Donald Trump’s aides and allies scrambled Friday to put a positive spin on the president’s threat to hit Mexico with new tariffs, fearing that the move could cost him his strongest re-election talking point — the economy.

Trump made the move late Thursday, overriding the concerns of several top aides, including U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and catching his surrogates off guard. In the hours that followed, the Trump campaign and some White House aides were slow to respond to questions about the decision, a sharp contrast to the coordinated messaging that came after other recent major news events, including the end of the Russia probe and Trump’s recent immigration policy rollout.

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The reaction illustrated Trump’s isolation on the issue and the degree to which the president was freelancing — the rollout of the decision was not fully prepared when Trump tweeted about it. It wasn’t just White House aides who opposed the move. Prominent Republicans lashed out, business leaders sounded the alarm and the president’s biggest campaign supporters openly acknowledged their anxiety.

Scott Jennings, who worked under President George W. Bush and is close to the Trump White House, said Trump will get credit from his base, but conceded that he is “extraordinarily nervous” about the possible economic effect of the tariffs. Stocks took a hit Friday as jittery business leaders warned that the tactic was woefully misguided, damaging American consumers and likely resulting in retaliatory tariffs by Mexico.

“If the economy slows down and ceases to be red hot, that’s going to make it hard to be re-elected,” Jennings said.

By midday Friday, Trump allies had settled on their message: Trump was taking decisive action to cut illegal immigration, even if it meant threatening the U.S. economy in the short run. And they stressed that the economy has stayed strong despite similar dire warnings every time Trump previously imposed tariffs.

“The president has been doing these disruptive actions and the threats of these disruptive actions for two years and the economy is the strongest it’s been in half a century,” said Bryan Lanza, who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and transition and remains close to the White House. “Economists don’t know how to mold around President Trump.”

Trump on Thursday said he would impose a 5 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico starting on June 10 unless the country takes actions to stop Central American migrants from entering the U.S. If Trump remains unsatisfied with Mexico’s actions, he said he will jump the tariffs each month until they hit 25 percent on Oct. 1.

It’s not the first time Trump has used the threat of tariffs to try and bully a country into taking action. He favors using tariffs because they are immediate and don’t need congressional approval, according to people familiar with his thinking. The president has previously imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and on metals from Europe and Japan.

This time, Stephen Miller, the administration’s most influential advocate for stricter immigration policies, was the most vocal White House aide pushing to hit Mexico with tariffs. On the other side were aides, including Lighthizer, who opposed the move in part because it could risk a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, a top legislative priority.

A White House official said the aides who opposed the tariffs weren’t vocal enough when they spoke to Trump, perhaps because the tariffs won’t go into effect until June 10, giving Mexico time to act. When recently meeting with staff about the issue, Trump had made up his mind on the issue, but did ask senior advisers if anyone disagreed with the policy, the official said.

Trump has grown more frustrated in recent months with his administration’s inability to halt the surge of immigrants crossing the southern border, one of his signature 2016 campaign promises.

He has long considered tariffs in retaliation for what he believes is the Mexican government’s failure to stem the tide of immigrants coming into the U.S., which has reached its highest level in years. U.S. Border Patrol arrested nearly 99,000 migrants at the border in April, many from Central America.

But his announcement frustrated aides who think tariffs will drive up costs of consumer goods, hurt the broader economy and jeopardize the trading relationship with the U.S.’s neighbor and ally. Trump has said that he thinks tariffs are paid by the U.S.’s trading partners but economists say that Americans are actually paying for them.

After Trump made his decision Thursday, aides began to plan for the rollout — which had not been fully prepared — by contacting Republican lawmakers and holding a conference call with reporters.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump is “the only one who’s stepping up” to try to stop rising immigration at the southern border. Campaign spokesman Kayleigh McEnany said “President Trump’s tariffs are a necessary step to catalyze action.”

Trump surrogates were sent an email Friday with talking points titled “President Trump Takes Decisive Action to Secure the Border and Keep Our Nation Safe.”

And Trump, as he often does, began his own messaging strategy on Twitter.

“Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades. Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD,” he wrote. “Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!”

Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO — After decades of taking a backseat in presidential politics, California is finally occupying the pivotal role it’s long envisioned for itself.

The state’s Super Tuesday primary could decide the Democratic nominee. And this weekend, California becomes the center of the political universe as the biggest gathering of presidential hopefuls to date crashes the nation’s largest state party gathering.

