In a recent Oval Office meeting, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sat across from Donald Trump as part of a European Union effort to navigate the ongoing trade turbulence. The meeting was cordial enough. Meloni emphasized transatlantic unity and expressed hope for deeper economic collaboration. Trump, however, was unmoved. He praised Meloni personally, but made his stance clear: the U.S. is not in a rush to finalize trade deals. According to him, tariffs are “making the United States rich,” and other countries want deals more than he does.

This exchange happened during the 90-day pause in Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs — a moment intended, at least in theory, to give global leaders time to negotiate. But what the meeting really signaled is that Trump views this pause as leverage, not compromise. Yes, he did lower EU import tariffs from 20% to 10%, but that move was largely a reaction to bond market jitters. When it comes to negotiating with Europe, he’s staying firm.

Meloni’s presence is notable. She’s a controversial figure in Europe — once derided by the American press as a far-right nationalist and compared to Mussolini. But in this moment, she’s being positioned as the EU’s Trump whisperer. She attended Trump’s inauguration. He’s reportedly fond of her. He even accepted an invitation to visit Rome. But none of that moved the needle in this meeting.

What Trump wants is access to European markets. But in European politics, protectionism isn’t just a policy — it’s a survival tactic. Leaders there know that anything perceived as selling out local interests could cost them their jobs. Italy, for example, has a trade surplus with the U.S., not because of anything shady, but because Americans genuinely love Italian exports: high-end fashion, food, luxury goods. We buy a lot from them. They don’t buy much from us. That’s not an imbalance that tariffs alone can fix.

So the real question is: what happens next? Trump has all but said he’s happy to wait everyone out. That leaves European economies in a holding pattern. It leaves small and medium U.S. businesses — especially those tangled up in international supply chains — in limbo. And it leaves Meloni with the unenviable job of being the friendly face of a negotiation that isn’t really moving.

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro

00:03:13 - Interview with Gabe Fleisher

00:23:00 - Update

00:23:36 - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Visit

00:27:44 - Birthright Citizenship Arguments

00:30:05 - FSU Shooting

00:31:47 - Interview with Gabe Fleisher, con’t

00:59:13 - Wrap-up

It was just last week when the Trump administration hit pause on its Liberation Day tariffs — except when it came to China. Not only were they excluded from the pause, they got slapped with additional hikes, escalating what had already started to look like an all-out trade war. Then came Saturday morning’s Customs and Border Patrol announcement, which seemed to undercut all of that: nearly 60% of Chinese exports, including smartphones, laptops, and semiconductors, were apparently exempt from the new tariffs.

So, what happened? Did the White House backtrack? Was this a walk-back in disguise? The administration scrambled to clarify. Their explanation: those goods are being set aside into their own “buckets” — alongside other key industries like cars and steel — for future, tougher action. These aren’t exemptions, they insist, just part of a long-term plan. The reason for the sudden PR push? According to Axios’ Mark Caputo, Trump simply doesn’t like the words “exemption” or “exception.” He felt too many were granted in his first term and didn’t want the headline suggesting he’d lost his edge.

But let’s be honest: This is hair-splitting. Whether you call them buckets or carveouts, the reality is a significant chunk of Chinese goods aren’t being hit right now, and the market knows it. The real question is whether the administration is buying time, recalibrating, or trying to thread the needle between tough-on-China optics and economic stability.

Saber Rattling, Delistings, and Peasant Talk

In the meantime, tensions are ramping up. The U.S. is now considering delisting nearly 300 Chinese companies from American stock exchanges — a move that’s part economic pressure, part political theater. The legal foundation? The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which requires financial transparency from foreign firms. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Senator Rick Scott are reportedly behind the push, with Trump expected to lean on executive orders to expedite the process if necessary.

Naturally, China isn’t taking this lightly. In response, they’ve begun blocking deliveries of Boeing jets, and the rhetoric has turned acidic. China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office issued a statement saying, in part, “Let those peasants in the United States wail in front of five thousand years of Chinese civilization.” That’s not diplomatic posturing — that’s a full-throated nationalist flare-up, made more surreal by the fact that JD Vance himself had recently referred to Chinese laborers as “peasants” on Fox News.

And through all of this, both sides are playing the “we’re open to talks, but we won’t be the first to call” game. It’s juvenile, it’s geopolitical theater, and it’s exactly the kind of posture that leaves markets — and companies — dangling.

What Happens Next?

Here's where I land: I don’t think we’re going back to “normal” with China anytime soon. The issues the U.S. wants addressed — IP theft, forced joint ventures, restricted market access — aren’t things China’s going to give up easily, if at all. So yes, the tariffs might eventually get reshuffled or reduced. But the era of posturing, of economic nationalism, of strategic decoupling? That’s here to stay.

The polling shows Americans are broadly in favor of being tougher on China — until, of course, it hits them in the wallet. That’s where this whole thing could flip. For now, though, the administration seems fine dragging this out. Tariffs, carveouts, buckets, delistings — it’s all part of the same dance. And we’re still in the first few steps.

At least that’s this peasant’s opinion.

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:14 - US-China Trade War Continues

11:45 - Update

13:13 - AOC Fundraising Record

15:15 - Andrew Cuomo NYC Race

17:22 - Brian Kemp’s Senate Potential

22:22 - Interview with Tom Merritt

49:59 - Wrap-up