‘Trump Was Forced to Back off’: Even Fox Business Reporter Thinks President Caved on China Tariffs
Charles Gasparino suggested that the president had to eventually wake up and fix the mess he created with his economic war.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Prominent Fox Business reporter Charles Gasparino has broken with the MAGA party line and admitted that Trump “blinked” in negotiations with China over reducing tariffs.
Gasparino went on a tweet spree after the truce was announced and the two countries, according to the Trump administration, agreed to wind down levies with a 90-day pause.
During the pause, the U.S. will impose a 30 percent duty on goods from China, down from 145 percent, Bloomberg reported. China will reduce its tariffs on products made in the U.S. to 10 percent from 125 percent.
And while some on the right take a victory lap, Gasparino was on hand with a blunt assessment.
“Both sides blinked,” Gasparino wrote on X Sunday. He followed up by responding to a person who seemed to suggest the reporter had called a win for the U.S. “I didn’t say we won,” he replied.
BREAKING: Trump raised tariffs on the world, the markets, particularly the bond market -- which we need to finance our debt--rebelled. Trump then was forced to back off. End of story. Film at 11 of the president spinning this as a major victory. Ok sorry, I couldnt help myself.…
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) May 12, 2025
Gasparino, who is presumably not interested in being promoted from the Fox Corporation into Trump’s administration like 23 others from the network, then broke it down—strongly asserting that the president was “forced to back off.”
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“Trump raised tariffs on the world, the markets, particularly the bond market—which we need to finance our debt—rebelled,” he wrote.
“Trump then was forced to back off. End of story. Film at 11 of the president spinning this as a major victory.
“Ok sorry, I couldn’t help myself. But what we have seen is a little lesson on how markets exert their power, how when you have to depend on them as we still do (and remember it’s really the budget deficit thats causing the trade deficit and we need the budget deficit to maintain our standard of living) you can’t go to trade war with the world without bad stuff happening.”
On April 24 Gasparino forecast issues in negotiations, once again contradicting Trump.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the deal after talks in Switzerland.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“We have a weak negotiating hand here,” Gasparino said. “I know the president keeps saying we don’t. We’re almost in a recession. We have markets that are on edge.
“We need people to buy our debt, and China supplies us with a lot of cheap goods. We could see inflation ratchet up dramatically if we don’t get a deal with them. And Xi [Jinping] knows this.”
“We are in agreement that neither side wants to decouple,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after the deal was brokered in Switzerland.
The news sent S&P futures soaring by 3 percent on Monday. Equity markets in Asia and Europe also jumped, while oil prices increased, Treasury yields gained and the dollar got stronger.
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