Here we go again.

The president said this week that negotiations with China over trade are far from resolving anything.

So he’s talking punitive tariffs again. And that is bothering the stock market.

The Chinese tactic is to stall. Trump could be out of office in 2021, so why should they negotiate with him when they can perhaps strike a more favorable deal with the next person?

It sure looks like there will be no agreement with China during the first Trump administration. Don’t expect anything to happen until his second term, if he wins in November 2020.

But that won’t stop people — including the president himself — from falling into the habit of saying optimistic things about the talks, especially during a time when they want to make Wall Street and voters happy.