Trump Discovers It's Not So Easy Making a Deal With China

President Trump may have authored The Art of the Deal, but he's having trouble keeping up his dealmaker reputation when it comes to China. "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!," Trump wrote on Truth Social at 2am ET Wednesday, per the AP. The middle-of-the-night comment—a "seemingly backhanded compliment" for the Chinese leader—came a day after the White House sent letters to trading partners, urging them to make deals with the US while "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries are paused until July 8, per the Hill.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it "a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming up," though Reuters reports the letter called for best offers by Wednesday. The UK is the only major US trading partner to sign a deal since Trump paused his "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 9. Now, "the president is obsessed with having a call with Xi," believing he can bring about a breakthrough, a source familiar with the trade talks tells Politico. The outlet reports no call has been scheduled, though the White House said it would "likely" take place this week.