SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Friday marked another one of President Trump's tariff deadlines, and this time, new tariffs hit dozens of countries. But the deadlines, they're still shifting. This has generally been the case since the president took office and threatened most U.S. trading partners with new tariffs. That's where we're going to begin with NPR national political correspondent Don Gonyea. Don, thanks so much for being with us.
DON GONYEA, BYLINE: My pleasure.
SIMON: Tariffs have economic implications. That's the idea, and that can come with political consequences. What might those be for President Trump?
GONYEA: Well, certainly Americans will feel the economic impact of this, and that will have an impact on the president and his standing. And there is just his credibility and image as a dealmaker. It has been a messy process, to say the least, especially when he keeps moving the goalposts - deadlines set in stone, then moved, then moved again this very week. And I didn't even account for them all. And let's just take one example, Scott, Canada, the friendliest of allies. A deal was at hand. Then, in response to the crisis in Gaza, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would recognize a Palestinian state. That's obviously not about U.S. trade, but that decision angered Trump, who made it about trade by proposing a higher tariff just to punish Canada for that. So more unpredictability, making everyone just wonder when a deal is a deal.
SIMON: And of course, Don, you're in Detroit, Motor City. What do they think of tariffs there?
GONYEA: I can tell you the car companies are feeling the hit. Ford Motor Company released second-quarter earnings this week. I won't go into all the nitty gritty on that except to say company execs say tariffs cost them $800 million in the quarter. For the year, they expect that number to be $2 billion. The company says it's not been passing that along to customers, but going forward, that could certainly change, so car buyers keep an eye on sticker prices.
SIMON: Another story that keeps on going, the president's ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. His convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, this week was transferred from a federal prison to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas. President Trump may be mulling a pardon for her, we gather.
GONYEA: He was asked that very thing this week in one of those scrums with reporters that he often holds. And he answered with a cryptic - this is a quote - "well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon." Then he added that no one has approached him with it, and he continued - this part's a quote too - "right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it." So, look, this is a story the White House just wishes would go away, even as such statements very much keep it alive. So it is very much not going away, and much of its staying power is because a lot of Trump's most hardcore, his MAGA supporters, are the ones who are really keeping it alive.
SIMON: And, Don, we're seeing a pronounced difference of opinion between President Trump, who says children are starving in Gaza, and Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu says they are not. What does this mean for U.S.-Israel relations?
GONYEA: I hate to refer back to my earlier answers, but all I can say is we will see, right?
SIMON: Yeah.
GONYEA: I mean, this has been a rock-solid relationship between Trump and Netanyahu. So a lot of people were surprised by this distance between them on this, on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But we wait to see what leverage Trump is willing to use because leverage and pressure is certainly what it will take. Again, see my earlier answer on tariffs. You never know if an answer is a final answer or if a position will hold or not.
SIMON: NPR national political correspondent Don Gonyea. Don, thanks so much for being with us today.
GONYEA: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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