‘The simplest way to read this is that Tru*mp has blinked. I’ve written previously that Trump, despite his obsession with strength, almost always folds. He’s actually not much of a negotiator at all, and can be induced to back down pretty easily. Bill Ackman, the activist investor and Democrat turned Tr*mp cheerleader, has spent the past few days freaking out on X about “a self-induced, economic nuclear winter.” Today, trying to save some dignity for himself and perhaps for the president, he posted, “This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTr*mp. Textbook, Art of the Deal.”

This assumes that Tr*mp has gotten something in return. If that is true, no one seems to know what it is, and Tr*mp is not usually shy about proclaiming his achievements. He said last night that foreign leaders “are dying to make a deal. ‘Please, please, sir, make a deal, I’ll do anything, I’ll do anything sir.’” But no new agreements have been announced yet, and Europe was on the verge of retaliation. Tr*mp hasn’t totally given up his leverage—the 90-day pause allows him to bring the tariffs back later—but it removes a great deal of urgency for foreign negotiators….’ David A. Graham via The Atlantic