Watergate reporter on the Trump White House
The Washington Post has the details of a forthcoming book on Trump. It's an amazing read that's sure to set off the President.
There are plenty of details that don't exactly reflect positively on Trump but this portion on a couple of trade deals shines some light on what could be coming.
Cohn, a Wall Street veteran, tried to tamp down Trump's strident nationalism regarding trade. According to Woodward, Cohn "stole a letter off Trump's desk" that the president was intending to sign to formally withdraw the United States from a trade agreement with South Korea. Cohn later told an associate that he removed the letter to protect national security and that Trump did not notice that it was missing.
Cohn made a similar play to prevent Trump from pulling the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, something the president has long threatened to do. In spring 2017, Trump was eager to withdraw from NAFTA and told Porter: "Why aren't we getting this done? Do your job. It's tap, tap, tap. You're just tapping me along. I want to do this."
Under orders from the president, Porter drafted a notification letter withdrawing from NAFTA. But he and other advisers worried that it could trigger an economic and foreign relations crisis. So Porter consulted Cohn, who told him, according to Woodward: "I can stop this. I'll just take the paper off his desk."
Thursday is the first day Trump can announce new tariffs on basically everything China exports. Don't be surprised if there is a fight.
