Top Trump Aides Forced to Circumvent Navarro to Ease Tariff War
Two members of President Donald Trump's cabinet sought to intervene against his tariff tantrum earlier this month, having to go behind Peter Navarro's back to do so. According to The Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Trump earlier this month to convince the president to pause his tariff plan in order to calm the market. They had to wait until Navarro, a major proponent of Trump’s tariff plan, was away from the Oval Office, choosing a time when he was meeting with economic adviser Kevin Hassett elsewhere in the White House to make their case.
Convincing Trump to Pause Tariffs
The pair managed to convince Trump to pause some of the tariffs and announce it immediately. They even stayed in the Oval Office until Trump sent out a Truth Social post announcing the 90-day pause. Bessent and press secretary Karoline Leavitt then quickly announced the news to the press, while Lutnick tweeted, “Scott Bessent and I sat with the President while he wrote one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his Presidency. The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction.”
Market Reaction and Policy Reversal
The push for a pause came after global markets reacted to Trump’s tariffs by cratering, something the announcement helped reverse. Trump claimed he made the decision because markets were “getting yippy” and he’d identified key warning signs from the bond markets—namely that Treasury bonds were being sold off.
Meanwhile, Navarro was quick to attempt to frame the policy reversal as part of Trump’s grand plan, telling ABC News that the stock market played no role “whatsoever” in the decision and tweeting, “The greatest day in trade negotiation, history for America. The biggest jump in the stock market in history. Trust in Trump.”
Reactions and Responses
A spokesperson for Bessent told the WSJ that “the president’s team is working hard to implement the America First Trade Agenda for the American people. Those who aim to divide the president’s team on trade seek to undermine our administration’s goal of uplifting hardworking Americans,” while Navarro dismissed the story as an example of “more mischief from anonymous sources seeking to divide and conquer the trade team.”
