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(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump “wanted shock and awe” when he imposed tariffs against countries including China, but because of flawed execution in doing so, he is now being forced to backtrack, political commentator Bill O’Reilly says.
O’Reilly told NewsNation’s “CUOMO” on Wednesday that a calm and deliberate tone from Trump was needed in the moment. But now, with many Americans angry because of the financial impact of Trump’s tariffs on their financial futures — which is evident in the hit to the president’s approval rating in handling the economy — Trump is considering changing his approach.
“People are angry and scared because they look at their portfolios and their 401(k)s and see them going down fast,” O’Reilly told NewsNation. “So (Trump’s) going to make an adjustment. He’s nimble … But there’s going to be a downside for what he does, and China’s going to seize on it.”
The White House said Wednesday that the administration is working to deescalate its trade war with China, and Trump expressed optimism that a deal could be made.
Yet, O’Reilly said that China will eventually come to some sort of accommodation in dealing with the United States over tariffs. While O’Reilly says Trump has struck some strong deals with countries including Switzerland, the president’s execution of other tariffs “wasn’t good.”
“When you’re going to make a dramatic change in the way this country is run financially and you’re going to mess with people’s money, that’s the big thing, you’re messing with people’s money. You’ve got to explain every iota of it in a calm, deliberate way. That was not done.”
O’Reilly added: “(Trump) wanted shock and awe because shock and awe has worked for him in the past. It did not work here, and that’s why he’s backtracking.”
In his interview with NewsNation, O’Reilly announced that Trump will join the network’s “CUOMO Town Hall,” which will air next week. The televised special will take a look back at Trump’s first 100 days in office.
The Town Hall, O’Reilly said, will take a balanced approach from guests with varying points of view, but that Trump will be the centerpiece.
“You can challenge (the president) in a respectful way, and that’s what we’ll do,” O’Reilly said. “And then we’ll get on the record a lot of the things that people are interested to hear about.”