Trump Rages At Walmart For Raising Prices Over Tariffs

Old man yells at clouds. Too old and too much dementia to run the country.

So the "elected" government is trying to control prices? Isn't that the definition of socialism?
- It's an element of a planned economy which has been more commonly used in authoritarian socialist countries but isn't exclusive to them.
  (Fun fact because I just looked it up: There doesn't seem to be one generally accepted definition of "socialism".)
  
  Worker ownership of the means of production.
  I.e. profits from goods and services go to those who provide them rather than investors.
  
  I'd say a good loose definition is just 'people pooling resources for the common good' so basically all taxes and things paid for by taxes including the military.
- Socialism is only bad when the left does it.
  
  Or the poors
- No

If Walmart really loved Trump, they'd sell their items at a loss to own the libs. Well, I guess I can't be too surprised, another woke corporation making excuses to jack up the prices. Trump said China'd pay the tariff so I don't see what Walmart has to do with it.

Rages at reality for doing the thing everyone said would happen?

If the stuff comes from a place where tariffs have been applied, the price should go up.
If it's modified corn gloop from Kentucky, the price should not go up.
So which prices are going up?
- That's a bit of a gross oversimplification. Overseas or foreign product? Sure tariffs apply 100%.
  But what if the modified corn gloop is processed with a machine from Germany? And quality inspected with a sampling device from Canada? And the cameras used to inspect the packaging come from Japan? And the computers to power the logistics operations come from Taiwan, Korea and China?
  Sure the corn gloop isnt taxed via tariff, but every single part of its manufacturing just got 20-120% more expensive (and supply chains got that much less predictable). Most businesses would go under if they tried to eat that cost.
  The answer? Sweeping tariffs mean sweeping price increases. The list of which prices won't go up will be infinitely smaller.
  
  Yeah, this is also true. Global supply chains are unfathomably large.
  And really, Walmart aren't really doing a lot themselves. All those Walmart branded products are made by a third party, just like the regular branded stuff.
  If the amount goes up on Walmart's supplier invoice, the amount goes up on the shelf. High volumes and thin margins means there's no wiggle room to "eat" anything.
  Their only two options are to stop stocking a product, or to pay and charge more.
  
  While I get your point, they already have that stuff bought and I think you’re vastly overestimating how much some of that cost really impacts the cost of the good. Yes it would go up, but not nearly that much.
  Which is also to say that corporations love these things because they mean they can just make wild claims about how impacted they are and raise prices pretty much however much they want.

King Canute knew he couldn't control the tides to but Trump thinks he can control supply and demand.
- What a Cnut.

What the fuck did this moron think was going to happen?
- He thought that applying pressure through broad import taxes would force foreign manufacturers to drop their prices to avoid losing those sweet sweet US sales, and that foreign governments would line up at his door, begging for "deals". He was wrong, and anyone with a brain would have known that.
- I honestly don't think anyone actually informed him of how this would go down.
  The president currently holds a cabinet of people and constituents who have, for the greater part of the past 12 years, relied on the ideals of sycophantic behaviour and likewise. To be in the room and suggest that an idea is not good would and likely has turned heads and gotten them removed from their positions. Look at the most recent Removal of the FEMA administrator: bashed on fema previously, incited change, told congress that axing FEMA would be a bad thing, immediately fired and replaced with a sycophant
  Lack of informed information because it doesn't align is part of the M.O. of this administration and the GOP for several years now. The only thing that matters is the ideal of greatness, whatever logic that entails.
  This individual also has notably refuted and refused to consume media that doesn't tailor to his outlook. Even bashing on Fox, which is the biggest right winged media outlet out there.
  My point is, he probably did not truly know what would happen. On paper and in his entourage, tariffs are indeed technically a tax on other countries, but in practice It is a tax on the people.
- Chyna was going to pay the tariffs
  
  Well that won't work, she ded
  
  What does the WWE have to do with any of this?

doesnt sound very free market to me
if they raise prices because they have to, thats just normal
if they raise prices because they can get away with it, thats kinda nasty though
- Ironically, the Economy was one of the number one concerns among voters during the election. People blamed Biden for the stores raising prices, while the Biden admin actually investigated major grocers over artificially high prices, and then elected Trump who is actually responsible for raising prices.
- Captain dipshit said he’ll be watching and so will the customers. So? The price will go up from the tariffs. It’s like he struggles to be this much of a moron. I feel like he’s so stupid that I get dumber every time I have to listen to him talk.
  
