The segment features former Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn reciting the president’s talking points about the impending trade war.
Sinclair-owned news stations promoted a pre-taped segment praising President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on foreign nations this week, amid controversy over a leaked “must-run” script.
The canned clip, a recurring “commentary” segment called “Bottom Line with Boris,” features former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn delivering administration-friendly talking points on the president’s proposed tariffs, which target countries like China.
“The newly negotiated trade deal between the United States and South Korea shows the new tariffs on steel and aluminum, which went into effect last week, are already paying dividends,” Epshteyn said, citing a March 25 pact between the two countries that forces South Korea to slash its steel exports to the United States by 30 percent, while exempting it from a regular 25 percent tariff.
“Here’s the bottom line,” he said. “This new deal with South Korea is a win for American businesses and our economy. Instead of causing trade wars, as critics have feared, the new tariffs…are pushing our trading partners to engage in fair trade with the United States.”
The canned segment was aired on multiple other Sinclair-owned stations this week, often during regular daytime news programming, and is one of several “must-runs” that Sinclair distributes to its stations on a regular basis. Other “must-run” segments include the previously recurring “Behind the Headlines” with Mark Hyman, Sinclair’s vice president for corporate relations, and a must-run segment produced by former RT correspondent Kristine Frazao, which features former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka pushing a conspiracy theory about the so-called “Deep State,” an unelected group of government officials who are supposedly manipulating administration policy.