White House Insiders Clash Over Tariff Strategy

The Trump administration’s tariff proposals, unveiled on April 2 and dubbed Liberation Day by the White House, were met with significant internal resistance. Weeks before the public announcement, senior advisers privately warned of potential economic devastation. These concerns stemmed from disagreements over the scope and impact of the proposed tariffs.

Internal debates reached a boiling point in late March,when Treasury Secretary scott bessent and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro clashed in chief of staff Susie Wiles’ office. Navarro advocated for a 25% tariff on all $3 trillion of imported goods. Bessent, drawing on his Wall Street background, cautioned against market turmoil and outlined potential negative scenarios.

Navarro sneered: You’re doing the same thing thay did in the first term. Don’t pull this. don’t be him.

Sources familiar with the exchange indicated that Navarro’s comment was interpreted as a jab at former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former economic adviser Gary Cohn, both of whom had previously opposed hardline tariff policies.

Navarro dismissed these accounts, stating: Fake news from malevolent anonymous sources. Scottie and I don’t argue. We think things through.

Dire economic Predictions Surface

beyond the Navarro-Bessent clash,other administration officials voiced serious concerns. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly predicted that certain tariffs could trigger a global economic disaster. bessent consistently advocated for a more targeted approach, a calculated rollout of tariffs, rather than the sweeping measures favored by Navarro.

Elon Musk,the administration’s top government efficiency adviser,remained largely on the sidelines during these key decision meetings.While he privately expressed disdain for certain aspects of the tariff policy, he publicly advocated for zero tariffs between the United States and the European Union.

Financial Markets React Negatively

The “Liberation Day” announcement was followed by significant turmoil in financial markets, validating the earlier warnings from some of Trump’s advisers.Trillions of dollars were wiped from major stock indexes, and the bond market signaled potential economic distress. Major Wall Street firms, including goldman Sachs, increased their predictions of a recession.Top CEOs voiced their concerns publicly.

jpmorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Maria Bartiromo on April 9 that a recession was a likely outcome. Delta CEO Ed Bastian, speaking on CNBC, described the market turmoil as self-inflicted and announced the company was suspending its full-year guidance due to uncharted, unprecedented uncertainty.

In response to the market downturn, Mr. Trump posted: BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well.

trump Pauses Some Tariffs

Faced with mounting economic pressure, Mr. Trump, with input from Bessent and Lutnick, partially reversed course. He paused some of the tariffs for 90 days.

Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line, Mr. Trump said. They were getting yippy — you know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.