President Trump has reportedly bashed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as being “past his prime” amid tensions within the administration over trade negotiations with China in recent weeks.
Trump’s remarks toward the 80-year-old agency head come as Trump has reportedly kept Ross sidelined for key talks with China, according to Politico. {mosads}
Though Trump once hailed his longtime friend Ross, a billionaire investor and trade magnate, as a champion of America-first trade policies, he now says Ross is “no longer a killer.”
Ross is still working with the president on some trade issues, but Trump has reportedly largely bypassed the secretary in top-priority negotiations, and Ross was initially not invited to a May summit with Chinese trade officials led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, multiple sources told Politico.
Ross is still working on tasks such as researching potential foreign car tariffs.