memeorandum: When Autocrats Screw Up — Acting president Elon Musk declared that tariff cheerleader Peter Navarro “is truly a moron.” (Jennifer Rubin/The Contrarian)

10:25 AM ET, April 10, 2025

Top Items:

Trump Says He Will Consider Exempting Some U.S. Companies From Tariffs — President Trump said Wednesday that he's considering granting some U.S. companies an exemption from his tariff program. “There are some that have been hard,” Trump told reporters when asked about companies requesting exemptions.

Discussion: Vox, CBS News, 9to5Mac, Foreign Policy, Reuters, E&E News, New York Times, The Hill, Raw Story, Bloomberg and The Japan Times

Wall Street Journal:

Why Trump Blinked on Tariffs Just Hours After They Went Into Effect — Treasury secretary helped persuade president to take time to negotiate with trading partners in face of pressure from business leaders — President Trump finally blinked. — It took a week for the plunge in the stock …

Discussion: Axios, National Review, HotAir, Rolling Stone, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Mediaite, The Wrap, Washington Times, CBS News, USA Today, New York Magazine, ABC News and NPR

New York Times:

From ‘Be Cool!’ to ‘Getting Yippy’: Inside Trump's Reversal on Tariffs — Economic turmoil, particularly a rapid rise in government bond yields, caused President Trump to reverse course on the steep levies. — For the past week, President Trump has been urging calm in the face …

Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:

When Autocrats Screw Up — Acting president Elon Musk declared that tariff cheerleader Peter Navarro “is truly a moron.” What does that imply about President In Name Only (PINO) Donald Trump, who has swallowed Navarro's advice hook, line, and sinker? (One wonders if Trump will notice …

Discussion: Washington City Paper

Bernard Condon / Associated Press:

Trump's ‘buy’ tip on social media before his tariffs pause made money for investors who listened — When Donald Trump offered some financial advice Wednesday morning, stocks were wavering between gains and losses. But that was about to change. — “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Boston Herald, Quartz and Business Insider

NBC News:

A ‘disaster’: Gretchen Whitmer's talk on tariffs and meeting with Trump anger fellow Democrats — The Michigan governor tried to play nice with Trump. Instead, there's a sense in the party that she got played when the president used her as a bipartisan Oval Office prop.

David Goldman / CNN:
US stocks set to tumble again as reality sets back in on Wall Street

Discussion: Associated Press and Fox Business

Jeanna Smialek / New York Times:
Live Updates: U.S. Market Rally Fades as China Trade Tensions Intensify

Discussion: Bloomberg, NPR, Associated Press, The National Pulse, Reuters, The Daily Wire, Fox Business, CBS News, Fortune, Semafor, Euractiv, USA Today, New York Post, Scripps News, IJR, Washington Post and Al Jazeera, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:
The 18 hours that changed Trump's mind on trade

Discussion: Politico and Daily Mail

Rebecca Patterson / New York Times:
The Damage From Trump's Tariff Pause Is Already Done

Discussion: New Yorker, Reuters, Fortune, Telegraph and Bloomberg

Paul Krugman:
Trump Is Stupid, Erratic and Weak

Discussion: The Hill, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Ars Technica, Washington Post, Fox Business, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and The Independent

Nik Popli / Time:
Adam Schiff Calls For Insider Trading Investigation into Trump Over Tariff Pause

Discussion: HotAir, @amuse, Twitchy, Business Insider, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit and The Independent

Associated Press:
Bessent reacts as Trump pauses tariffs but increases taxes on China to 125%

Mehdi Hasan / Zeteo:
Forget Trade. Here's the Real Reason Trump Wants Tariffs

Discussion: Rolling Stone

Rachael Bade / Politico:
We Just Saw the Cracks in Trump's Wall of Power

Discussion: Raw Story

Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Trump's Tariffs Whiplash Is Open Corruption. He Admitted It Himself.

