Brian Schwartz
Appearances
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
The president posted on X just a couple hours ago that he's implemented the 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada. But then paused them for a month.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
Well, I think they've come to the reality that this is not going to be as easy as they once thought. The idea of throwing on tariffs onto a variety of different countries, the goods coming from those countries, to be precise, is not going to just be an automatic boom to the economy.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
in the Trump administration is that somehow these are going to be revenue builders, that you're going to be able to pay for critical policies such as tax cuts and you name it.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
But it's clear to me that the administration has figured out that in the short term, and they're really, I think they're being as clear as politically they can be, that this may not be as simple as they thought and that there could be some bumps in the road in the economy.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
If you ask the president, he's convinced, again, that this is making an impact. He's convinced that there are companies who are saying to him in private or saying some things in public, like Apple, that they're going to be doing more business here in the United States.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
Apple has announced hundreds of billions of dollars in new investments into the U.S., and that was after Tim Cook met with the president recently at the White House.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
These were a bunch of tech CEOs from Qualcomm, HP, you name it. Michael Dell was put out on social media. He was there. One was that the CEO said, from what we were told, hey, Mr. President, these tariffs that you're proposing and in some cases moving ahead with are really going to hurt the tech space because we make our various parts for goods and services are made in different countries.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
You name it, China particularly. That's a big one. But at the same time, according to the president, these people didn't necessarily go as far as saying, please don't do this. It was more of, hey, we have some issues with this. We are, according to the president, we're going to build more here. We're going to invest more into the United States.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
And again, that's a critical difference than in the past administration because not only are there people not around him in the administration who are willing to take him on anymore, there aren't that many CEOs who are going into that White House and saying, you can't do this, pull the plug, don't go ahead.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
They're trying to kind of meet him in the middle with this idea that they're moving ahead with some sort of product creation in the United States.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
My view on this is that it is, in part, kind of a scattershot economic policy way of doing business. And what I mean by that is, if the president wakes up one morning and says, I want to do tariffs on Canada or Mexico, then this group of advisors is going to move with him to do that. And sometimes we've heard that
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
And amidst this, advisors are kind of not always in the loop on every single thing that's going on in that White House. There are some warnings before announcements are made, don't get me wrong. But then there's some things where there isn't really a unified message all the time, at least in my view, on the really kind of precarious steps on moving ahead with tariffs in particular.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
Yes, that's right. The biggest difference from the Trump second go around and Trump's first term, particularly with trade, is there is no one around anymore to tell him, Mr. President, this may not be such a great idea. Here's why. Yes, they talk to him about the impact. a set of tariffs could have on the markets. But no one is saying, at least from our reporting, don't do this.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
And I think that's really kind of an important point, right? Because if there's no one around as a counter voice to what the president is saying, then all of these guys have to follow everything he's doing. And so anyone in the Republican Party who privately wants this to stop, it's unlikely any of this is really going to change course at this time.
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
I'm not sure. I mean, there's only a small group of people who could convince him to kind of start having more of a straight line in his decisions. That includes Vice President J.D. Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, his family, and friends such as Howard Lutnick. These are the only people...
The Journal.
What's Going On With the Economy?
that will be able to kind of make an inroad with him and say, Mr. President, it's maybe time to take a different tactic on how we're going to roll out these tariffs. But I don't think there's anybody in his orbit at the moment who's willing to do that.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Defends Tariffs, Budget Cuts in No-Apologies Address
He touched on how he was going to move ahead with 25% tariffs on copper and 25% tariffs on imports of aluminum, lumber and steel.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Defends Tariffs, Budget Cuts in No-Apologies Address
In front of hundreds of members of Congress live on television, WSJ Washington Coverage Chief Damian Paletta described what followed from Trump.