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With nearly 500 Democratic delegates at stake in the March 3 primary — the highest number of any state — the California Democratic Party’s mega-convention is important enough to pull more than half of the 23-candidate field out of the early presidential states and into Moscone Convention Center for three days of events.

The prospective rewards are tantalizingly rich: there are 8.6 million Democratic voters in the state, and the convention is expected to draw a crowd of at least 5,000 activist delegates and guests, in addition to at least 300 national media starting Friday.

Yet the convention is not without its risks — candidates will have to tread carefully in their attempts to woo the convention’s uber-activists, who are widely viewed as tacking far to the left of most Democrats in California, and across the nation.

“The delegates that make up the California Democratic Party are the foot soldiers, and the heart of activism — but they are not a microcosm of Democrats” in California or the nation, says David Jacobson, a Democratic strategist. And within the “beautiful tapestry’’ of Democratic diversity, he says, there’s “a battle within the ultimate insider activist universe.’’

California’s activist Democrats are famous for raucous convention floor demonstrations; they’ve shouted down former Gov. Jerry Brown on fracking, booed Senator Dianne Feinstein for her stance on capital punishment, and given centrist Democratic presidential candidates like John Kerry and Joe Lieberman the thumbs down for backing the war in Iraq.

Already, there are suggestions that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a hero to many in the party, may be challenged on the floor by high-profile party progressives over her position on impeachment. Extra security has been called to staff a Saturday morning meeting of the California Democratic Women’s Caucus, where Bernie Sanders supporters have reportedly planned demonstrations of their own as Pelosi is expected to speak.

California-based billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer — whose NeedtoImpeach.com organization has amassed 8 million signatures in support of impeachment — said he will not hold back when he addresses the delegates on Saturday, the same day as Pelosi.

As California Democrats assess potential presidential candidates, “whether we choose to impeach the President is a very real question,’’ Steyer says. “I don’t think we should trim our sails to please Donald John Trump…I don’t think we should be waiting for approval from [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell or [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy. Forget it.’’

Steyer says the convention will be an opportunity to show the nation that “California has a functioning democracy. California is about a straightforward, progressive agenda where we get things done.”

Yet the weekend events may be dominated by coverage of one presidential candidate, California Senator Kamala Harris, who gets the plum opening time slot at addressing the convention’s general session on Saturday morning — and whose reception as the state’s favorite daughter will be closely monitored.

On Wednesday, her campaign released endorsements of 33 members of the state Assembly, including Speaker Anthony Rendon — and many of those backers, more than half of the state’s legislative body, will be in the convention hall. On Friday, Harris released even more names, including former state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, who unsuccessfully challenged Feinstein in 2018.

“She’s looking forward to being home,’’ says Harris senior advisor Debbie Mesloh, who says Harris enjoys “a history with the delegates, and with the convention” that has delivered her wildly enthusiastic receptions in the past, and overwhelming endorsements in her most recent Senate race.

Harris, who served two terms as state attorney general, will use her time to “be reminding people of what she can do’’ in the White House — from defending LGBTQ rights and health care to using prosecutorial skills to root out corruption, she said.

Harris’ presidential rivals aren’t ceding the state to her. Thirteen other Democratic contenders will deliver speeches and compete for the attention of convention delegates, among them Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, Reps. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Eric Swalwell of California, as well as former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, all have speaking slots as well.

One notable absence is former Vice President Joe Biden, who is keeping his distance from the events. The party’s frontrunner has announced he is instead hitting the Ohio Human Rights Campaign dinner — apparently unconcerned that some state headlines may accuse him of blowing off California.

“He’s leading in the polls, he’s well known in California. He’s been on the statewide ballot twice with Barack Obama — you can’t really have a better position,’’ says Democratic consultant Rose Kapolczynski. “It’s not really going to hurt him, not being part of this cattle call.”

Biden insiders say he may have wanted to avoid a noisy chorus of boos from progressive activists — and the potentially divisive politics that may erupt during the California Democrats’ convention. That includes an election to determine the next state party chair — a contest that pits Sanders backer Kimberly Ellis against centrist labor leader Rusty Hicks and party Vice Chair Daraka Larimore Hall — which could expose some bitter political Democratic fault lines, even as it determines who will lead the party’s message and money in the crucial cycle ahead.

Already, there are signs that tension between progressives and more centrist forces in the party could turn into national headlines.

A coalition of powerhouse California construction labor unions plan a loud Saturday protest to underscore their growing opposition to the Green New Deal — which has been passionately embraced by progressives but which labor believes will cost tens of thousands of California workers’ jobs.

