The Washington Post editorial board offered cautious praise to President Donald Trump for recent signals that he would seek to cool down the tariff fight.
“The president’s impulse to look for fixes, even if they are for problems he has created, should be applauded,” The Post wrote in an editorial on Saturday. “Companies and consumers crave certainty. And it comes as a modest relief to see him demonstrate that he can be persuaded to change course when things go terribly wrong.”
The board suggested Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s speech on Wednesday stating that America desires increased leadership in international institutions may reassure financiers and investors.
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“Bessent’s speech helped quell concerns that President Donald Trump would try to blow up the two key institutions the United States helped forge from the ashes of World War II,” the outlet continued, referring to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Summarizing a week in which the administration appeared to soften its tone on certain economic policies, the editorial board highlighted examples of a potential turnaround on tariffs.
The editorial’s headline declared, “The week Trump looked for off-ramps — and heeded warnings.”
“These declarations gave hope to many on Wall Street that a soft landing for the economy is possible, that a recession still might be averted,” the editorial board wrote. “Yet, lingering uncertainty over how high tariffs will be three months from now and the multiplier effects they might have on the rest of the economy continues to affect Main Street.”
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The editorial board warned that businesses cannot tolerate uncertainty and “muster the confidence they need to make long-term investment decisions” with changing policy on tariffs and the economy emerging out of Washington.
Earlier in April, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell slammed the Democratic Party over not being more aggressive in its criticisms of Trump on tariffs.
The economics columnist argued that liberal lawmakers are not meeting the threat of the tariffs with their “mealymouthed” concerns. She declared that Democratic lawmakers should be having a field day over this, but they’re not.
“If this is a curse to the U.S. economy, it should be a windfall for Democratic politicians. Instead, Democrats are blowing their good fortune,” she said, adding, “Rather than shouting from the rooftops that trade wars are bad, Democrats babble in ‘yes, buts.’ Yes, these particular tariffs are costly and regressive, they say, but when Democrats impose tariffs, somehow they present no such downsides.”
– Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.