Trump Hoping Tariffs Will Be Negotiation Tool, Revenue Raiser

I guess he's kind of leaving us guessing here, though it seems pretty clear he does not agree with the Post. That's right. I think what President Trump is trying to do is two main things is double down on the fact that tariffs are going to be core to his administration, and that's taking hold just in a couple of weeks, and also that he is anticipating that tariffs will not only be a negotiating tool, as they were for him the first time around, but also a revenue raiser. I know on the campaign trail he promoted or floated a number of tax deductions, credits, such as taxes on tips, and that tariffs would be the way to pay for those. So he wants to make sure that people know that he considers tariffs one of his core governing models, but also that that's how he's going to deliver for the people across the country that he promised many of those things to. As we kept hearing, though, Peggy, and it's great to have you on with us today, this was an opening salvo we heard from Trump supporters, that it was the beginning of a negotiation that maybe these tariffs would not be across the board. So it sounds to me like this reporting is kind of in line with what we've heard. Is Donald Trump just concerned about presenting this idea that he's not making good on promises before he's sworn into office? Well, I think, you know, campaign promises are suspended in time, and the campaign is now transitioning towards governing, but also there was some vagueness into the proposals even on the campaign trail. He came out of the gate saying 10 to 20 percent across the board, which would have been different than his first administration and what they're saying. He's saying they're not paring back, but also 60 percent on China, on certain goods. And then early on after his election, he talked about tariffs on Mexico and Canada coming right out of the gate. So I think, again, they are trying to signal through their comments today that tariffs are going to be core to the way that they govern, and in two main ways, one in terms of how they can bring other countries to the table, but also in terms of how they can raise revenue to pay for some of the promises that they've made. One last point I'll make is that they are going to be taking over at a time that inflation is still an issue for many, many Americans and for the Fed, which we cover so much at Bloomberg. And so they are going to have to deal with what many economists say will be a challenge for tariffs. And that is, how do you balance putting tariffs on with potentially not causing higher inflation? Well, Peggy, you just mentioned Canada. Of course, we also got the news today that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is resigning. How is that related to trade and the incoming relationship with the Trump administration? Well, our Canadian colleagues have obviously been covering this story for the last several months as it's become more dramatic by the day. But I do think, you know, Trump even just today tweeted about Canada being the 51st state. So he has not let up in terms of pointing at Canada and our relationship. But also Trudeau and his deputies have clearly lost faith in each other. And they are now trying to posture for who could be best in terms of not only providing for Canada, but also negotiating and dealing with its neighbor under the power of Trump.