National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said in an interview with ABC News' "This Week" that the tariffs are not meant to start a trade war. "What happened was that we launched a drug war, not a trade war, and it was part of the negotiation to get Canada and Mexico to stop shipping fentanyl across our borders," Hassett said.

The leaders of both Canada and Mexico got on the phone with President Donald Trump this past week to seek solutions after he slapped tariffs on their countries, but China’s president appears unlikely to make a similar call soon.

The US is "doing very well with Russia", and "it may be easier dealing with" Moscow than Kyiv, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. Hours earlier, Trump had said he was "strongly considering" large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire with Ukraine was reached.

US President Donald Trump has stated that no one has been as tough on Russia as he has. Source: Trump in an interview with Fox News, as reported by European Pravda Details: Trump was responding to criticism that he is siding with Moscow in Russia's war against Ukraine.

President Trump is threatening sweeping economic sanctions on Russia after a night of heavy airstrikes on Ukraine, targeting the country's energy infrastructure. The U.S. and Ukraine are preparing for peace talks,