Donald Trump’s Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, was left scrambling when CNN’s Dana Bash asked her to name a single trade deal the president has made. The exchange highlighted the lack of concrete achievements behind Trump’s claims of negotiating “200 deals.”
Rollins was on CNN’s State of the Union when Bash reminded her of Trump’s boast in a Time magazine interview: “The president told Time magazine, quote, ‘I have made 200 deals.'” Bash pressed Rollins: “Has he actually inked any trade deals and with whom?”
Instead of answering, Rollins shifted to a discussion about egg prices, a hot topic in the 2024 election. Bash quickly cut in: “Let’s focus on the trade and on the deals.”
Rollins finally responded, saying, “Yes, for sure,” and continued: “On the deals, we have 100 countries that are knocking on the door, I believe. I’m not in the room, I’m not negotiating the trade deals, but my understanding is we should have several this week that are coming forward that are very, very close.”
Rollins also mentioned, “China is a very important one… Every day we are in conversation with China, along with those other 99 countries that have come to the table.” She went on, saying many countries had already visited Washington to meet with top officials like Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. “There is a tremendous amount of progress on all fronts that we’ll see again more this week,” she claimed.
When Bash pressed again, asking about the alleged daily talks with China, Rollins hesitated. “Well, according to our team in Washington, the conversations are ongoing regarding multiples of trade,” she said. “But the bottom line with China is this: they need us more than we need them. They need our money, they need our markets, they need our consumers and all of the above.”
Despite her lengthy response, Rollins couldn’t name a single signed trade deal. Instead, she ended by praising Trump’s deal-making abilities, saying, “He is the ultimate dealmaker.”
Watch the exchange in the video below from CNN:
