On Monday, Congressional Republicans led by Paul Ryan are pushing back hard on Trump’s tariff idea. As of Monday they are optimistically thinking that Trump will back down or soften his tariff plan.
The Washington Post detailed how some in the Trump Administration worked for and against the tariffs, with Trump only digging in harder, and Gary Cohn announcing his resignation.
There is a common assumption, even expressed in the New York Time’s story of Cohn’s exit, that many of the people in the Trump Administration who have a “steady hand” and act as a moderating force are leaving (ie Porter, Hicks, Cohn). The only thing that will prove this assumption correct is if the Administration becomes more erratic and chaotic in the weeks ahead. It’s possible they will carry on like they have all along, or things might get worse. Time will tell.
David Frum takes an unconventional take that Cohn did a public service by resigning, in part because it will illuminate the economic direction of the Trump Administration when Trump selects a replacement.
Trump officially authorized the tariffs on Thursday, with some wiggle room for allies to negotiate. This news was overtaken a few hours later when Trump said he was going to meet with Kim Jong Un.
In North Korea news, reading about how the meeting between Trump and Kim was hatched it is hard not to feel like this is all for show (on both sides) and won’t amount to much change in actual policy. Some suspect the meeting will never actually take place. But considering the stakes, it is impossible to downplay the possibilities for good or ill.
Here is a good blow-by-blow about how North and South Korea brought the plan to Trump. He called the South Korean delegation into the Oval Office and accepted the offer without hesitation and without consulting with key players like Tillerson.
Finally, Stephanie Clifford sued Trump this week to get out of her nondisclosure agreement. It could open Trump up to Bill Clinton-style depositions.
In Russia News:
The Times reports this week that George Nader is cooperating with Meuller. He was present for meetings between Trump and Putin representatives.
Jane Mayer in the New Yorker has a profile of Michael Steele, which is a good timeline of the dossier, Russian interference before and after the 2016 election. One new piece of news is that Steele briefed Meuller on a Kremlin source that claimed Putin influenced Trump to not pick Romney as his secretary of state.
Lawfare has some legal speculation about what theory of the law Meuller may be using to prosecute Russian interference. This may be useful as events develop.
There was a report about Russia’s role in Syria this week that illustrates one reason why Putin benefits from not having Hillary Clinton in the White House: “By sticking around, Russia expects to eventually hammer out some peace agreement with Washington that will cement the Kremlin’s enhanced role in the Middle East.”
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Trump’s Job Approval: 40.7%