Trump's hardline stance
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Business leaders are calling and back-channeling President Trump to dump on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, trade adviser Peter Navarro and their pro-tariff views, hoping to end the trade war.
Why it matters: Make no mistake: Trump is wholly unmoved, top White House officials tell Axios. This is his disruptive policy, done his disruptive way. "This is the team," one said.
- The Trump administration is trying to present a unified front as it implements its controversial tariff policies that have rocked financial markets. Officials loathe palace-intrigue stories that make the team look divided.
- CEOs want the Treasury-Secretary-Scott-Bessent-on-truth-serum approach. But they keep running into the reality that Trump is more Navarro.
Behind the scenes: Lutnick and Navarro both appeared on Sunday shows yesterday because the White House team wanted to push back on reports that the two had been bucked in rank or sidelined, senior officials tell Caputo.
- "We wanted Howard out there. We wanted Peter out there to deliver the message and call bulls**t," one of the advisers said.
The big picture: Administration officials privately acknowledge the rollout of Trump's tariff policy has been subpar. But they hope the trial-and-error phase is behind them as the U.S. settles in for what could be a brutal trade war with China.
- Many lawmakers, business leaders and economists have expressed confusion, frustration and dismay at President Trump's sweeping tariffs package — and at the on-again, off-again nature of how aspects of it have been presented.
Lutnick played a key role in yet another tariff walkback Sunday.
- He told ABC's "This Week" that smartphones and other electronics will be included in future semiconductor sector tariffs.
- Just two days earlier, the Trump administration indicated that such products would be exempt from China import levies.
Go deeper: Trump, tariffs and a world in transition: Brace for the in-between
