A “90 Day Pause” On Tariffs Means The Uncertainty Is Over, Right?

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the self-inflicted chaos of Trump’s tariffs and an escalating trade war with China; the Supreme Court’s careful responses to deportations without due process which leave key questions unanswered; and the brazen attempted heist of a North Carolina Supreme Court seat by Republicans.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Jeff Stein, Rachel Siegel, and Aaron Gregg for The Washington Post: Trump announces pause and lowered tariffs for all countries but China

David J. Lynch for The Washington Post: Trump’s tariffs pushed the U.S. uncomfortably close to a financial crisis before pause

Greg Ip for The Wall Street Journal: The Dollar and the Bond Market’s Ominous Message for Trump

David Pierson and Berry Wang for The New York Times (Analysis): For U.S. and China, a Risky Game of Chicken With No Off-Ramp in Sight

Annie Linskey for The Wall Street Journal: Trump Says He Will Consider Exempting Some U.S. Companies From Tariffs

John Dickerson for CBS Evening News: Reporter’s Notebook: Wall Street wobbles as Main Street worries

Chip Cutter and Heather Haddon for The Wall Street Journal: CEOs Break Silence on Trump Trade War 

Walter Russell Mead for The Wall Street Journal (Opinion): Why Trump Wants Tariffs

The Editors, National Review: Congress Should End Trump’s Trade War

Alan Feuer and Jonah E. Bromwich for The New York Times: Rulings in New York and Texas Block Deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador

Cecilia Vega for 60 Minutes (CBS News): U.S. sent 238 migrants to Salvadoran mega-prison; documents indicate most have no apparent criminal records

Adam Liptak for The New York Times (Analysis): In Trump Cases, Supreme Court Retreats From Confrontation

Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence H. Tribe for The New York Times (Opinion: Guest Essay): We Should All Be Very, Very Afraid

Nick Corasaniti and Eduardo Medina for The New York Times: N.C. Supreme Court Halts Voter Eligibility Review in Contested Judicial Race

Ari Berman for Mother Jones: Republicans Are Stealing a North Carolina Judicial Race. They Won’t Stop There.

Kyle Ingram,  The Herald Sun: Black NC voters twice as likely to have ballots challenged in Griffin election protests

Richard Pildes for Election Law Blog: The NC Judicial Election Litigation:  Federal Due Process Prohibits All State Actors, 

Including State Courts, From Changing State Election Law and Practice After The Votes Have Been Cast

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Adam Cancryn and Maggie Miller for Politico: Trump orders investigation of two first-term administration aides who criticized him

John: Blue Mass (Wikipedia); National Museum of American History: Blue Mass Compound, Sugar-coated Pills; Wallace B. Mendelson for Psychology Today: Heavy Metal Blues: The History of Medicinal Mercury; Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green; Alka Agrawal for Science: All the President’s Pills.

David: Sage McHugh for The Spruce: The 7 Best Moth Repellents the Spruce Has Tested; Sophie Yarin for The Brink: Pioneering Research from Boston University: Elevating the Clothes-Eating Moth from Pest to Evolutionary Marvel; Chris Obenschain for HowStuffWorks: What To Do If You Inherit An Old Car

Listener chatter from Tim in Solana Beach, California: Jack Dolan for the L.A. Times: As baby great whites cruise among California surfers, science finds (almost) nothing to fear; Video (3:15), L.A. Times on YouTube

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss favorite artworks they turn to for solace and perspective when chaos and tumult dominates the news.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with author Adam Higginbotham about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Emily Ditto

Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.