Putting Trump’s Trade Bombast to the Test

President Trump’s recent threat to escalate his trade skirmish with China into a full-scale trade war is a foolish gambit with little historical precedent.

• Editorial Board
• The New York Times

It is also hard to take seriously, given how quickly Mr. Trump changes his mind and how rarely and clumsily he tends to follow through on tough talk.

Mr. Trump said on Thursday that he wants to slap tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese imports in response to Beijing’s plan to retaliate against an earlier American proposal that was aimed at $…

The president also said he was seeking ways to protect American farmers hurt by Chinese retaliation — a…

• Putting Trump’s Trade…