President Trump wants a grand bargain with China. And hardliners in the Trump administration worry Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is leading him down an accommodationist path that — in their minds — would betray the President's economic agenda and capitulate to Beijing.
The intrigue: Trump inflamed those internal fears today with this tweet that signaled he's willing to give away significant things for a deal: "President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!"
The Trump team is bitterly divided over what's happening with China.
Between the lines: Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, want a deal that has China buying billions in U.S. products in exchange for not facing retaliations on alleged theft of IP. But while hardliners Peter Navarro and Bob Lighthizer have been publicly silent, people familiar with their thinking say that they believe it would betray Trump’s economic agenda, missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to force China to change its industrial practices.
After Fox canceled Andy Samberg's sitcom, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," on Thursday, NBC announced that it will pick up the show for a sixth season, the New York Times reports.
The big picture, via Axios' Sara Fischer:Fox’s expensive Thursday Night Football rights — that it acquired earlier this year — along with baseball rights, will block off a lot of primetime program scheduling opportunities for hit shows like "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Last Man on Earth" and more.
