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Sophia Ankel
Feb 25, 2019

Picture:
David Lammy/Twitter
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of president Trump is clueless in the White House.
Today's events take place in the Oval Office, where a heated exchange erupted between the president and his top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, as they publicly negotiated a trade agreement with Chinese officials.
The debate arose while the two discussed the meaning of so-called "memorandums of understanding" (or MOUs) and how long they would last in a trade deal, in front of cameras on Friday.
Trump told reporters that they would be: "Very short term. I don't like MOUs because they don't mean anything. To me, they don't mean anything".
But Lighthizer, turning to camera's, responded:
An MOU is a binding agreement between two people.
It’s detailed. It covers everything in great detail. It’s a legal term. It’s a contract.
Quickly, Trump fired back, saying (brace yourself, because this is wordy and possibly doesn't make any sense at all):
By the way I disagree.
We’re doing a memorandum of understanding that will be put into a final contract, I assume. But to me, the final contract is really the thing Bob, and I think you mean that too, is really the thing that means something. A memorandum of understanding is exactly that, it’s a memorandum of what our understanding is.
Before quickly adding:
The real question is, Bob… how long will it take to put that into a final binding contract
Lighthizer, who can tell that Trump is struggling, helps to break it down for him, agreeing:
From now on, we’re not using the word ‘memorandum of understanding' anymore.
We’re going to use the term ‘trade agreement’ … We’re never going to use MOU again.
Let's have a closer look at that, shall we?
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The Chinese vice premier, who is sitting next to Lighthizer, is seen laughing as the exchange carried on.
After the clash, Lighthizer apparently had a private talking to from the president, who said the incident left him "embarrassed", according to a Bloomberg report.
It seems like the president wasn't the only one that was ashamed, as many took to Twitter to express their shock at the public dispute.
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The Oval Office discussion came as Trump sis trying to finalise a trade deal between the US and China that would avoid additional tariffs.

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