Wall Street Journal (May 8)
“The new hard line taken by China in trade talks—surprising the White House and threatening to derail negotiations—came after Beijing interpreted recent statements and actions by President Trump as a sign the U.S. was ready to make concessions.” A resolution to the vexing trade dispute may no longer be near at hand. “A week ago, the assumption was that negotiators would be closing the deal. Now, they are trying to keep it from collapsing.”
Tags: China, Collapsing, Concessions, Derail, Hard line, Negotiations, Trade talks, Trump, U.S., White House
Washington Examiner (September 4)
Bob Woodward’s new book, Fear, “alleges the president is basically losing his mind, and that top White House officials constantly work behind his back to curtail his worst impulses, including the time he supposedly instructed Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. to plan a pre-emptive strike on North Korea.” And the official White House response is perhaps even “more disconcerting than Woodward’s reporting.” In attempting to distract from the allegations, the Trump administration makes the book’s allegations more believable.
Tags: Allegations, Disconcerting, Distract, Dunford, Fear, Impulses, North Korea, Officials, Pre-emptive strike, Response, Trump, White House, Woodward
Forbes (June 24)
“While Trump and some in the White House argue that China has much more to lose in a trade war than does the United States, they may be underestimating Xi’s resolve to appear unwavering in the face of attacks from China’s main economic rival, the United States.”
Tags: China, Lose, Resolve, Rival, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Underestimating, Unwavering, White House, Xi
Washington Post (May 22)
“The Trump administration is supposed to be negotiating with China. But right now it more often seems to be negotiating with itself. China knows what it wants out of these bilateral negotiations; the White House plainly does not…. In short: Over here on Team USA, it’s been amateur hour.”
Tags: Administration, Amateur hour, Bilateral, China, Negotiating, Trump, White House
The Economist (May 19)
Unless European “companies or their governments take the fight all the way to the White House, they have little choice but to abide by the long—and sometimes wrong—arm of American law.” America’s threat of sanctions on companies doing business with Iran impacts major players including Total, Airbus, Peugeot, Renault and SWIFT. Still, it remains to be seen if “there is the stomach for such a battle.”
Tags: Airbus, European, Fight, Governments, Iran, Law, Peugeot, Renault, Sanctions, Swift, Threat, Total, White House
Reuters (March 16)
“Simmering fears of a global trade war. An embarrassing political scandal in Japan. Rapid job-turnover inside the White House and the threat of faster interest rate hikes in the United States….” Yet somehow “markets have brushed aside risks and recurring bad news on geopolitics to stay focused on positive macro-economic cues.”
Tags: Embarrassing, Fears, Geopolitics, Interest rate hikes, Japan, Markets, Scandal, Simmering, Threats, Trade war, U.S., White House
Wall Street Journal (March 17)
“‘Clearly the president was wrong’” with his accusation accusing former president Barak Obama of tapping his phone. While the White House press secretary stubbornly defends Trump’s accusation, “Mr. Trump would be wiser to say he fired the tweet in anger and walk it back. An apology can be good for the soul—and a Presidency.”
Tags: Accusation, Anger, Apology, Obama, Phone, President, Tap, U.S., White House
The Week (February 14)
“It’s three whole weeks into the Trump administration, and this is already looking like the most dysfunctional White House in memory. While we had plenty of other things to worry about when contemplating a Donald Trump victory during the campaign, this should have been utterly predictable.”
The Economist (January 28)
The upcoming White House visit by the UK’s Prime Minister will be “a study in awkwardness: the mother superior dropping in on the Playboy Mansion.” Theresa May is not a natural fan of the Donald. “So why is Mrs May hurrying to Washington? Because Brexit compels Britain’s leaders to show that the country has powerful allies.” She “is desperate to line up a Britain-America trade deal that can be closed as soon as Brexit takes place, probably in 2019.”
Tags: Allies, Awkwardness, Brexit, Desperate, Prime minister, Theresa May, Trade deal, UK, Visit, White House
Bloomberg (January 22)
There is “a growing rift between Trump’s White House and the news organizations that cover it, less than two days into his administration.” On his first full day in office, both Trump and his press secretary “made easily disproved claims, adding fuel to his opponents’ charges that the president is a habitual liar.”
Tags: Claims, Disproved, Habitual, Liar, News, Press secretary, Rift, Trump, White House
