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From tariffs to universities, Donald Trump’s negotiating style is often less dealmaking and more coercio

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“Federal funding is a privilege, not a right, for colleges and universities,” said Kush Desai, a White House spokesman.

Such steps were unheard of before Trump took office. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education and an Education Department official under President Barack Obama, said Trump isn’t seeking deals but is “demanding more and more and more.”

“Institutional autonomy is an important part of what makes higher education work,” he said. “It’s what enables universities to pursue the truth without political considerations.”

The Fed has also faced Trump’s wrath. He blames Fed Chair Jerome Powell for moving too slowly to cut interest rates, which could make consumer debt like mortgages and auto loans more affordable. It could also help the U.S. government finance the federal debt that’s expected to climb from the tax cuts that Trump recently signed into law.

Powell has held off on cutting the central bank’s benchmark rate, as Trump’s tariffs could possibly worsen inflation and lower rates could intensify that problem. Desai said the White House believes the Fed should act based on what the data currently shows, which is that “President Trump’s policies have swiftly tamed inflation.”

Although Trump has said he won’t try to fire Powell — a step that might be impossible under the law anyway — he’s called on him to resign. In addition, Trump’s allies have increased their scrutiny of Powell’s management, particularly an expensive renovation of the central bank’s headquarters.

David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said Trump’s approach could undermine the Fed’s credibility by casting a political shadow over its decisions.

“There will be real costs if markets and global investors think the Fed has been beaten into submission by Trump,” he said.

Trump originally wanted to enact sweeping tariffs in April. In his view, import taxes would fix the challenge of the U.S. buying too much from other countries and not selling enough overseas.

After a backlash in financial markets, Trump instituted a three-month negotiating period on tariffs. Peter Navarro, one of his advisers, said the goal was “90 deals in 90 days.”

The administration announced a few trade frameworks with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, but Trump ran out of patience. He’s sent letters to two dozen nations and the European Union informing them of their tariff rates, such as 30% against the EU and Mexico, potentially undercutting the work of his own negotiators.

Desai said Trump’s approach has generated “overwhelming interest” from other countries in reaching trade deals and gives the U.S. leverage in negotiations.

John C. Brown, a professor emeritus of economics at Clark University in Massachusetts, said the “willy-nilly setting of tariffs according to one person’s whims has no precedence in the history of trade policy since the 17th century.”

“It’s just bizarre,” Brown said of Trump’s moves. “No one has done this in history.”

The president has also used the threat of tariffs in an attempt to help political allies and influence other countries’ court systems. He told Brazil that he would implement a 50% tariff if the country didn’t drop its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who like Trump was charged with trying to overturn an election.

Inu Manak, a fellow on trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Trump’s inconsistent approach will foster distrust of U.S. motives.

She noted that two of the letters went to Canada and South Korea, allies who have existing trade agreements with the U.S. approved by Congress.

By imposing new tariffs, she said, Trump is raising “serious questions about the meaning of signing any deal with the United States at all.”

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.



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Last Call for 1.19.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

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Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Did Christina Pushaw break the law by asking gubernatorial candidate James Fishback to delete text messages the two exchanged in recent months?

Maybe.

Pushaw, who earns a $179,000 tax-funded salary as a senior management analyst for Gov. Ron DeSantis, all but confirmed the authenticity of texts between her and Fishback in which she appears to have written, “I need you to confirm that you deleted everything with my name on it.”

The exchange has raised questions about whether she solicited the destruction of public records, which would be illegal if the messages involved her government duties, but likely not if they were strictly campaign-related, as she says.

Fishback posted a screenshot of the exchange following a public blowup between the two after they, according to Pushaw, spoke “frequently” since October about Fishback’s campaign.

On X, Pushaw accused Fishback of deception, writing: “Thanks for proving my point that you have no qualms about lying and revealing private messages. I truly believed that we were friends, and I feel sickened and violated by this betrayal.”

Pushaw, who has worked for DeSantis as both a campaign and government staffer, says she was never paid for advising Fishback and never told the Governor about her communications with Fishback.

