AP: Trump warns Walmart: Don't raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes

[Dennis Donovan]

AP - Trump warns Walmart: Don’t raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes

By JOSH BOAK
Updated 2:39 PM EDT, May 17, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs.

As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflation. Walmart warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to children’s car seats could increase in price.

Trump, in his Truth Social post, lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, should sacrifice its profits for the sake of his economic agenda that he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing.

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump posted. “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

The posting by the Republican president reflected the increasingly awkward series of choices that many major American companies face as a result of his tariffs, from deteriorating sales to the possibility of incurring Trump’s wrath. Trump has similarly warned domestic automakers to not raise their prices, even though outside analyses say his tariffs would raise production costs.

/snipA

[Silent Type]

1. We used to bash Walmart for raising prices during inflationary period. trump has turned everything around.

[vapor2]

2. OOPS......too late

[jmowreader]

3. Response from Walmart

BENTONVILLE, AR (Spurious News Network) — The Walmart Home Office has released a statement in response to King Donald Trump’s edict that the retail giant “eat” Trump’s tariffs rather than passing them on to consumers:

“President Trump, there’s a problem in your demand. Walmart simply can’t ‘eat’ your tariffs and survive. We are comfortable with a 24.9 percent profit margin and work hard to keep it about that. This allows us to operate our stores, keep prices low for the benefit of our customers, and provide a reasonable return to our investors. Your tariffs are higher than that - in some cases, radically higher. If we don’t pass your tariffs on to our customers, we’ll be out of business before the end of the year. This would be more of a problem for the people we serve than higher prices would be. We must respectfully decline to do as you demand.”

[BOSSHOG]

4. Good on Walmart

Interpreting trump. Don’t dare blame me for bad things that happen because I do stuff. Millions of stupid people voted for me. Walmart was very successful last year. Now they should do the right thing. Save me from myself. The leader of the party of responsibility.

[stumpysbear]

8. That's satire

[Cha]

5. Mump can Eat Shit and

Fry in Hell.

Will Walmart "obey" their cult god damn god?

[Rebl2]

6. Trump

You just got back from a long trip. Why don’t you take a nap and stay off social media today

[GoCubsGo]

7. But, I thought China was going to be paying those tariffs.

I wonder if The Imbecile realizes he just admitted that it's really the importers, who then pass it off to their consumers.