Trump delayed tariffs to avoid recession in 2020, says Donohue

The CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told CNBC on Tuesday that President Donald Trump delayed tariffs in part to avoid a recession during the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

“Nobody wants to run for president, on either party, in the middle of a recession,” Tom Donohue said on “Closing Bell. “

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Trade Representative announced that new tariffs, originally scheduled to go into effect Sept. 1, would be delayed until Dec. 15 for some consumer items. In addition, some products are being removed from the new tariff list altogether due to “health and security factors.”

Trump told reporters that his decision to delay the tariffs was to avoid impact on Christmas…