In a brief phone interview on Monday, she said none of her messages with Fishback touched her state job.

“I never talked to him about government business,” she said. She declined to explicitly confirm the authenticity of Fishback’s screenshots, including one that referenced her government position.

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—“Donald Trump ties Greenland takeover bid to Nobel Prize in text to Norway leader” via Ellen Francis and Steve Hendrix of The Washington Post

—”Trump’s letter to Norway should be the last straw” via Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic

—”Trump’s Greenland move is one of the dumbest political decisions I have ever seen” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—”The race to build the DeepSeek of Europe is on” via Joel Khalili of WIRED

—”Three maps tell a tale of the 2026 Midterms.” via Ashley Cai and Shane Goldmacher of The New York Times

—”Orlando Sentinel 150: Remembering MLK’s only visit to Orlando in 1964” via the Orlando Sentinel

—“Jeff Brandes: Six ideas Legislature can’t afford to ignore in 2026” via Jeff Brandes for Florida Politics

—”The Indiana-Miami CFP game is the Hollywood tangle we didn’t know we needed” via Steven Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter

—”‘It shaped my DNA’: The very Miami story of Mario Cristobal” via Andrea Adelson of ESPN

—”Two other Hoosiers from Miami are coming home, too — and could play a big role” via David J. Neal and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald

Quote of the Day

“I didn’t vote for this weather.”

Marc Caputo on a frigid morning in Miami.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

Even though it’s booze-free, the Duval delegation could use a Cortisol Cocktail to calm their nerves after a bomb threat landed in their inboxes.

Disney and Universal are getting an Investigators Rite, courtesy of Central Florida Democrats, who are requesting they look into a company that operates independent restaurants on their properties.

Someone should’ve sent an Out of Office for Attorney General James Uthmeier, because he picked an odd day to drop his latest opinion.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Miami plays for national title at home

The Miami Hurricanes try for the program’s first national championship since 2001 when they face top-seeded Indiana at Hard Rock Stadium tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Miami entered the College Football Playoff as the 10th seed and knocked off Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss to reach the finals. The Hurricanes (13-2) have benefitted from a defense that has limited opponents to 14 points per game this season. Defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. was named the ACC defensive player of the year and is a likely Top 10 pick in the NFL Draft.

Indiana (15-0) has enjoyed the greatest season in program history. In the second season under Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have not only won more games than they ever have in a season, but also more than the program ever did in two consecutive seasons combined before Cignetti’s arrival.

The Hoosiers are led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

The two programs have met twice in history, with Indiana winning the first meeting in 1964 and the Hurricanes taking the return match in 1966. The two programs have not met since.

The last time a college football team won the national championship by winning a game on its home field was the Hurricanes, who won the Orange Bowl following the 1987 season to win the program’s second of five national championships.

___

Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.





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James Fishback ordered to turn over Azoria stock, luxury items to pay $229K court judgment

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Gubernatorial candidate James Fishback’s legal woes are deepening.

A federal magistrate Judge has ordered Fishback, the founder and CEO of Azoria Capital, to turn over company stock certificates and a slate of luxury purchases to the U.S. Marshals Service by the end of the month as payment on a $229,000 judgment to his former employer, Greenlight Capital.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Fitzpatrick of the Northern District of Florida granted two unopposed motions by Greenlight after Fishback failed to respond by a court-ordered deadline.

It’s the latest escalation in a dispute between Greenlight and Fishback, a former analyst for the hedge fund who has made more headlines recently for his race-baiting rhetoric in the Governor’s race, allegations of grooming, multistate voter registration and public blowup with Gov. Ron DeSantis adviser Christina Pushaw.

Greenlight told the court that Fishback still owes it money under a June 2025 court order. The firm asked the court in late November to compel Fishback to surrender his stock or share certificates in Azoria Capital, Inc., a Delaware corporation Greenlight described as founded by Fishback and controlled by him at “75% or more.”

