White House scrambles to clean up Trump’s Walmart 'rage tweeting' amid upcoming 'standoff'

President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge over the weekend that tariffs function as a tax ultimately paid by American consumers—not foreign manufacturers—despite years of claiming the opposite. The remark sparked ridicule and forced the White House to scramble to clarify his comments, after Trump publicly demanded that Walmart “eat the tariffs” instead of passing the costs on to shoppers.

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump wrote on Saturday. “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!!!”

When asked about Trump’s weekend remarks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday (video below) that the “reality is, as the president has always maintained, Chinese producers will be absorbing the cost of these tariffs, and that is why China was so quick to hustle to the negotiating table with the United States of America. They need our markets, they need our consumers.”

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Last week, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a press release: “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.”

Leavitt was quickly criticized.

“The reality is the president was rage tweeting Walmart less than 48 hours ago after they announced price hikes due to Trump’s tariffs. Just constant lies from this White House,” commented Democratic pollster and strategist Matt McDermott.

The White House’s efforts also came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday admitted that some tariffs “may get passed on to consumers.”

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NBC News on Monday reported that Trump taking on Walmart “over tariff price hikes” is setting up a “potential showdown” with the retail industry.

“The standoff between the president and Walmart now looms over the other major retailers reporting earnings this week, which include Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target as well as the TJ Maxx and Marshall’s parent company TJX. These companies may have initially felt Walmart’s signals about price hikes gave them cover to enact their own cost increases — but Trump’s remarks now put them at risk of also being targeted by the president.”

Watch the video below or at this link.