Trump moves with the democrats on trade

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“The days of being soft on China are over,” said Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist for Mr. Trump, who shaped the economic message of his 2016 campaign and has warned repeatedly about the dangers posed by China. “Politics now drives the economics.”

Bashing China is a well-worn election-year tactic for both Democrats and Republicans. But Mr. Trump has upended the usual practice by pursuing actions against China that are every bit as aggressive as his campaign messaging. His protectionist instincts defy mainstream Republican orthodoxy and align him more with progressives like Senators Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts.

Mr. Sanders has vowed to label China a currency manipulator — something Mr. Trump had promised to do during his campaign but was talked out of by advisers. And he has criticized Mr. Biden for voting for permanent normal trade relations with China and for saying, during a recent campaign stop in Iowa: “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man.” “It’s wrong to pretend that China isn’t one of our major economic competitors,” Mr. Sanders said in a tweet. “When we are in the White House, we will win that competition by fixing our trade policies.”

Several of Mr. Trump’s current and former aides — including Mr. Bannon and Peter Navarro, his trade adviser — have long argued that being tough with China and never accepting a deal is the right course. They were countered by more mainstream figures like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow, the president’s chief economic adviser, who warned Mr. Trump that a prolonged trade war would buffet both the economy and financial markets.

In recent weeks, however, Mr. Trump’s campaign advisers have also started to echo the no-compromise approach, according to a former official. That, combined with Mr. Biden’s potential political weakness on China, has shifted Mr. Trump’s thinking away from those who urged a deal.

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