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On Tuesday’s episode of the Donald Trump reality TV show, the president of the United States teased “a very, very big announcement… like, as big as it gets” in the coming days.
“I won’t tell you on what, but it’s… very positive,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, a very important subject.”
He initially hinted that it may be a trade deal, but also said it may not be a trade deal. Later, speaking at a Milken Institute event, Trump said, “It’s not about trade…it’s going to be a truly earth-shattering and positive development for this country.”
So, not a trade deal. But it’s big. And it’s coming soon. This Thursday or Friday. Or Monday, Trump said.
It was hard not to laugh as Trump, hosting the newly elected and exceptionally even-keeled Canadian prime minister, reverted to his network TV roots with the presidential equivalent of a tease before the commercial break: Stay tuned, America — what happens next will blow your mind!
This is all part of the show Trump and his advisers have been putting on over the past month. Trust us, deals are coming. Trust us, this economic pain is for your own good. Trust us, your kids don’t need as many toys as you think they do. Trust us (a bunch of ex-bankers and one bankrupt casino mogul), Wall Street’s opinion doesn’t matter.
Trust. Us.
That’s becoming a harder sell by the day.
The White House has produced a total of *checks notes* zero trade deals, or even concepts of a trade deal, in the month since Trump’s tariff regime has been in place. Trump also appears to have lied about receiving a call from Xi Jinping, China’s president, about trade negotiations — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said under oath Tuesday that no such talks had begun. (Update: As of Tuesday evening, officials said Bessent and the US trade representative would meet with their Chinese counterparts during a trip to Switzerland this week.) And out of nowhere, Trump announced a vague plan for 100% tariffs on movies produced overseas — potentially opening a new front in his trade war that had, up until now, been limited to the exchange of goods, not services.
It’s no surprise, then, that business leaders aren’t super trusting right now.
While Trump and Co. wait for the world to bend the knee, the rest of the world has to do business blindfolded.
Many US importers have simply canceled shipments from China rather than pay the 145% tariffs that Trump is imposing on most Chinese imports. Cargo coming into the port of Los Angeles from China has fallen by half, which means shoppers can expect shortages on certain items and higher prices in just a matter of weeks.
That means it’s likely just a matter of weeks before consumers will face higher prices and shortages of certain items.
As the days drag on, with no major trade deals to alleviate the impact of tariffs, it’s worth questioning whether the dealmaker-in-chief actually wanted trade deals or just the spectacle of playing hardball with powerful heads of state and titans of industry.
During his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Trump said he could sign a couple dozen deals at any time and wished everyone would just chill with all the deal talk.
“I wish they’d… you know, stop asking, ‘How many deals are you signing this week?’ Because one day we’ll come and we’ll give you 100 deals.”
He’s saying, in other words: You know this business thing I told you I was the best at — this thing I supposedly wrote a book about? Yeah, don’t worry about that. The deals will come, or they won’t, and it will be everyone else’s fault if they don’t come together.
In another telling moment, a reporter asked whether there was anything the Canadian leader could say on Tuesday that would persuade Trump to reduce tariffs on Canadian goods.
“No,” Trump said.
“Why not?” the reporter asked.
“Just the way it is.”
Of course, it’s not just the way it is — it is a choice Trump made, premised on a false belief that the US has been the victim of Canada’s exploitative trade practices. (Yes, Canada! The world’s nicest neighbors.)
The reality is that the US and Canada have had a mutually beneficial trade relationship for decades. The reality is that our trade deficit with Canada is relatively tiny. The reality is that the US auto industry Trump claims to support depends deeply on free cross-border trade with Canada and Mexico.
That’s the same reality in which the US economy is contracting and America’s credibility as the cornerstone of global finance is being shaken.
It is not the same reality as the TV show variety Trump seems to live in.
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