Donald Trump is adopting a new strategy to ensure consumers don't blame him for the rising cost of goods: begging companies to save him. The president targeted Walmart in a truth-clarifying social post on Saturday morning and said the company should stop blaming his ongoing trade war on price increases and insisted that the company “eat tariffs.”
“Walmart should stop trying to blame the tariffs on the rise of the entire chain. Walmart made billions last year, far exceeding expectations,” he wrote. “Between Walmart and China, as said, they should 'eat tariffs' and don't charge any fees to valuable customers. I'll watch it, and your customers will watch it too!!!”
Trump asks Walmart to “eat tariffs” instead of raising prices pic.twitter.com/fo2dncug03
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 17, 2025
I have to say: He kept us there in the first half and would not lie. Trump, as he has to do from time to time, stumbles upon a “for the wrong reasons” situation, because when corporate profits are rising and wages are rising, the company’s profits continue to climb, largely stagnant, and in some cases, refuse. It's a lot of reasons that force these companies to pay employees fair wages, improve the benefits and conditions of their workforce, salary executives pay or just tax them and fund social services.
Instead, he just called on the company to be greedy because it could affect him. Consumer confidence has been at a three-year low and his recognition rating is falling, including new lows for what he is usually considered a strong economic matter. That's all we've actually seen Trump's tariff prices rise. According to Bloomberg, most retailers are priced the same as they work through existing stocks, but that price could change as new goods come in and be hit by Trump’s commodity tax.
Wal-Mart caught Trump's attention because it intentionally lowered its price in the first few months of the president's inexplicable trade war. But now it's not sure it can keep that. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a graduation call earlier this week that the company will do its best to lower prices, but “we can’t absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.” That means price increases are coming, and consumers will know exactly what’s causing it: Trump’s tariffs.
So now the president seems to be trapped in rocks and a difficult place, and he is willing to climb in. He cannot retreat from the trade war, especially in China, or he will appear weak. And, while he likes to credit cheap gasoline and eggs, he really can't cut costs for consumers. So he was trapped in the blank space, screaming at the company, “eat tariffs” for him. From his claim that tariffs are “foreigns that do not affect our country”, which is far from what he says.
