Welcome to the online version From a political deskThis is an evening newsletter that brings you the latest reports and analysis from the NBC News Politics team, from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign.
In today's version, Jonathan Allen digs out information about the Trump team on the trade deal because they can't achieve it. Additionally, Andrea Mitchell examines a potential crossroads in the relationship between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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- Adam Wollner
Just a few weeks ago, President Donald Trump and White House aides boasted that their tariffs would force a large number of foreign countries to quickly sign new trade deals, and Trump's strength would bring more favorable conditions to the United States.
"I tell you, these countries are calling us, kissing my A-," Trump said last month. "They are eager to reach a deal.
"Meet the press" a few days later, "We may have 90 deals here in 90 days," his trade adviser Peter Navarro said on NBC News.
But Trump has changed his tone and tune in recent days because it is clear that the trade agreement is not as fast as he wants it to be, and there aren't dozens of them in the queue. His shift also occurred in fierce criticism that his tariffs would raise prices for consumers and hurt the U.S. economy, which had its first negative growth in the first quarter of the year.
"You've been writing about deals, deals. When do we sign a deal? It's simple. What we're going to say is that in some cases we want you to open your country. In some cases, we want you to give up your tariffs," Trump, who was obviously frustrated, told reporters on Tuesday.
"So I hope they keep asking, don't ask, 'How many deals are you going to sign this week?' Because one day we'll come and we'll give you 100 deals and they don't have to sign."
Since Trump applied for a comprehensive tariff of 145% on his products, the United States has not yet discussed it with its largest trading partner, apart from an ambitious scan of ambitious attempts to bargain with dozens of countries.
Finance Minister Scott Bessent told lawmakers on Wednesday that the planned meeting with Swiss Chinese officials this weekend was equivalent to an early stage of negotiations, not far from negotiations with fewer key countries.
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Stay stable: The Fed said that would keep interest rates unchanged as it warned that higher unemployment and higher inflation have climbed after Trump’s tariff plan.
When Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Yemeni Hotis had agreed to stop firing U.S. ships in the Red Sea, the United States had stopped air strikes on Iran-backed militias, and the United States' closest allies in the Middle East were deemed unaware.
Israel didn't even know that the ceasefire was in progress and that the armistice box did not cover its ships. In fact, on the same day, Israel hammered the airport in the Yemeni capital, retaliating against the Houthi strike that almost attacked Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. Hotis hasn't said whether they will also be safe to access other international transport companies so that they can resume sailing on the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, a much cheaper route than longer sailings around the Horn of Africa.
The first public hint of possible violation between us and Israeli leaders during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House last month was the hope that the U.S. would provide air support for Israel's possible actions on Iran's nuclear facilities during the Israeli Prime Minister's visit to the White House. Instead, Trump announced that he agreed to hold talks with Iran.
And now, the government is putting pressure on Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostages within a few days. That's because Trump wants to announce a deal before heading to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar next week to participate in his first foreign trip to the second term. His impatientness stems from his hopes of making progress in completing the Abraham Agreement by allowing Saudi Arabia to take the first step in recognizing Israel. The effort continues under President Joe Biden, but the effort collapsed when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered a war in Gaza. The Saudis would not consider this as the war continues.
But Hamas is deeply rooted, Israel recaptured two-thirds of Gaza, and Netanyahu's cabinet calls for reserves to expand the battle. This week, Special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff hosted Israel’s Independence Day celebrations in Washington, D.C., gently mocking the Israelis for overcoming their political divisions. On Wednesday, Netanyahu's closest political adviser, Ron Dermer, a former U.S. ambassador, came to Washington for a ceasefire together with Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and Witkoff.
The question is: Will Netanyahu achieve a more important common goal with the United States in Gaza - the economic and security agreement with Saudi Arabia to achieve his dream of peace and prosperity with the Arab world?
At the moment, it's all political desks. Today's newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman.
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