trump’s legal team. The Washington Post confirmedThursday evening Giuliani was, in fact, joining his defense. "I’m doing it because I hope we can negotiate an end to this for the good of the country and because I have high regard for the president and for Bob Mueller,” the former New York mayor told the Post.
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| | After wrapping up his two-day “working meeting” with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday night, President Trump traveled to Key West Thursday to tour Joint Interagency Task Force South, the Department of Justice agency responsible for cracking down on drug trafficking into the United States. Following a briefing by Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other Justice Department officials, Trump told reporters the trip had been “an incredible education.”
Trump said Nielsen’s department was doing a “fantastic job” working to frustrate the efforts of human and drug traffickers, then resumed his usual rhetoric about drugs “flowing into our country.”
“And we can’t emphasize enough: not only drugs,” Trump said. “The drugs are a big factor, but you look at—human trafficking is worse than it’s ever been in the history of this world. And who would think in this modern-day age?” | |
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| | The administration’s effort to get Mike Pompeo across the finish line for his confirmation as secretary of state got a small boost Thursday after Democrat Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota said she would support him. But the White House-driven push continued, with several Republican senators speaking on the floor of the Senate Thursday to argue for Pompeo’s qualifications and blast Democrats on the Foreign Relations committee for their unreasonable opposition.
On Thursday afternoon, even President Trump got into the act. “Mike Pompeo is outstanding,” he tweeted. “First in his class at West Point. A top student at Harvard Law School. A success at whatever he has done. We need the Senate to approve Mike ASAP. He will be a great Secretary of State!”
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One of the best things you’ll read about the late Barbara Bush comes from my colleague Andrew Ferguson in the new issue of the magazine. Ferguson looks back at Bush’s famous commencement address at Wellesley College in 1990 and finds the first lady’s “subversive secret to happiness.” Read it here.
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