The Dictatorship
The incredible irony of Trump demanding praise for his new trade ‘deals’
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump’s trade strategy has largely revolved around poorly solving the problems of his own creation. Just in the last week we’ve seen him trumpet supposedly historic deals that, on closer inspection, fail to even undo the damage that he caused in the first place. As the number of these quasi-agreements pile up, with little to show to American consumers or manufacturers and none of the major deals he’d promised in sightit will be hard for his administration to keep ignoring the growing mess that he’s made.
It’s hard to see what — if anything — the U.S. has gotten out of the last four months
Most recently, the U.S. and China reached at least a temporary ceasefire in the trade war that Trump launched shortly after his return to office. When talks began in Geneva over the weekend, American companies were paying a 145% tariff on goods imported from China, a truly ludicrous number that was entirely unsustainable from the moment it was levied. The number only ratcheted that high in the first place due to Trump’s mistaken belief that China would quickly back down from a trade fight. Instead, China retaliated with tariffs of its own and refused to yield to Trump’s demands for major concessions.
Looking at the deal the two countries announced Monday morning, it’s hard to see what — if anything — the U.S. has gotten out of the last four months. The two sides agreed to reduce tariffs on each other’s productswith a 30% levy remaining on Chinese imports to the U.S. and a 10% rate for American imports to China, with more formal talks to come. But that still doesn’t undo the several weeks of uncertainty that U.S. companies have faced and the several weeks this summer where shelves will likely reflect the slowdown in traffic at West Coast seaports.
Those talks with Beijing came on the heels of Trump announcing a supposed trade agreement with Britain, the first since “Liberation Day” early last month. But both sides begrudgingly admitted last week that despite the fanfare, there was no actual deal in place to be signed as many of the details remain to be ironed out. What little information was given made clear the pending deal is not the sweeping agreement that Trump would prefer, one that could replace the losses from London leaving the European Union. And, adding insult to injury, the universal 10% import tariff that Trump had ordered would remain in place for British goods.
Trump had caused less of a rift with the U.K., long one of America’s closest allies, than with China, but even in trying to patch up that relationship he damaged another. As part of his tariff crusade, in late March he imposed a 25% tariff on imported vehicles and foreign-made auto parts, in theory to help support domestic automakers. Last month, under pressure from those U.S. automakers, the White House retreated slightlycreating a still-complicated scheme to offset some of the stacked import fees that were hammering the U.S. companies’ bottom lines.
The efforts to then undo the problems he causes will remain themselves half-hearted, so long as Trump is still convinced that the tariffs will pay off handsomely.
And now those same companies are now frustrated about one of the few details we do know about the deal-to-be with Britain. As Fortune reported last weekthe announced tentative framework “would see among other concessions the U.S. drop its 25% sectoral tariff down to 10% of a vehicle’s value, a level that reflects the U.K.’s own duty on imported cars. While that is only valid for the first 100,000 vehicles — with any cars above and beyond that once again subject to the full duty — it neatly matches the volumes exported from Britain last year.”
None of this flailing has improved America’s standing in the global economy. Nor has it persuaded Americans skeptical about the supposed positive impact from Trump’s economic plans. Perhaps that’s because even when the president is clearly backing down, as he has repeatedly since taking office, he persists in arguing that tariffs are a panacea for ailing American companies. The efforts to then undo the problems he causes will remain themselves half-hearted, so long as Trump is still convinced that the tariffs will pay off handsomely.
It is a commonly understood bit of courtesy that if you cause a spill, you should be the one to clean it up. As such, if you then demand praise for doing so, you’ll likely catch a bit of a side-eye — especially if it turns out the floor is still messier than it was to begin with. Trump is demanding not just praise but adulation for his dealmaking skills even as the mess he made continues to stain America’s good name and trickle down to U.S. consumers.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for BLN Daily, where he helps frame the news of the day for readers. He was previously at BuzzFeed News and holds a degree in international relations from Michigan State University.
In an explosive interview with NBC aired Sunday, President Donald Trump cut the grilling short and left the set after peppering “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker with insults.
“You’re either crooked or you’re stupid,” Trump told Welker, who kept a cool demeanor despite the president’s barrage of disparaging slurs.
Moments before he attacked her, Trump — without providing any evidence — said he believes elections in the U.S. are rigged. Then he lambasted television news networks, singling out NBC, CBS and ABC.
“They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked,” Trump said.
“To be fair, I’m not crooked,” Welker shot back. “But let’s continue.”
“Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough,” the president told Welker, who is the second woman and first Black journalist to helm the network’s flagship program.
Trump added, “Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”
It was not the first time Trump has berated a female journalist on the job covering his presidency.
In November 2025, he told Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey to stop talking, saying, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” One month later, he told ABC’s Rachel Scott she was “the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place.” Last month, he called MS NOW White House reporter Akayla Gardner “a dumb person” for pointing out that the cost of his White House ballroom project had doubled since it was first announced.
He has also repeatedly lashed out at CNN’s Kaitlan Collinscriticizing her for not smiling enough.
The wide-ranging interview, which was taped last week on a farm in Wisconsin, was interrupted by the loud sound of heavy rain on the metal roof of the barn where they met. Welker questioned Trump on his war with Iran, his “anti-weaponization” fund and the upcoming midterm elections.
On his nearly $1.8 billion fund aimed at compensating people who say they were wrongly prosecuted, including Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, Trump said “people were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization. Many of those people should be compensated.”
He described the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as people who were “being ushered into the building” by law enforcement.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the fund last month and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said last week the administration would not be moving forward with the fundwhich faced bipartisan backlash.
When asked if the administration would pursue other avenues to revive it, Trump said he does not know what will ultimately happen and called Welker and her network “the fake dirty press.”
Despite campaigning on a promise to end foreign wars, Trump denied that he made such statements. He characterized the Iran war, launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28, as necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
When asked about the rising cost of living as a result of the war, specifically gas and fertilizer, Trump chastised Welker.
“Are you ready? Am I allowed to talk? You keep asking questions and you don’t listen to the answers,” he said.
“I love the farmers and the farmers love me,” Trump said, adding that prices will come down after the war.
Welker suggested to her viewers Sunday that she and the president had a cordial conversation Saturday, saying they both “acknowledged the complications” posed by the rain. “He agreed to sit down with me for another ‘Meet the Press’ interview,” she said.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Iran said visas were denied to key members of its national soccer team ahead of the World Cupwhich a U.S. official insisted was necessary so that Iran does not try to “sneak terrorists into the United States.”
In a post on Xthe Iranian embassy in Turkey said “visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others” on its team.
“You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level,” the embassy said, accusing the U.S. of the “worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport” and “depriving Iran’s national team of its right to play in the World Cup under normal conditions.”
Iranian officials are accusing the U.S. government of violating FIFA regulations and breaching its obligations as one of the host countries of what is widely regarded to be the biggest sporting event in the world. The diplomatic standoff between the two countries comes just days before the World Cup is set to kick off and more than three months after the U.S. and Israel waged war against Iran.
A Trump administration official who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the subject told MS NOW in a statement that the visas “necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued.”
The official added, however, “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.”
The statement from the Iranian Embassy in Turkey came in response to a post on X by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack praising embassy staff for processing visas for the Iranian national team.
According to The Associated Presssome of the team’s officials have not received visas to enter the U.S., which is co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico and Canada. Games are set to begin Thursday.
Problems with getting U.S. visas had already led Iran to move its World Cup training base from the U.S. to Mexico. But Iran is still listed on the official World Cup schedule to play its first two games in Los Angeles on June 15 against New Zealand, and against Belgium six days later before heading to Seattle to face Egypt.
The Iran Football Federation’s secretary-general and its vice president were among 14 staff and officials without U.S. visas, AP said, citing Iranian state television. The federation reportedly accused the U.S. of “vindictive behavior.”
Emily Hung contributed to this report.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
A shooting near a community festival in Toledo, Ohio, wounded at least 12 people, and police said a search for the suspects was ongoing following an outbreak of gunfire that sent crowds scrambling for cover.
Two of the wounded were in critical condition, Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said. He said it appeared there were at least two people firing weapons who were “probably shooting at each other.”
The Toledo Police Department said the shooting happened near the Old West End Festival, an annual gathering of live music and home tours in a historic district of the city.
The department said an active search was underway for those responsible.
“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Toledo tonight. Summer festivals should be safe spaces for families to spend time together without fear of violence,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement.
Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running over the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded.
Kevin Berry said he was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with his friends when he heard a handful of gunshots ring out.
“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.
When he looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Police officers who were already on-site for the festival immediately responded to the scene.
Berry, who has medical training and served in the U.S. Navy, said he walked around the area looking for potential victims who might need help.
He said he saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.
“The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.
The Old West End Festival is a two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping.
Berry described it as the “kick-off to Toledo’s summer festival season.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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