Politics
WATCH: ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Visibly Defeated After Trump Notches Major Victory
An emotional storm cloud hung over the set of “Morning Joe” on Thursday as the show’s liberal hosts struggled to absorb the news that President Donald Trump had notched a significant victory resulting from his monthlong global tariffs.
While previewing the president’s 10 a.m. announcement about a landmark trade deal struck with the U.K., MSNBC correspondent Jonathan Lemire said the White House is celebrating a “significant victory” after spending more than a month living under the uncertainty that tariffs have wrought on both the U.S. and global economies.
Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who infamously roiled their own fans by visiting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after his victory, could barely utter a word while Lemire said what they predicted would never occur: a realignment of trade that ensures fairer treatment for American companies.
“This is going to be a political win for the White House, Mika,” he said, mentioning Trump’s early-morning posts on Truth Social celebrating the pending deal.
“White House aides have told me for a while, it’s been turbulent since so-called Liberation Day. They’ve seen the markets bounce back some, but there’s a lot of economic worries. They need to start delivering deals — this is the first,” he added.
WATCH:
From the Oval Office, President Trump previewed that the terms of the deal would reduce tariffs on American imports to the U.K., which had been surcharged under the so-called “Most Favored Nation” status recommended by the United Nations.
Trump said he would be “opening up” the U.K. to a great supply of U.S. goods, especially agriculture and beef.
Notably, the 10% across-the-board tariffs on U.K. imports to the U.S. will remain in place, but British steel and auto manufacturers will breathe a sigh of relief after the White House promised to reduce a sharp 25% tariff on their products.
The fine details of the agreement are still being written up, Trump said, adding that the two nations will enter into an “economic security agreement” in the near future.
“They’ll also be fast-tracking American goods through their customs process, so our exports go to a very, very quick form of approval, and there won’t be any red tape,” Trump added.
Trump has a close relationship with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who first met with Trump on Feb. 27. The Labour Party leader has been desperate to prove that his overtures to Trump would pay off, and now, it appears, he has proof.
In February, he appeared at the Oval Office to present Trump with a personal letter from King Charles III, in which he expressed a deep respect for Trump, paying tribute to his desire for affection from other world leaders. Afterward, he invited the president to London for an extraordinary second state visit and has kept in touch with him about his golf game, a favorite topic for Trump but also a sport that Starmer does not play, the New York Times reports.
