The adversarial relationship between President-elect Donald Trump and The Washington Post kicked up Monday with the latest denunciation of its being "fake news" on a paring down of tariffs.
"The story in The Washington Post, quoting so-called anonymous sources, which don't exist, incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning.
"That is wrong. The Washington Post knows it's wrong. It's just another example of Fake News."
The object of Trump's ire was the lead of the Post report headlined: "Trump aides ready 'universal' tariff plans — with one key change."
"President-elect Donald Trump's aides are exploring tariff plans that would be applied to every country but only cover critical imports, three people familiar with the matter said — a key shift from his plans during the 2024 presidential campaign," Jeff Stein's "WP exclusive" began.
"If implemented, the emerging plans would pare back the most sweeping elements of Trump's campaign plans but still would be likely to upend global trade and carry major consequences for the U.S. economy and consumers."
The anonymous sources have frequently been rebuked by Trump as a key indicator of "fake news," because he says his people go on record for facts and any report that does not name the source cannot be trusted as truth according to Trump.
The post quoted a source trying to turn Trump against a "universal" tariff policy.
"The sector-based universal tariff is a little bit easier for everybody to stomach out the gate," the unnamed source told the Post. "The thought is if you're going to do universal tariffs, why not at least start with these targeted measures?
"And it would still give CEOs a massive incentive to start making their products here."
Trump supporters acknowledge tariffs are a "leveraging" tool for Trump and do not have to be implemented if Trump gets action from the other parties and countries, but preemptive reports suggesting the push for tariffs might be flimsy ostensibly take away the leverage Trump intends to wage on trade.
"President Trump has promised tariff policies that protect the American manufacturers and working men and women from the unfair practices of foreign companies and foreign markets," Trump transition spokesman Brian Hughes told the Post on the record, a quote that did not lead the coverage of the story. "As he did in his first term, he will implement economic and trade policies to make life affordable and more prosperous for our nation."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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