Here's transcript of Lighthizer interview on "Face the Nation." cbsnews.com/news/transcrip… Now let's look more closely at how a Trump official misleads on TV. 1/n
Host Margaret Brennan reacts with appropriate skepticism to Trump official claim that China will more than double its US agriculture purchases over next two years. 2/n 
Lighthizer responds to this very specific question from Margaret Brennan with a great spray of misdirecting blather. 3/n
Some minutes later, Brennan yanks Lighthizer back to reality about the $50 billion claim. 4/n
And here is the exact moment where the scam is executed that will drive false headlines.
5/n
5/n
What is "in writing" according to Lighthizer is not the Chinese promise. What is "in writing" is the Trump administration wish list! 6/n
It's the Trump *wish list* that adds up to the huge numbers spouted by Lighthizer. But the misleading way in which Lighthizer spoke generated headlines like 7/n
This is tough for reporters, I get it. But when you are dealing with people who have proven they cannot be trusted - you should not report on them as if they were trustworthy. 8/n
Trump tariffs cost the typical US household $800 a year, wiping out almost all the benefit that the typical family got from the 2017 tax cut. 9/n
Trump tariffs were cushioned by a $28 billion bailout to US farmers, DOUBLE what the US auto sector got in 2009. The US auto sector repaid its bailout. The farmers never will. 10/n
The IMF estimates that the Trump tariffs did $700 billion of damage to the world economy - including driving Japan to edge of recession. 11/n
Trump officials are anxious to create the appearance that their trade policy is something better than a fiasco, that they scored some big win. That's why they announced the "deal" without releasing the deal's text: to create an opportunity to misrepresent and mislead 12/n
They administration has attempted this scam again and again. And why not? It keeps working.
- END -
- END -
