President Trump Plays Straight Man To Twitter With Deadline Comment And Head Point: “Nobody Can Quite Figure It Out”

Pointing to your head and saying “Nobody can quite figure it out” is a set-up that only the sturdiest of sitcom writers could resist, and President Donald Trump made it all the more tempting for wisecracking journalists by framing the comment around irresistible “deadline” bait.

Trump’s retweet-friendly comment came at today’s press conference (see video below) in response to Reuters correspondent Jeff Mason’s question, “What is your deadline, if you have one, for China to make progress on trade before you impose the tariffs on the other $325 billion in goods?”

After some evading – and Mason’s repeat of the question – Trump said, “No, I have no deadline.” Then, pointing to his own head, the president continued, “My deadline is what’s up here. We’ll figure out the deadline. Nobody can quite figure it out.”

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The “deadline” comment hit too close to home for journos to resist. See some of the tweets below.

“CC: Every editor I’ve ever worked with,” tweeted the Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey.

“Me when my editor says I’m past deadline,” tweeted CBS News’ Kathryn Watson.

Eli Stokels of the Los Angeles Times was among the media types who just retweeted the president’s words and let the joke tell itself.

“My deadline is what’s up here,” Trump says, pointing to his head

— Michael Tackett (@tackettdc) June 12, 2019

President Trump says no one can figure out his deadline for imposing remaining tariffs on China, but he knows it in his mind. pic.twitter.com/19k8VoF0Bp

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) June 12, 2019

Asked again by @jeffmason1 if he has a deadline for imposing tariffs on China, Trump says "my deadline is all up here" and points to his head. "No one can quite figure it out."

— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) June 12, 2019

TRUMP: “My deadline is what’s up here. We’ll figure out the deadline. Nobody can quite figure it out.”

[Points to head] pic.twitter.com/niyTXGxC8b

— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) June 12, 2019