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, CNBC, HuffPost, Mother Jones, Politico, The Independent, Raw Story and Washington Examiner

Jorge Liboreiro / Euronews:
EU pauses retaliatory tariffs against US to ‘give negotiations a chance’

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, UPI, Reuters, Euractiv and The Kyiv Independent

David Shepardson / Reuters:
Trump draws criticism from Michigan business and auto groups as auto tariffs remain

Discussion: The Detroit News, Carscoops, Axios and Bloomberg

Lloyd Lee / Business Insider:
Trump's team and supporters justify abrupt tariff reversal: It's ‘The Art of the Deal,’ dummy

Discussion: NBC News, The Hill, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Reuters, HuffPost, Deseret News, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, New Republic, Associated Press, The Japan Times, Daily Mail, The Independent, CNBC and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

Chris Cameron / New York Times:

Trump Signs Orders Punishing Those Who Opposed His 2020 Election Lies — The president targeted two officials from his first administration and an elite law firm as part of his campaign for retribution. — President Trump on Wednesday signed executive orders punishing two officials …

Discussion: The Guardian, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, UPI and Business Insider

Alex Griffing / Mediaite:
Trump Orders DOJ To Investigate Prominent Critic in Shocking Oval Office Remarks: 'I Think He's Guilty of Treason'

Discussion: C-SPAN.org, The Guardian, Raw Story, Associated Press, UPI, The Hill and ABC News, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:
Trump orders probes of two former officials who defied him

Discussion: Shore News Network, Scripps News, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters and New York Post

Oliver Darcy / Status:

The Pool Filter — Some White House pool reports are no longer making it to the official distribution list, Status has learned—an unsettling development in the Trump administration's escalating war on the press. — At approximately six-thirty on Tuesday evening, Joseph Morton …

Discussion: Law & Crime, more at Mediagazer »

David Gilmour / Mediaite:
Trump White House Accused of Cutting Press Pool Reports 'It Doesn't Like' From Distribution List

Discussion: New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Punchbowl News:

4/10/25 ☀️ AM: … Johnson and House GOP leaders delayed a vote on a compromise budget resolution, yielding to conservative hardliners who want deeper spending cuts than the Senate can likely stomach. — At the end of the day, Johnson had more than a dozen holdouts.

Discussion: Fox News, National Review, Raw Story, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Axios, The Hill, Roll Call, PBS NewsHour, E&E News and The Status Kuo

Politico:
House GOP cancels budget vote as hard-liners agitate for more spending cuts in Trump's ‘beautiful’ bill

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, The Hill, The Guardian, Reason, Fox News, E&E News, Washington Times, Raw Story, Axios, Associated Press and Business Insider

Associated Press:
House GOP holdouts threaten Trump's ‘big, beautiful’ budget bill as Speaker Johnson postpones vote

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, Axios, The Hill, NOTUS, New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, The Dispatch, Baltimore Sun, Deseret News, CBS News, USA Today, The Independent, Plain Dealer, Politico and Washington Times

Maddy Lauria / NPR:

Judge finds Newsmax aired false and defamatory claims about voting-tech company — A Delaware judge, once again, has found that a conservative news outlet broadcast false and defamatory claims about the role a voting technology company played in the 2020 presidential election.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Hill, The Independent and Deadline

Reuters:
Delaware judge rules Newsmax coverage of Dominion Voting Systems was false, defamatory

Discussion: CNBC, more at Mediagazer »

President Donald J. Trump / The White House:

Addressing Risks from Chris Krebs and Government Censorship — MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES — The Federal Government has a constitutional duty and a moral responsibility to respect and promote the free speech rights of Americans.

