At Cabinet, Trump repeated his lie about how a water issue is worsening the California fires: 
Trump complimented Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for saying the California fires are "not a global warming thing."
Trump boasts about how, "last week," he got Pfizer to delay a planned drug-price increase. That happened five weeks ago. Trump habitually moves up the date of good news.
Trump asked Jeff Sessions to file a federal lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies over opioids, rather than having the government join existing state lawsuits.
Trump said that his tariffs on China are probably hurting his efforts with North Korea "a little bit," but he "had no choice" about angering China because of how unfair the trade situation is.
Trump falsely claimed that there's been a $500 billion trade deficit with China "for years and years and years." That has not happened once.
This is his 53rd false claim about the trade deficit with China.
This is his 53rd false claim about the trade deficit with China.
Trump on Canada's high dairy tariffs: "We're taking care of that situation pretty easily." (They are not taking care of that situation.)
Lighthizer said he's hopeful of a NAFTA breakthrough with Mexico in the next "several days."
Trump told him to not make a deal if he doesn't have a breakthrough, because NAFTA is "lousy" and "we have much better alternatives than that."
Trump told him to not make a deal if he doesn't have a breakthrough, because NAFTA is "lousy" and "we have much better alternatives than that."
Lighthizer: "In this particular case, the best alternative may be to get a good agreement."
Trump: "OK."
Trump: "OK."
Trump on NAFTA talks: "We're not negotiating with Canada right now. Their tariffs are too high, their barriers are too strong, so we're not even talking to them right now. We'll see how that works out. It'll only work out to our favour."
Canadian, Mexican and US officials have been insisting that Canada isn't being frozen out of NAFTA talks, that the US and Mexico are just working out their own issues. Trump suggests it's a freeze-out.
My phrasing here wasn't totally clear - "not a global warming thing" was Trump's paraphrase of Zinke, not a new Zinke quote. Zinke previously said "this has nothing to do with climate change," then said this morning "of course" climate change is a factor.