  Remember when his business school professor said he was the dumbest student he ever taught? Looks prophetic.
- The hard part is proving one vs the other, and they know it.

Hahaha, get fucked both of them
- But not too hard. I rely on Walmart delivery because reasons.
  
  To anyone who hates your message. Don’t hate the victim hate the game

Hahaha! This is the ONE time I agree with Trump.
All defending the house that Sam built, it is the richest company in the world by revenue beating out Amzaon and state owned organizations like Saudi Aramco and Chinese controlled organizations. It regularly bullies its way into small towns, demanding tax cuts and the infrastructure to build their stores, run those stores at a loss until all competition is gone then raises prices to squeeze out the area. Then is happy to shut down the "bottom performing stores" leaving a wasteland behind for these towns that lost everything to the mega giant. They're turning the home town of Bentonville into Austin, even driving out local business for their friends out of Austin.
And the biggest thing is... Project 2025, all of this going on, written by the Heritage Foundation... The Walton Family Foundation is one of the big funders of the Heritage Foundation as well as many of the other Project 2025 advisory board partners. They made it easy to search even! https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/grants-database
I've come from its home town, Walmart has always pushed a radical republican conservative agenda. Walmart is not some hapless victim, this is pure 100% leopards dining on some faces that voted for the leopards eating faces party.
- Walmart is garbage, but the claim they can eat 30% tariffs because they made billions is by itself not a credible argument.
  They made 16 billion in profit, on the back of 650 billion in revenue. Percentage wise that's 2.5%. The acquisition cost of the goods is a fraction of their operating costs, but if cost of acquiring the goods was even only 10% of their revenue, the tariffs are enough to push them red.
  If he is right then I would expect a nice analysis of the financials of Walmart showing this is feasible, rather than a hollow rant.
  Alternatively, if it were as he stated earlier temporary pain like medicine to fix the manufacturing imbalance, I would want a more coherent strategy. As it stands, businesses can't plan around his tariff policy as it shifts day to day without warning. If they did bring home manufacturing at significant expense, they lose because Trump gives in and competition that didn't bother has an advantage.
- The only thing I agree with on Trump here is that he's correctly pointing out that WalMart made billions in profits last year. Yes, WalMart supported this monster in the first place thinking it would work out for them in the long run, so it's a leopards eating faces scenario for sure, and I wouldn't be sad if WalMart lost profits this year because of Trump's stupidity. It's just too bad that regular people are going to suffer because WalMart killed the small businesses that used to support towns that they wormed their way into.
  We aren't even done adjusting to inflation pricing, and here we are not getting slapped with a Trump Tax on top of it. Madness.
  
  The only thing I agree with on Trump here is that he’s correctly pointing out that WalMart made billions in profits last year.
  That's pretty much exactly what I was saying. Really my only thing I appreciated is him going after Walmart, and okay, I'll agree they should eat the profits on the tariffs, Musk may be the richest man, but the Waltons are the richest family and not by far. And yes, the tariffs are gonna suck for all of us and is one of the most mouth dribblingly stupid things that could ever be done. But here we are.
  For the people hurting. It sucks. I'm in the same pool too so I'm in the same neck deep madness that's our current scenario. I'm sorry... I just can't bring myself to care as I've lived in red states full of people voting against their will and despite years of attempting voting outreach, having friends tell me proudly they just didn't vote even though they're in more danger of the policies than I... I just kind of threw my hands up on empathy and said fuck it, I'm gonna put on a helmet, hunker down and try to ride out this fucking storm with those that I trust. So right now I'm taking what little pleasure I can through schadenfreude of watching one of the companies that put America right where it's at currently get its hand bit by the dog it feeds.
  
  That's the one thing I agree with him on as well, but honestly what did he expect? Trump—of all people—should understand greed. Billionaires aren't going to wilfully take a pay cut unless you force them to.
  
  I’m pressure that Trump doesn’t ACTUALLY care. He just wants to PERFORM like he cares so He can deny that it’s his fault. Walmart won’t lose profits and Trump gets to look like he’s “trying hard” to keep prices low.

Wow. I used to think he just couldn't stop lying about tariffs...
But now I'm convinced he has NO idea what they are or how they work... NONE
- He is exceptionally stupid.
  
  "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had." - Professor William T. Kelley, Wharton School of Business and Finance
  
  Yeah everyone tries to convince me he's smart and the ignorance is an act but I don't buy it. He truly is mega dumb.
  
  He's not though, he hires smart people and evil people while being a cult leader. He's not test smart, but he is the president of the US and it happened twice.
  https://www.project2025.observer/
- I was convinced of that from the start. The language he used, I'm pretty sure he's under the impression that the country you levy a tariff against is the one that pays it. Basically "make Mexico pay for the wall" part 2.
  
  Yep. Somehow, someway; he got the impression that because "goods from China " get hit, that China pays to send it here...
  And as someone else posted; he's surrounded by people who ONLY agree with him. None of his people are correcting him...
  We're so boned
- That's the thing about spending 70 years lying and having someone else fire anyone that disagrees...
  You start believing it all.
  Same shit happened to Elon and loads of other rich people, they stop getting real feedback and understanding that they're being lied to.
  The honestly believe their own bullshit, and they just don't know how to react to the truth.
  We saw it with the interview about the ms13 tattoo, trump doesn't even know how to argue anymore, he's used to everyone just agreeing with him, so when they don't his only argument is "why aren't you saying what I want you to say, do you not understand what I want you to say?"
  Because that's the only time they hear what they dont want to; when the person talking to them is confused about what they want to hear
  
  that's the only time they hear what they dont want to; when the person talking to them is confused about what they want to hear
  Sums up the online right and the futility of debating or arguing with them in any real fashion. This is the culture of JD Vance and Andrew Tate.
  
  That's a bingo!
- he treats them like his court cases, he thinks tariffs are a way to bully people to do what you want. he has no idea the economic implications of it. also hes doing it as a behest to putin.
  
  I think he at least roughly understands the economic implications, he just doesn't care. He'll just crack to the rhetoric, blame everyone else for the problems, and assume his fan base will eat up every word and let him continue.
  Falling that, he just goes all in on ignoring elections and count upon the system to let him do that like it's a woman with a pussy to grab.

It's depressing how important this is. Walmart is core to a lot of American's purchasing. If Walmart decides to kiss the ring, even for a while, when they stop could determine when a wave of anger will hit, maybe even control the midterms. If they just pass on the prices now, many americans' cost of living is going to soar, right at the same time many of them will be facing layoffs as businesses choke to death on materials costs.
Anyone else remember what happened last time large numbers of americans experienced large amounts of free time? Do you think they'll be any happier when they are experiencing that level of free time without the benefit of CoViD stimulus? A lot of people are going to get hurt.
- Their costs go up because of the tariffs, he can't expect them to lose profit at scale just to appease him. It would be a super bad business decision on Walmarts side if they do that.
  
  They literally can't without getting sued by investors. Look at United Healthcare - they're getting sued for lost profits because they couldn't deny more claims after Luigi.
  
  I'll be shocked if Walmart choses to "eat the cost" for tariffs.
  They don't "eat the cost" so their employees don't need food stamps, a program also on the chopping block. If they gut medicate/medicaid the Walmart pharmacy will also definitely feel that loss.

