The markets have taken back Friday's lie from Mnuchin that trade talks were going well. The lies from Trump continue.

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin halted a market selloff with a single word, "constructive". That lie was exposed over the weekend. The trade talks with China are not constructive.

US Tsy Sec. Mnuchin: Trade Talks Were ‘Constructive’

— LiveSquawk (@LiveSquawk) May 10, 2019

Trade Lie of the Day Today 

The unexpectedly good first quarter 3.2% GDP was greatly helped by Tariffs from China. Some people just don’t get it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019

Trade Lie of the Day Sunday

​We are definitely not where we want to be. Trump wanted a trade deal did he not? Did he get one?

Trade Lie of the Day Saturday

​The US does not collect tariffs. They are a tax on consumers and businesses.

Note that Trump's economic adviser, Larry Kudlow Admits the Obvious: Trump is Wrong.

Lies of the Day Friday

Joke of the Day

Has anyone noticed that all the Boston @RedSox have done is WIN since coming to the White House! Others also have done very well. The White House visit is becoming the opposite of being on the cover of Sports Illustrated! By the way, the Boston players were GREAT guys!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019

Trump takes credit for the performance of the Boston Red Sox.

Peter Schiff Rebuttal of Trump's Position on Trade

The stronger number masked a weakening economy. It resulted from one-off factors that will not repeat in future quarters. A fluke drop in the deflator, a build in inventories, and a reduction in imports, combined to produce the higher Q1 number. All this will be reversed in Q2.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 13, 2019

I agree with Schiff on every point above.

Ka-Blam

​Trump claimed there would be "money left over"after feeding the world's poor to fund other needs.

....If we bought 15 Billion Dollars of Agriculture from our Farmers, far more than China buys now, we would have more than 85 Billion Dollars left over for new Infrastructure, Healthcare, or anything else. China would greatly slow down, and we would automatically speed up!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2019

“With the over 100 Billion Dollars in Tariffs that we take in we will buy agricultural products from our Great Farmers, in larger amounts than China ever did, and ship it to poor & starving countries in the form of humanitarian assistance. ... Our Farmers will do better, faster, and starving nations can now be helped. ... If we bought 15 Billion Dollars of Agriculture from our Farmers, far more than China buys now, we would have more than 85 Billion Dollars left over for new Infrastructure, Healthcare, or anything else.”

That's the biggest lie of all. Effectively, Trump is in favor of a tax on US consumers to protect his political base in the agricultural states from his unwinnable trade war.

Note that Wisconsin Dairy Farmers Going Bankrupt in Record Numbers, Blame Trump Tariffs.

Beaten Badly?

I think that China felt they were being beaten so badly in the recent negotiation that they may as well wait around for the next election, 2020, to see if they could get lucky & have a Democrat win - in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2019

Logic would dictate that you can only be beaten badly in a trade deal if the deal is closed.

Win-Win

Placing demands the other side will never agree with is not beating them badly.

Such foolishness by Trump is why he has not closed a single deal.

In Tump's perverse world there is a winner and a loser in every deal. In practice, both sides have to believe they gain, or they do not make a deal.

Stop the Damn Lies

Trump's trade lies prompted me to pen on Friday Dear President Trump: Stop the Damn Trade Lies.

The lies continue nonstop. More are certain to come.

In regards to Peter Schiff's GDP rebuttal, I said the same things in Explaining the First-Quarter GDP 3.2% Surprise.