Less than one hour before the stock market closed on Monday, journalists gathered in the Oval Office for their only chance of the day to ask President Donald Trump about the turmoil caused by his tariff plans. Are the new tariffs, scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, a bargaining chip to reach better trade deals? Or are they etched in stone in a mission to revamp the global economy? Investors around the world were hanging on Trump’s every word, but he did little to clear up the situation. “It can both be true,” he said. “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations.” The markets skidded to a close. At a time when foreign leaders and business executives are desperate for clarity, the White House is sending mixed messages as it pursues conflicting goals. Advisers have tried with some success to tamp down a days-long stock selloff by talking up tariffs as a starting point for negotiations, which could mollify Wall Street and jittery Republicans in Congress. But the president continues to insist that he can raise hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue with his new taxes on foreign imports, and he’s shown no willingness to back down from an agenda that he's advocated for decades, even before entering politics. The ongoing paradox could erode confidence in Trump’s leadership at home and abroad after he promised a booming economy and tax cuts, not depleted retirement accounts and fears of a recession. For now, as the tariffs are set to kick in, there's no clear resolution for what could be the most significant overhaul of international trade in a generation. When reporters asked Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, whether he understood the White House's plan, he responded with a question of his own — "Does anybody?” As a result, the U.S. stock market has been extremely volatile. The S&P 500 stock index initially posted gains on Tuesday morning on the possibility of negotiations, only to close down 1.57% as the White House said that the combined tariffs on China would be 104% starting on Wednesday.