WalMarts whole thing is tiny profit margins
They literally don't have a choice. It isn't about giving up profit margins, it's about having a profit margin AT ALL.
- Walmarts whole thing is driving out competition. They're the richest company in the world and supported Trump. They asked for this.
  
  chance are they will rise prices way more than necessary to cover for the tariffs.
  they will cry that they had no choice and have record profits.

Walmart should put up price tags showing how much of the price is "Trump Tax".
- they'd have to replace the price tag everyday, when trump decides he's gonna tantrum again and changes the tariffs
  
  Still be worth it. And isn't Walmart changing prices on a regular base, anyway?
  Here would it be a simple database push, and the price tags would update with tariffs, but we don't have them.

Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected.
Under Joe Biden's absolutely terrible, awful, most baddest saddest America-lastest economy?

And once the trade war is done, the prices will remain higher due to "record profits" and "people will continue to pay it because they have to".
- 100% This. Walmart is far from the "aw shucks" helping the common man image it wants to portray
- Certainly what we appear to have experienced in the UK, I'm sure it's the same in other countries
  
  Britain’s a bit different, as it’s caught in a perfect storm. It got a large amount of its energy from Russia, and the invasion hit just as Britain was also pouring massive investment into renewables and nuclear, which has to be paid for via energy bills. Add onto that the £40bn annual loss to the economy from Brexit and yeah, prices aren’t going down any time soon, but it isn’t necessarily because of profiteering. For example, rail freight operators have mothballed their electric fleet because the tariff per mile is so much higher than diesel at the moment. And they’re a business sector who can readily change from electricity.

Dear 47, tariffs are essentially sales taxes based on origin rather than point of sale. If a business has, lets say, a 2.5% profit margin they cannot “eat” tariffs larger than that because to do so would defeat the purpose of being in business (to make profit) in the first place, and said business would soon be bankrupt. I know you know what that is, having numerous failed business’ yourself.
- I just looked earlier today at WalMart’s self- reported profit margin for FY 2024, and it was approximately 4.2%. I had much the same thought. Even if tariffs are only raised by 10% on their imported products, that has the potential to completely disappear their profits. I’m enough of a socialist-leaning person to need to point out this: The American conception of corporations only purpose being profit machines has only existed in its current form since he 1980s, and is not an absolute law of economics. However, I’m certain that Trump is only interested in making Trump look good.
- casinos were done on purpose to launder russian money through his properties.
- tariffs are essentially sales taxes based on origin rather than point of sale.
  I’m guessing this will make sales taxes go up too. We are now paying taxes on the taxes.
  
  It will. Sales tax is a percentage of retail price and prices are going up.
- "Bah! They can make it up in volume!" - Trump probably
- FYI, plural of business is businesses, not business'

Anyone else suffering from faux rage exhaustion?
- It's a welcome diversion from the weekly "MAGA meltdown."
- Yes.
- Maybe you should study history, we've always been incredibly disapointing.

What the fuck do you think businesses are gonna do? Their costs went up. Planet Money podcast had an interview with a small business owner that had to pay the 145% tariff on her imports ordered before the tariffs went into effect. On a $30,000 shipment, that’s an extra $43,500. You think businesses are gonna keep prices the same and eat that? They will go bankrupt.
- This just happened to adafruit too
  https://blog.adafruit.com/2025/05/08/high-tariffs-become-real-with-our-first-36k-bill/
  
  Yeah I’ve noticed my parts have gone up in price.
- This is one of the most glaring problems with tariffs. Companies raise their prices and the tariff becomes basically a tax on the people. But within that is hidden the fact that gigantic companies can often hold off on raising prices because they have the money to deal with it in the short term and the massive markets to pull in discounted prices from suppliers. The result is humongous businesses like Walmart keep their prices low through the tariffs while your mom and pop shop down the street has no choice but to raise prices or go out of business cause they don't have the kind of margins bigger companies do. They raise their prices, everyone flocks to huge businesses like Walmart who kept their prices lower, then mom and pop close up shop cause they aren't selling anything at the higher prices. Then Walmart can do whatever they want cause they just tagged tariffs into the ring and murdered the competition. Tariffs have their place but they largely suck ass in a multitude of ways.

