Trump’s easy campaign promises run into the difficulties of reality

The following article by Michael Scherer, Josh Dawsey and Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website April 4, 2018:

On April 3, President Trump alleged China forged a $500 billion trade deficit with the U.S., just days after the two countries hit each other with tariffs. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

An emboldened President Trump is discovering that the policies he once described as easy fixes for the nation are a lot more complicated in reality — creating backlash among allies, frustrating supporters and threatening the pocketbooks of many farming communities that helped get him elected.

Freed from the caution of former advisers, Trump has spent recent weeks returning to the gut-level basics that got him elected: tough talk on China, a promise of an immigration crackdown and an isolationist approach to national security. Continue reading “Trump’s easy campaign promises run into the difficulties of reality”