President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs are facing blowback from all corners – a market sell-off, foreign retaliation, anger from corporate America and skepticism from the Federal Reserve chairman and some allies in Congress. So far, the president is defiant in the face of the global turbulence.
After a day and a half of mixed messages from Trump and top administration officials over whether the tariffs were the start of a negotiation or a more permanent change to US economic policy, Trump didn’t use Friday to deliver clarity. He didn’t venture out into the country to sell his plan from the floor of an American factory or to showcase a business or community that he believes will benefit from the tariffs.
Instead, the president chose to begin his day on the golf course in Florida.
While the president has traveled to Florida nearly every weekend since taking office, he chose to leave the White House a day earlier than normal, creating a split-screen of being on a golf course in one of the wealthiest enclaves in America as economic worries deepened.
US stocks plunged a second straight day after China said Friday it would impose 34% reciprocal tariffs on imports of US goods, a development that put a spotlight on just how much is outside of Trump’s control as his economic team tries to pull off an unprecedented high-wire act after launching the most expansive and disruptive tariffs in more than a century. The Dow closed in correction, down more than 10% from its record high in December.
A White House official said the president’s “full attention” was on the tariff policy Friday, noting he continued to send updates about conversations he had with foreign leaders. The official dismissed the suggestion that Trump was rattled by the market reaction, saying the president has long warned of short-term pain created by his tariff vision and America First agenda.