Trump’s Two Crutches

Around 5:30 p.m. on May 30, Donald Trump announced via Twitter that the United States would impose a 5 percent tariff on Mexican goods beginning June 10, and that it would “gradually increase … until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP.” Less than 24 hours earlier, according to The Washington Post, administration officials including the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had lobbied against the decision. But Trump was unmoved—“infuriated” after learning that a record number of Central American migrants had surrendered to U.S. officials at the border—leaving Kushner and others to relay the decision to Mexico.

Following a major policy announcement by the president, it’s common to