How the 'Tariffgate' trade war blew up in Trump's face

When, in 1974, President Richard Nixon was forced to resign after lying about a break-in involving planting listening devices at his Democrat rivals’ Watergate Hotel HQ during his reelection campaign, it became the biggest scandal in political history.

- SIMON WALTERS

Now, Donald Trump has found himself in the middle of a political storm that could prove as damaging: Tariffgate.

As markets opened on Wednesday, Trump posted on his TruthSocial platform: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” Hours later, he issued an abrupt U-turn on the reciprocal tariffs he announced on his “Liberation Day” at the start of the month, declaring a “90-day pause” on tariffs for all countries except China.