President Trump said Monday that the U.S. had been holding “direct talks” with Iran and that a “very big meeting” involving “very high-level” officials will be taking place this Saturday, Axios reports.
The surprise announcement from Trump follows his repeated warnings that Iran must sign a new nuclear deal or face military strikes.
“Stocks swung dramatically Monday after a false report that the White House would pause most of President Trump’s tariffs for 90 days,” Axios reports.
“The report caused a wild 8% swing in about 30 minutes that has little precedent in market history, moving potentially trillions of dollars in assets — a clear sign of how desperate people are for any sign of relief from Trump’s looming tariff regime.”
“The European Union is moving forward with plans to slap tariffs on hundreds of American products, but removed Kentucky bourbon and California wine from the hit list and said it won’t respond to President Trump dollar for dollar,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The products affected include Harley-Davidson motorcycles, boats, beef, soybeans, chewing gum and peanut butter.”
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President Trump said Monday he plans to add an additional 50% tariff on China starting Wednesday if the country doesn’t withdraw its retaliatory tariff increase on the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!” he wrote.
Elon Musk’s younger brother harshly criticized Trump’s tariffs, calling them a “structural, permanent tax on the American consumer,” CNBC reports.
Kimbal Musk, who is a Tesla board member, also said in a tweet that Trump appears to be the “most high tax American President in generations.”
“President Trump told reporters during a visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that he had not decided whether to reduce the 17% tariffs he announced on Israel last week,” Axios reports.
“Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to meet Trump after he launched the global tariff regime, and the meeting was closely watched by investors and other foreign governments for signs of just how flexible the president was willing to be. So far, there’s no sign of a deal.”
“The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily paused a federal judge’s midnight deadline to return a Salvadorian national who was mistakenly deported while the justices weigh the case,” Axios reports
“Chief Justice John Roberts set a 5pm Tuesday deadline for a response from Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s attorney after the Trump administration argued the lower court order improperly imposed on the president’s foreign policy powers.”
New York Times: Supreme Court temporarily blocks order to return wrongly deported man.
“When President Trump returned to office, his rivals and law enforcement officials feared he would follow through on his pledges to use the Justice Department and F.B.I. to investigate and even imprison his perceived enemies,” the New York Times reports.
“But since winning re-election, Mr. Trump’s retribution campaign has turned out to be far more expansive, efficient and creative than anticipated. It has also been less reliant on the justice system.”
“Not only has he found new ways to use his power to target those he has demonized, but his actions — or just the prospect of them — have led some of those he has gone after to change their behavior and fall into line.”
CBS News could not find criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans — 179 men —now sitting in an El Salvador prison.
“I don’t think inflation’s gonna be a big deal.”
— Donald Trump, talking to reporters.
John Ellis: “You can’t grow coffee in any of the United States of America except Hawaii. And you can’t begin to grow enough coffee in Hawaii to meet even a small part of America’s daily demand. So you have import it from all around the world (Africa, South America, Central America, Asia).”
“Right now, a cup of coffee or a can of coffee at the supermarket or a 5-pound bag… costs X. This week it will cost X plus 10%. At least. If the coffee comes from certain countries, it will cost X plus a lot more.”
“Politically speaking, what the White House has managed to create here is a daily reminder to every single coffee drinker in the United States of America that their cost of living has increased. Every day they will get this little memo…
“In the annals of political stupidity go, there are ‘own goals’ and there are ‘own goals’. This one is epic.”
Goldman Sachs said that if President Trump’s next set of tariffs do take effect on Wednesday as planned, “we expect to change our forecast to a recession.”
Playbook: “President Donald Trump’s astonishing, tariff-induced market meltdown is still only headed in one direction — and fears are growing about how big this crash could become. Asian stock markets suffered further spectacular losses overnight, in some cases so large they triggered built-in ‘circuit-breakers’ which temporarily halt trading to prevent a wider collapse.”
“The S&P Futures markets also tumbled further yesterday, giving a pretty clear indication of what traders believe is coming when the New York Stock Exchange reopens at 9.30 a.m. It’s hard to think of any example in modern U.S. history when the actions of a president have directly triggered something like this.”
Axios: “When everything gets more expensive everywhere because of tariffs, that starts a cycle for businesses, too — one that might end with layoffs, bankruptcies, and higher prices for the survivors’ customers.”
“The cycle is just starting now, but the pain is immediate.”
Punchbowl News: “Senate and House Republicans are beginning to panic. Although A) We don’t think that Congress will pass a bill to take tariff power away from the president. And B) It’s an open question as to whether the Hill can have any influence at all with the president on trade policy.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson privately urged Republicans to trust Trump’s trade policies and stick with him on tariffs.”
“The formula used by the Trump administration to levy reciprocal tariffs contains a serious math error that over-inflates the impact by about a factor of four, economists at the American Enterprise Institute said,” Axios reports.
“The conservative think tank says the error led to tariff rates massively higher than they should have been to achieve the goals the administration sought.”
“European politicians sought to portray a united front as they gathered in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the European Union’s response to President Trump’s latest tariffs,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Some EU members, including France, have pressed for the bloc to consider targeting U.S. services companies, while others have struck a more cautious line.”
Donald Trump bragged that he won a golf tournament at his resort in Florida this weekend.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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