Because Fishback did not oppose the request, the court granted it and directed him to “locate, obtain, and turn over” all Azoria stock and/or share certificates to the U.S. Marshals Service by Jan. 30.

The Marshals Service, in turn, is ordered to sell the stock for the benefit of Greenlight as the judgment creditor. Fitzpatrick warned Fishback that federal courts have inherent authority to enforce orders and cautioned that ignoring the directive could place him “in danger of being held in contempt of court.”

Fitzpatrick also granted a second motion by Greenlight seeking the turnover of personal property belonging to Fishback. The firm alleged that Fishback claimed he lacked means to pay the $229,000 judgment while making more than $37,000 in debit card purchases over 16 months through a previously undisclosed JPMorgan Chase account.

The court summarized transactions at retailers including eBay, Nordstrom, Burberry, Bucherer and others, but noted it did not know what exactly Fishback purchased. Still, Fitzpatrick described the spending as “extravagant” and found that Fishback, by not responding by the deadline, waived his chance to argue the items were exempt or not personal property.

Under the order, Fishback must turn over 43 items listed in the motion paper, along with a list, to the Marshals Service by Jan. 30. The Marshals must hold the items for 30 days, allowing Greenlight’s lawyers to retrieve and sell them as partial satisfaction of the judgment.

Fishback worked at Greenlight from 2021 to 2023, after which he and the company became embroiled in a very public dispute over how he described his role there. He said he was “head of macro” for Greenlight, while the New York hedge fund insisted no such title ever existed and that the loftiest role Fishback held was as a research analyst.

Greenlight alleged that Fishback misrepresented his position to boost credibility and attract investors for Azoria. Fishback, meanwhile, argued Greenlight’s denial harmed him with potential backers and pointed to internal communications he says support his version of events.

He did, however, admit to sharing confidential Greenlight portfolio information and agreed to pay costs to resolve a separate lawsuit.

Trustees of a white-label exchange-traded fund (ETF) under Tidal Financial Group also voted in October to liquidate two Azoria ETFs — SPXM and TSLV, which together held about $40 million in assets — after Fishback admitted to sharing the information.

Between when he launched his campaign on Nov. 24 and Dec. 31, when fourth-quarter bookkeeping closed, Fishback reported raising less than $19,000 through his campaign account and nothing through an affiliated political committee.

Fishback is seeking the Republican nomination for Governor. The race’s poll-tested front-runner, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, amassed $45 million last quarter.



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Anna Eskamani hits $1M fundraising milestone for Orlando Mayor race

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Rep. Anna Eskamani says she has raised more than $1 million so far as she tries to become the next Orlando Mayor.

The Orlando Democrat says she hit the milestone last week as lawmakers returned to Tallahassee for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session.

Term-limited in the House, Eskamani is running in 2027 to replace Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who is not running for re-election.

“This campaign is powered by everyday Orlandoans who believe our city can be more affordable, more connected, and safer for everyone,” Eskamani said in a statement.

“Raising over one million dollars from thousands of grassroots donors sends a clear message: people are ready for leadership that listens, leads with integrity, solves problems, and puts community first. Together, we’re building a movement that reflects the heart of Orlando and delivers real results for working families.”

Her campaign has given out 900 yard signs and knocked on more than 33,000 doors in the city, according to a press release.

So far, no other established candidates have filed to run against Eskamani, although she has drawn her first competitor on the ballot: Abdelnasser Lutfi.

Lutfi, who filed to run for Mayor in late December, was not immediately available when reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Eskamani and Lutfi are running to replace Dyer, the longest-serving Mayor in Orlando’s history. Dyer was first elected in 2003.

Eskamani also said she is launching a podcast called “Twinning with Anna and Ida” with her twin sister. 

Every episode will unpack economic public policy issues that are critically important to everyone, but aren’t always well understood by the vast majority of people — often because they have been made intentionally opaque by politicians and the corporations who fund them to benefit from the complex system,” a press release said.

“But they will also have some fun along the way, from exposing a ‘grift of the month’ in Florida politics to exploring the punk rock scene in Orlando.”



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