There has never been such a clown show. Lighthizer, des...

There has never been such a clown show.

Lighthizer, desperate, tries to lecture his boss, and then renames his "Memorandum of Understanding" a "Trade Agreement".

Why? Because Trump thinks the agreement is binding if it is called "Trade Agreement" and not binding if it is called "Memorandum of Understanding":

Jennifer Jacobs and Justin Sink: Trump's Trade Chief Lectures His Boss and Gets Earful in Return: "Negotiators have been drafting MOUs.... Trump told gathered reporters that the memorandums would 'be very short term. I don���t like MOUs because they don���t mean anything. To me, they don���t mean anything'.... Lighthizer then jumped in to defend the strategy, with Trump looking on. 'An MOU is a binding agreement... detailed.... It���s a legal term. It���s a contract'.... But the president, unswayed, fired back at Lighthizer. 'By the way I disagree', Trump said. The top Chinese negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, laughed out loud...

...���The real question is, Bob,��� Trump said, ���how long will it take to put that into a final binding contract?���... Lighthizer eventually deferred to his boss. ���From now on we���re not using the word memorandum of understanding anymore. We���re going to use the term trade agreement,��� Lighthizer told reporters. ���We���ll have the same document. It���s going to be called a trade agreement.��� He then turned to Liu to ask if the Chinese would accommodate the new terminology, winning a nod from the Chinese leader. ���Good, I like that term much better,��� Trump said, before again complaining that memorandums of understanding were not that meaningful...

#noted