"This morning in the bilat with the U.K., the president was asked if he had 'any second thought on escalating the trade war with China'. His answer has been greatly misinterpreted. President Trump responded in the affirmative -
because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher," White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham wrote in a statement.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/25/white-house-says-trump-regrets-not-raising-tariffs-on-china-higher.html