This Friday, President Trump raised eyebrows with his latest series of tweets regarding China, saying he’s ‘ordering’ America companies to “immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.”

Additionally, Trump said he was ordering “all U.S. postal carriers, including FedEx, Amazon, UPS and United States Post Office, “to SEARCH FOR & REFUSE all deliveries of Fentanyl from China (or anywhere else!).” Trump’s declaration was in response to China announcing this Friday that it would retaliate against the U.S. with 5% and 10% on $75 billion of U.S. imports.

….better off without them. The vast amounts of money made and stolen by China from the United States, year after year, for decades, will and must STOP. Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019

….all deliveries of Fentanyl from China (or anywhere else!). Fentanyl kills 100,000 Americans a year. President Xi said this would stop – it didn’t. Our Economy, because of our gains in the last 2 1/2 years, is MUCH larger than that of China. We will keep it that way!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019

When asked by reporters if Trump’s words constitute an official order or not, White House officials seemingly didn’t know how to respond. Speaking on CNBC this morning, Eamon Javers said that White House officials are simply “not offering any explanation” as to what “legal or moral authority” Trump is drawing from to “hereby order” companies and government agencies to boycott China.

"Officials are not explaining what legal or moral authority the President has to make that order," CNBC's @EamonJavers reports from the White House after Trump tweeted an "order" for US companies to find an alternative to doing business in China. https://t.co/OdCTXe6sWC pic.twitter.com/ZQtm73psEO

— CNBC (@CNBC) August 23, 2019

Javers added that officials are “not aware or able to provide any context” to Trump’s tweet where he said he was going to “respond” to China’s tariffs “later this afternoon.”

“Officials don’t have any information on any kind of planned announcement, or event, or anything here at the White House today,” Javers said. “We simply don’t know what he means by that, and neither do some of the officials here at the White House.”

Featured image via Flickr

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