Discussion: TechCrunch and The Register

The White House:
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks from Chris Krebs and Government Censorship

Discussion: Nextgov/FCW, USA Today, Axios, Shore News Network, SpyTalk, Mediaite, Washington Times, Breitbart, Federal News Network and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »

President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Addressing Risks Associated with an Egregious Leaker and Disseminator of Falsehoods

Discussion: New Republic

Isabella Kwai / New York Times:

American Is Arrested in Thailand on Charges of Criticizing Royalty — The U.S. State Department said it was alarmed at the arrest of Paul Chambers, a lecturer in civil-military relations, under Thailand's strict lèse-majesté laws. — The arrest of an American academic …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, The Japan Times, United States Department …, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The Diplomat, UPI and Reuters

Ari Berman / Mother Jones:

House Republicans Are Set to Pass a Voter Suppression Bill That Would Disenfranchise Millions — Two weeks after Donald Trump issued a sweeping anti-voting executive order, the House of Representatives is set to pass a measure, the SAVE Act, that is described by voting rights advocates …

Discussion: Teen Vogue, The Federalist, New York Daily News, The Independent and IJR

John-John Williams IV / The Baltimore Banner:

Rejected at her door, ICE nabs a Maryland woman in her car after smashing her window — The arrest was captured on camera by her daughter — This Monday started off like any other day for Karen Cruz Berrios. — The 18-year-old and her mother — Elsy Noemi Berrios, 52 …

Discussion: Fox News

Margaret Brennan / CBS News:

H.R. McMaster receives accidental call from President Trump — Just over a month ago, retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster received an unexpected call on his personal cell, four sources told CBS News. It was from the White House and he was instructed by the voice on the other end to stand by for the president.

Discussion: New Jersey Online, Raw Story, The Independent and Mediaite

Politico:

Feds move to drop criminal case against man they previously called a major gang leader — Pam Bondi, Kash Patel and President Donald Trump celebrated his arrest. — Federal prosecutors have abruptly abandoned the criminal case against a Virginia man portrayed by the Justice Department …

Discussion: Daily Mail and The Independent

CNN:

Tulsi Gabbard declared her residency in Texas. Then she voted in Hawaii — As Tulsi Gabbard completed her transformation from a Hawaii Democratic politician to a MAGA surrogate last year, she put down stakes in a far redder state. Gabbard and her husband bought a home outside of Austin …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Wire

Science:

NIH freezes all research grants to Columbia University — Trump administration fires staff for flagship U.S. climate assessment — After April Fools' Day purge, U.S. health agencies spiral into chaos — Sifter — Gene editing fixes DNA—and treats incurable lung and liver disease

Discussion: Bloomberg and Ars Technica

Erich Wagner / GovExec.com:

Trump administration ends union dues collection for most feds without notice — The Trump administration has apparently ceased collecting federal workers' union dues via voluntary payroll deduction at agencies targeted by a recent executive order seeking to strip employees …

Discussion: Nextgov/FCW

The Moscow Times:

Russia Frees U.S.-Russian Dual National Ksenia Karelina in Prisoner Swap With United States — Russia released U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina in a prisoner exchange with the United States early Thursday in Abu Dhabi, U.S. officials confirmed. — “American Ksenia Karelina …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Hill, Reuters, Scripps News, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Associated Press, WHDH-TV, Al Jazeera, CBS News, New York Post, Bloomberg and The Kyiv Independent

President Donald J. Trump / The White House:

Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: — Section 1. Purpose. Overregulation chokes the American economy and stifles personal freedom.

Discussion: New York Post, Axios, Fortune and The Daily Wire

Jory Heckman / Federal News Network:

OPM lacks funds to relocate ‘significant’ number of remote employees in return-to-office plans — The Office of Personnel Management is preparing for a “mass offboarding” of remote employees it didn't exempt from return-to-office plans, as well as employees who accept voluntary separation incentives ahead of layoff plans.

Jonathan Landay / Reuters:

US intelligence investigating whether FBI involved in 2021 Capitol riot — The top U.S. spy's chief of staff on Wednesday said the U.S. intelligence community is investigating whether the FBI was involved in planning the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump.

Josh Funk / Associated Press:

Egg prices increase to record high despite Trump's predictions and bird flu outbreak slowing — U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump's predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.

Discussion: Fortune