‘This Looks Bad’: President Donald Trump’s Big Tariff Cave

President Donald Trump Caved: And just like that, the great tariff panic of the spring of 2025 is over.

For now, at least.

After a week of insisting that his tariffs were not a negotiating tactic, and were meant to last, Trump abruptly reversed course on Wednesday afternoon, declaring that he was pausing tariffs on most non-China countries, but raising them on China.

Trump, in a way only he can do, posted to Truth Social “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT,” in what could be interpreted either as a sop to his supporters, or possibly something more shady.

It’s not clear if “DJT,” in that instance, meant that the post was written by Trump himself — all posts on his Truth Social account, implicitly, are his words — or if he was referring to the stock ticker for his company, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.

Then, in another post about four hours later, Trump announced the shift: He was “raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately.” However, Trump also announced that thanks to countries around the world seeking to negotiate, he was announcing “ a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.”

The Big Cave by Donald Trump on Tariffs

It’s pretty clearly a cave on Trump’s part, following several days of catastrophic stock market performance and other worrying economic data. Another possible explanation is that Trump is more comfortable feuding with China specifically, rather than with the majority of the countries in the world.

The reaction in the markets was strongly positive, as the Dow rose 3,000 points for the largest rally in five years, with other stock indices also rising.

Ironically, a stock market surge on Monday had come about following a fake social post that had misinterpreted a comment from Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett that Trump was open to a 90-day pause on the tariffs. The Administration had strongly denounced the report at the time, calling it “fake news,” but ended up pursuing that exact policy just two days later.

Per CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that the pause does not apply to “section tariffs,” and that the pause does apply to every country other than China.

The reversal, the White House is claiming, was the strategy all along. And Trump claimed, in a discussion with reporters Wednesday afternoon, that “China wants to make a deal. They just don’t know how quite to go about it.”

The 90-day pause will extend through July 8 unless it is extended again.

The economy, it appears, is off the ledge. Goldman Sachs scrapped a recession forecast, in light of Trump backing off.

Messaging Whiplash

Meanwhile, many supporters of the president, who had been hailing him as a genius when the tariffs remained in place, are continuing to hail him as a genius now that they’re postponed.

In a press briefing, about 24 hours before the announcement of the shift, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt not only full-throatily defended the tariffs but implied that those opposed to them didn’t mean it.

“Everybody in Washington, whether they want to admit it or not, knows that this president is right when it comes to tariffs and when it comes to trade,” Leavitt said from the podium.

Somewhat hilariously, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer happened to be testifying before a Congressional committee when news broke of the change- and didn’t appear aware that the announcement was coming.

“So the trade representative hasn’t spoken to the president of the United States about a global reordering of trade, but yet he announced it on a tweet?,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) asked Greer during the hearing. “Who is in charge?”

What Happens in July?

The flip on tariffs seems to serve to kick the can down the road to July, while presumably talks with other countries on tariffs will be ongoing. But there’s no way of knowing whether that gambit will work- or that markets will react well to wave after wave of uncertainty.

About the Author: Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter