The White House kept hinting that the Chinese were beginning to negotiate, seeking a way to end the tariffs. In fact, the strategy that Beijing appeared to be following was to wait for Mr. Trump to feel the pain of his own actions. The expected phone call from President Xi Jinping never came. And Mr. Trump didn’t want to be the first to call, either — a sign of desperation.
The maga tough-guy shtick is not working vs. reality. Cult leaders can create a convincing reality for their followers but they can't coerce everyone in the world to go along with it.
New York Times