Old Man Trump Massively Fumbles Basic Question About His Own Tariffs
The deadline on Donald Trump’s tariff negotiations has been extended until August. Was anyone going to tell him?
While taking questions from the press in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday, Trump stumbled when asked whether the White House had decided to extend the 90-day pause on the president’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs.
“Mr. President, do the tariff rates change at all on July 9, or do they change on August 1?” asked one reporter.
“What are you talking about?” Trump replied.
“Tariff rates, do they change on July 9 or August 1?” the reporter repeated.
“They’re gonna be tariffs. Tariffs are gonna be the tariffs. I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9. Either a letter or a deal,” Trump said.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick swooped in to actually answer the question.
“But they go into effect on August 1,” said Lutnick. “Tariffs go into effect August 1. But the president is setting the rates and the deals right now!”
Reporter: Do the tariff rates change at all on July 9th or do they change on August 1st?
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 6, 2025
Trump: What are you talking about?
Reporter: Tariff rates. Do they change on July 9th or August 1st?
Trump: They're going to be tariffs. The tariffs are going to be the tariffs. I think… pic.twitter.com/f57uFmP34r
So, the White House’s ridiculous promise of “90 deals in 90 days” is officially out the window, with just two days left until the original deadline set in April. Last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the hard stop as “not critical.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last week that the central bank likely would have lowered its key interest rate if Trump hadn’t announced his tariff plan.