Atlantic Columnist Slams Trump’s UK And China Trade Pacts As 'Scams'

The Trump administration’s recent trade announcements with the UK and China are nothing more than political sleight of hand, according to The Atlantic’s David Frum, who likened the moves to a game of three-card monte in a recent opinion piece.

Frum said the pro-Trump media plays the role of street hustlers’ confederates—helping obscure what’s really happening. I Photo: Rachel Reeves X

Frum argued that the administration’s chaotic messaging around tariffs and trade agreements is designed to mislead the public into believing that progress is being made.

“The Trump White House’s press releases… are just so much dealer patter,” he wrote.

“The tariff numbers go up. Up and up and up. Ooh, now they come down. Up! Down!” he continued, suggesting the spectacle is carefully choreographed confusion.

Frum said the pro-Trump media plays the role of street hustlers’ confederates—helping obscure what’s really happening—while mainstream financial media, though better informed, are often constrained by norms that prevent them from stating the obvious: that these deals are hollow.

“No firm deal has been hatched,” Frum concluded, warning that US consumers will bear the brunt of rising tariffs, despite Trump’s insistence that foreign exporters will foot the bill.