Daily London
The US president went into few details about the agreement he had struck with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”
“I mean, it does seem positive that President Trump has walked back his threat to invade Greenland or tariff the entire continent of Europe,” Vietor told Today.
“But the fact that I’m saying these words out loud just kind of shows you how ridiculous things have gotten and how America is viewed as a pariah state in a lot of places.”
Vietor was sceptical Trump’s announced framework will amount to anything meaningful.
“I doubt there will really be a deal,” he said.
“This is Trump doing what he always does, which is TACO.”
Vietor was baffled that the president would be so focused on Greenland when the American people were demanding action on the economy.
“He’s just a weird mercurial old man who doesn’t seem to know what’s going on,” Vietor said.
“He’s doing things that are unpopular and politically damaging.”
Top Democratic congressman Jim McGovern was no kinder.
“He said a lot of crazy shit today. I think it’s time to take the keys away from grandpa,” he said.
“He doesn’t seem like he’s all there.”
And many traders have made substantial sums of money betting the president wouldn’t keep his word.
“The market is still of the mind that we are going to see this kind of bluster from the get-go — an opening salvo that’s pretty aggressive,” Natixis Investment Managers Solutions’ Garrett Melson told MarketWatch.
“But then it gets dialled back.”
Wall Street jumped today in the wake of Trump’s announcement.