“The California Building Trades and their hardworking friends are coming to the convention under the banner of #bluecollarrevolution to remind attendees who built this party,’’ says Erin Lehane, a spokeswoman for the union which represents more than 400,000 state workers.

Tim Miller, a former advisor for GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, said the divides underscore that California Democrats should tread lightly this weekend, and avoid pushing their presidential candidates too far out of the mainstream — a lesson some Republicans have learned the hard way in the past.

“The Democrats are risking making the same mistake that Ted Cruz made in 2016 — thinking that the entire party base wants their candidates to have the most extreme positions on every issue,’’ he said. “That’s hurting them in the primaries and maybe why Biden is doing so well. And it will hurt them in the general when they are making statements that give fodder to the Republicans.”

If the weekend events get too fiery, “Donald Trump will come out the winner,’’ predicted one major Democratic strategist who has represented national candidates, and declined to speak on record.

The strategist said the California convention’s far-left leanings will almost certainly deliver additional Twitter material to a president who has repeatedly targeted the state and its governor, Gavin Newsom, for criticism — and is already attempting to label Democrats as crazed “socialists,” open border backers and abortion advocates more consumed with investigations than delivering jobs or legislative action.

Kapolczynski insists that the sheer numbers — and donor money — represented in California make the state convention a must-visit for most.

“Republicans love to campaign against California — and they have for decades. But that doesn’t change the fact that we are a major source of contributions to Democratic candidates, a major source of volunteers for candidates, and an important place to get your message out nationally,’’ she says.

It may be an especially important venue for candidates who are struggling in the polls, affording them the big media moment supplied by California’s high-profile stage to get some traction, Kapolczynski said.

That’s a lesson learned from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who in the 2008 presidential race used the California Democratic convention to deliver a speech that catapulted him into the headlines — and into the hearts of progressives — by defining himself as a representative of “the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.”

Jacobson says that the end game in California will be the March primary — and this weekend provides the first stepping stone to that key date.

“California is a juggernaut when it comes to delegates…and no candidate should take for granted the most dynamic, diverse, most populous and most delegate-rich state in the union,’’ he says. “Period. I don’t care who you are.”

Federal regulators’ murky response to the rapid legalization of the hemp extract CBD has created a patchwork of state responses — ranging from broadly permissive to raids on retailers and seizures of trailers loaded with lucrative leaf.



At a meeting Friday, FDA panelists asked pharmaceutical companies and patient organizations whether the widespread availability of off-the-shelf CBD products — ranging from pet food to skin oils touted as salves for all sorts of ailments — had an impact on efforts to research and develop cannabis-based medicines. But companies that want to use CBD as medicine countered that federal red tape is what’s holding up progress on developing drugs.

Confusion about the status of CBD dates back to December, when Congress’s farm bill threw a curve ball at regulators and state officials. It legalized hemp production nationwide, and with it the plant’s most profitable byproduct, the non-intoxicating drug cannibidiol, or CBD. The chemical also is found in marijuana, which is still banned under federal law, though plentiful in 33 states that have legalized it for either medical or recreational use.



The FDA has reminded Congress that there was already one approved product containing CBD — a prescription drug for two specific forms of childhood epilepsy — but that it needed at least a year to make federal rules that reflected the oil’s safety and effectiveness, as a medical product or a low-dose additive for foods, ranging from lattes to waffles.

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In the meantime, states are working on their own rules to handle the growing number of farmers and retailers hoping to cash in on CBD. It’s already a $1.5 billion market, and it should expand to $16 billion by 2025, according to Cowen analyst Vivien Azer.



“State legislators and policymakers are responding to the ground truth in their own backyards and doing a range of things,” said Coleen Klasmeier, an attorney with Sidley Austin LLP who represents industry clients. “More needs to happen at the federal level before anyone can do anything long term.”

Like snake oil salesmen of yore, some advocates claim the compound is good for what ails you — everything from insomnia to diabetes to PTSD, Parkinson’s disease, addiction, anxiety and depression. And that doesn’t even include the skin and beauty products.

Hemp and marijuana are two versions of the same plant. Marijuana, which is distinguished by containing at least 0.3 percent of the psychoactive extract THC that gives people a high, remains in the federal government’s most-restricted drug class.

While the FDA is responsible for only a section of the CBD regulatory maze, that realm is large, and federal lawmakers, growing frustrated with the uncertainty in their own states, have called on the agency to speed up its plans.

