The White House defended Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after reports cited MAGA allies criticizing him for the tumultuous season of tariffs.
Politico published a story blaming Lutnick after a week of bad economic headlines for the president, citing five people close to the administration.
But the White House told DailyMail.com that Lutnick continued to serve as a valued member of Trump’s team.
‘Lutnick remains well-regarded and a key member of the team along with everyone else enacting the President’s trade agenda,’ a White House source told DailyMail.com, insisting the Politico story was ‘not accurate.’
Lutnick is frequently seen at the president’s side, including on travel to Mar-a-Lago with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and the president’s senior advisor Elon Musk.
White House sources claimed they had personally witnessed Lutnick’s ‘bonhomie’ with Trump’s close tariff advisor Peter Navarro, the prickly defender of the president’s tariff policies.
Navarro defend Trump’s see-saw tariff announcements on Tuesday, telling a Sky News reporter to ‘just stop that crap’ when the reporter asserted that Trump was ‘changing his mind all the time.’
‘Stop that crap! That’s a bunch of crap,’ Navarro replied to the reporter and added, ‘It’s a negotiation, my friend.’
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks next to U.S. President Donald Trump,
U.S. President Donald Trump’s aide Walt Nauta, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel and Assistant to the President Taylor Budowich, and U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz
But sources close to the White House increasingly view Lutnick as part of the problem, citing his close proximity to the president and leadership role with negotiating the tariffs.
Now Lutnick is emerging as a fierce defender the president’s tariffs taking on a lengthy interview with CBS news host Nancy Cordes on Tuesday.
‘These policies are the most important thing America has ever had,’ Lutnick said when Cortes asked him if tariffs were still ‘worth it’ even if it tipped the economy into a recession.
‘It is worth it,’ he said. ‘The only reason there could possibly be a recession is because of the Biden nonsense that we had to live with.’
Lutnick cited Trump’s successful hard-nosed dealing with Ontario Prime Minster Doug Ford who tried to bully Trump by leveling additional tariffs on power exports to the United States, but ultimately had to abandon his proposal.
Wall Street did not react kindly to the whipsaw negotiations, as the stock market declined seven percent and consumer confidence dropped.
‘It is not chaotic,’ Lutnick said. ‘And the only one who thinks it’s chaotic is someone who’s being silly.’
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Howard Lutnick, on the day Lutnick is sworn in as U.S. Commerce Secretary
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick speaks to reporters after US President Donald Trump delivered his address to a joint session of Congress
Lutnick, the former CEO of the Wall Street financial investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is a former Democrat, which Trump mentioned during the commerce secretary’s swearing in ceremony.
‘Even though he spent a little bit of his time in life as a Democrat from New York, I’m OK with it because I knew him during his Democrat days and that’s okay,’ he commented.
Trump said he was confident that Lutnick would help him bring the American economy back, asserting he would ‘lead the charge’ on his tariff and trade agenda.
‘There is no deal you can do that’s bigger. Every deal. That’s why you can never go back into business because it seems like small potatoes, no matter how big it is, including even Cantor Fitzgerald,’ Trump joked.
Lutnick was Trump’s transition co-chair who had the ear of the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and said he was helping with some of the personnel decisions.
‘Jared Kushner is a big help to me … he’s absolutely helping me,’ said Lutnick to System Update reporter Michael Tracey in October.
Lutnick was initially considered for Treasury Secretary but ultimately Trump chose Scott Bessent for the job. The commerce position was seen as a consolation prize for Lutnick.
Elon Musk, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House chief of staff Susan Wiles walk at the White House
nited States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent converse prior to US President Donald J Trump’s remarks at the White House
Lutnick, who is familiar with Wall Street, urged CEOs to be patient with the president as he got aggressive with tariffs.
‘The markets are going to learn, let the dealmaker make his deals,’ he said in the interview with CBS.
Trump frequently turns to Lutnick in meetings, asking him to detail some of the proposals from the administration.
The proposed ‘gold card’ visa program proposed to replace EB-5 visas was seen as a brain child of Lutnick who has repeatedly been the lead spokesperson on the idea.
The program would allow wealthy foreigners to spend $5 million to earn permanent legal residency in the United State and a pathway to citizenship.
