'Run by capricious whim': CNN’s Tapper corners WH economic adviser on Trump 'whiplash'

CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday confronted President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett on how the president’s tariff “whiplash” is negatively impacting small business owners.

Trump last Wednesday “announced a 90-day pause on higher-band tariffs with the exception of China, imposing a 125 percent tariff on Chinese goods,” BBC reports.

Speaking with Hassett, Tapper played a clip of small business owner Sarah Wells, who told CNN the president’s back-and-forth tariff policy is hurting her company.

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“A pause is better than no pause, but the uncertainty is still really chaotic for a small business like me,” Wells said. “This up and down is just something as a small business I can’t pivot to.”

“What do you say to small business owners, or even big business owners, who say they're having difficulty making long term business decisions because the country seems right now to be run by capricious whim?” Tapper asked Hassett.

The Trump economic adviser disagreed with Tapper’s characterization and launched into a football analogy to describe the president’s actions.

“In the trade policy, the whole point of the trade policy is to address the national emergency that we’re too dependent on foreign products in the U.S,” Hassett claimed.

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“Right now, 130 countries have responded and we’re negotiating with them,” he added, calling the process “orderly” and “clear.”

“Everything is moving forward very quickly,” Hassett claimed.

Watch the video below or at this link.

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