President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to explain his decision to abruptly reverse most of his aggressive global tariffs, claiming it was made “from the heart.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced he was reducing tariffs on all countries except China to 10% for 90 days, rather than the higher rates he had originally announced.
Asked how he came to change his mind, even though the White House had said there were no plans for a reversal, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he had been discussing the idea of a pause with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “over the last few days.”
Of his social media post announcing the pause, he said Wednesday, “I think it probably came together early this morning, fairly early this morning, just wrote it up.”
“We didn’t have access to lawyers,” he added. “We wrote it up from our hearts, right? It was written from the heart. And I think it was well written too, but it was written from the heart. It was written as something that I think was very positive for the world and for us, and we don’t want to hurt countries that don’t need to be hurt.”
In separate remarks, Trump conceded his original aggressive tariff strategy was making people anxious, but suggested he was courageous for choosing to implement the painful policy in the first place.
“They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” he said. “No other president would have done what I did. No other president. I know the presidents, they wouldn’t have done it.”
Sources told The New York Times Trump’s change of heart was prompted by the economic upheaval his tariffs prompted, including the jump in government bond yields.
Trump also told advisers he knew that his tariff strategy could lead the U.S. into a recession, but wanted to make sure to avoid a depression, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The Journal also described Bessent’s role as “key” to the policy shift. Bessent traveled to Florida over the weekend to meet with the president, urging him to signal he was open to negotiating with the countries targeted. Following their meeting, the treasury secretary assumed a more prominent role in communicating the administration’s strategy.
Trump on Wednesday chose to escalate his trade war with China, raising tariffs on the country to 125%, as the standoff between the world’s two largest economies shows no signs of winding down.