Ex-Trump adviser 'confused' president is 'jeopardizing it all' with latest moves

Marc Short, the former chief of staff to ex-Vice President Mike Pence in the first Trump term, said that he can't understand why President Donald Trump is putting any of his successes in jeopardy with his trade war.

July 9 marked the end of Trump's "90 Deals in 90 Days" plan to secure trade agreements with nearly 100 countries by the deadline. Instead, Trump was able to achieve two deals.

Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “Ninety days ago, Donald Trump promised the world that his tariffs would lead to 90 deals in 90 days. He makes these promises left and right. He doesn’t care whether he executes them or not, but the American people do. By my count, he’s about 88 trade deals short."

Trump began issuing new letters with tariff threats to Iraq, Brunei, Libya, Moldova, and the Philippines. It adds to the 14 countries to which Trump sent letters earlier this week.

MSNBC's Ana Cabrera asked about the countries named and why he was prioritizing those.

"I don't know how much is a prioritization versus just a full blanket assault globally on a trade policy," Short said. "The thing Ana, that I find confusing is I think the president's really had several weeks of really good political news between border crossings being down, passing his primary legislative achievement, what he actually did in striking Iran. It's actually been a very positive news cycle."

Shifting away from that to focus on where he's failed baffled Short.

"I think that this trade agenda jeopardizes all of it. I think that, you know, first and foremost, we need to remind people that it's the Americans who pay the tariff," Short continued. "It's a tax. It's a regressive tax on Americans that I think is principal among America, that consumers should have the freedom to buy products they want. It's authoritarian governments that want to impose massive tariffs, to restrict the freedom to purchase products."

He also noted that Congress appears unwilling to reassert its authority over trade and stop Trump's war.

See his comments below or click here.

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