This is hardly surprising if true. Trump is no fan of tariffs. He is using them as a hopefully temporary measure to extract concessions from China and our other trading partners.
Yes tariffs hurt. But so do huge trade imbalances. Get rid of the trade imbalances with better deals and Trump will drop his tariffs like a hot rock.
Right now Trump should stay the course. The payoff will be there in the end.
Tariffs don,t hurt. They raise revenue and promote US industry. Don’t buy and don’t pay.