Trump’s Tariff Timeout Is Industrial Policy as Performance Art

Promised as a gritty path to American resurgence, the tariff crusade now resembles a half-finished workout — sweaty, confused, and already back on the couch.

President Donald Trump, in a classic display of strategic whiplash, announced that he’ll be hitting pause on his much-ballyhooed reciprocal tariffs — for 90 days. Which feels oddly specific, like the geopolitical equivalent of someone saying, “I’m taking a break from caffeine... but only until the end of this semester.”

Ninety days. Just long enough to s…