FDA has approved only one CBD-based drug, the epilepsy treatment, but off-the-shelf medical claims have run wild. So far the FDA has taken a whack-a-mole approach, dishing out warning letters to manufacturers that make unsubstantiated cancer-killing or Alzheimer’s-treating claims but largely leaving the rest of the industry alone.

The Department of Agriculture, which would regulate hemp production itself, has promised to issue a framework this year. Other agencies, from the Drug Enforcement Administration to the Department of Transportation, have been thrust into the debate as states take aggressive steps to confiscate supplies or stop hemp-carting 18-wheelers from traveling across borders.

“In addition to the fact that you’ve got states moving in different directions, you got multiple federal agencies that are still trying to sort through the regulatory framework for these products,” said Michael Werner, a lobbyist with clients in the CBD industry. “So the whole thing right now is extraordinarily confusing.”

FDA has “outlined a step-wise approach to evaluate the regulatory strategy to determine whether it is safe to include CBD in foods or other consumer products,” Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy tweeted this month. “The goal is to do this as quickly as possible without risking public health.”

In one of his last Congressional testimonies, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb suggested one scenario: that potent CBD be regulated as a pharmaceutical requiring FDA approval, while low-dose products stay on the shelves.

GW Pharmaceuticals, which makes the CBD-based epilepsy drug Epidiolex, wants the agency to provide incentives to manufacturers developing cannabis-based medicines, said CEO Justin Gover. He’s concerned that the widespread availability of CBD would slacken pharmaceutical interest in researching its medical value, a worry also raised by Gottlieb.

Friday’s FDA meeting won’t resolve any big issues but might help crystallize the complex issues involved, said Ian Stewart, a California lawyer with Wilson Elser who represents CBD clients. “Even if the meeting is a disaster and nothing comes out of it, that’s not going to stop the industry.”

A coalition of multistate CBD manufacturers will make the case at the meeting that states have already laid the groundwork for CBD regulation. They have pathways for approving cannabis producers and retailers and in some cases are even requiring bar codes that allow tracking of products.

“It has often been the FDA’s perspective to funnel everything towards this safety issue. But you can stand back for a minute and say ‘wait, this product has been consumed this way for five years, it’s been regulated at the state level, and there have not been serious incidences,” said Jessica Wasserman, a partner with Greenspoon Marder who is advising the coalition.

But only 33 states have legalized marijuana in some form, and not all have built those frameworks that can translate to CBD.

Instead, states have taken a variety of approaches as CBD has blossomed in popularity. Laws range from “this is legal” to banning it as if it were a controlled substance “even though it’s not,” said Jonathan Havens, co-founder of the Cannabis Law Practice at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP.

Earlier this year South Dakota passed a bill removing FDA-approved CBD drugs from a list of controlled substances. Soon after, South Dakota’s attorney general issued a news release saying all forms of industrial hemp and CBD remain illegal in the state, with the exception of Epidiolex.

However, some county attorneys say they won’t prosecute such cases. “I do not think CBDs are illegal under South Dakota law,” said Mark Vargo, Pennington County state’s attorney.

In Maine, meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill that would allow manufacturers to add CBD to food. The bill is a response to a crackdown from the Maine health department ordering the products pulled off the shelves, but contradicts FDA guidance.

Georgia passed a law in May that also establishes a state-regulated industry for hemp farming and CBD oil sales. But the state’s agriculture commissioner, Gary Black, said FDA regulations bar Georgia retailers from selling food products or dietary supplements with CBD.

In Texas, lawmakers are trying to toe the line between opening the door to legal hemp production, a profitable business for farmers, while keeping the door shut on marijuana.

Retailers — and farmers — are confused, said state Rep. Tracy King, a Democratic lawmaker who represents a rural South Texas district and authored a bill, which establishes a state-regulated hemp industry. Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to indicate whether he will sign the bill.

Until then, the sale of CBD products will remain illegal in Texas, said Shannon Edmonds, director of governmental relations at the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.

The patchwork of regulation has also created headaches for national retailers that want to stock their shelves with profitable CBD oils.

Lazarus Naturals, which sells CBD products online to individuals and other retailers, doesn’t face any legal issues in Oregon, where it’s based, but warns customers in other states that CBD is still a “high risk” product, said Dylan Summers, the company’s director of government affairs.

“Unfortunately if your local law enforcement is saying you can’t do it, there’s not much we can say,” said Summers. “It’s a tricky situation.”