According to Politico, people close to the White House say Mr. Bescent, the US Treasury secretary, is now in charge of trade. Mr. Navarro, the populist trade adviser, has meanwhile been sidelined, while Mr. Lutnik, the Wall Street punching bag commerce secretary, has been rebranded as "bad cop" - a tough, tough role. This reflects the turmoil this week over Mr. Trump's trade policies and the shift towards the "fair trade" that Mr. Bescent has championed. One person close to Mr. Trump and Mr. Navarro said the trade hawk could still influence the president. Mr. Trump respects Mr. Navarro's radical populist ideas, but that does not mean he is at the centre of the table. Another said the White House believed Mr. Lutnik's difficult personality could be used in negotiations. The role change comes amid a tug-of-war between the fair trade camp and the protectionist camp within the White House. "Trump likes to create chaos, then calm down, create chaos, then calm back, just to be unpredictable," said one former Trump administration official. This state of affairs also exists in Trump's inner circle, where forces are constantly moving in and out of the sphere of influence. While the internal struggles that were common in Trump's first term have largely disappeared in his second term, the shift in the status of the tariff policy leadership is a reminder that the competition for power and influence is still not over.