Just more displaying that the rich, and particularly rich people like trump, live in the land of no consequences. They make demands that others pay for, never themselves, and when underlings defy them they become furious. Walmart CEOs are underlings, now.
- I hope this more of a "don't bite the hand that feeds you," and Trump recieves SOME kind of consequence. He's been a conman for years, and at some point, CEOs should be able to see that. Like, do they really think he has THEIR best interests in mind? We're lucky he's even accepting that one plane as a bribe, since I expected him to sell out for the price of a big mac with fries (no drink).

Perfect malicious compliance opportunity: the price tag stays the same, but add an itemized Trump Tax for the difference.
- Walmart won't kiss the ring. They supported Trump. The only thing they'll do is fight him if it looks like they can't control him.

Why not refund the taxpayers cost of tariffs from the tariffs collected? Tariffs are being broken out on invoices, file the tariff tax as deductions on 1040’s. It would be a wash for the taxpayers.
- If the tariffs are immediately refunded, why collect in the first place?
- Well you see the problem here is that you're using your brain and well we just can't be having that
- That seems convoluted but also as stated it wouldn't be a wash.
  A deduction means pretend that portion of income never existed and the taxable portion of it is not charged.
  Then generally the deduction has to be above the standard deduction to make sense to use, and the standard deduction is just so high nowadays.
  So if you claimed a hypothetical deduction of 1,000, then you reduce your tax burden by only 200 or so, assuming you otherwise had like 20 some odd thousand in deductions to get you close to the standard deduction.
  The only way it would be a wash is if it were a refundable tax credit with no qualifications, and that almost never happens for anything. I could imagine a non refundable credit that would make it a wash for anyone with sufficient tax liability.
  However, this would make the tariffs an utterly pointless needless complication, needing a whole lot more accounting by sellers and consumers just to get to a similar and simpler position of not doing the tariffs in the first place.
- Canada tried that with a carbon tax
  People weren’t able to understand the two were related
- The goal seems to be replacing of federal income tax with import tariffs (like it was in the 1800s). The flat rate they set could collect as much as the income tax if import levels stay the same. Also, some of the stats shared by the administration early on on collections per day would multiply up to the total income tax collected. Writing them off would be counterproductive.
  The only downside with consumption taxes is that they are regressive. People in the lowest income levels will end up paying more percentage richer people because there is so much that rich people can consume from overseas vs poorer people.

This asshole isn't dead yet?

Man he really is the American lukashenko D:

The American Lukashenko supporters are clueless about tariffs. Oh the fuck well, let them pay more for products in every single red run welfare Oblast in the USA. Like many have typed, those prices are not going to decrease.

If he's supposed to be such a great businessman, why is he angry over this? This is exactly what a business does in a tariff situation. No business willingly reduces its margins, it just passes the costs onto the customer.
- He’s a narcissist. Walmart is making him look bad by highlighting something bad he’s done.
- His uninformed voters buy it.
  It's that simple. That and Trump is used to bullying.
- except they can pass on too much of the cost, otherwise people wont buy thier crap.
  
  Yep, people won’t buy Walmarts crap, instead they’ll just goto …..

Reality does not conform to dementia hallucinations. This is what happens when you vote for a geriatric cantaloupe.
- But cantaloupe are only orange on the inside. tRump is, as far as we know, only orange on the outside.
  
  Come on man, don't you keep up with the conspiracies? He was disguised as a lizard person, but then they peeled off the rind, which they thought were scales, and it turned out he was a cantaloupe all along!
  
  and not the good kind of orange, its when a fruit is spoiled and something grows on it.

Well Walton family, you know what you have to do.
- 8647?
  
  If you don't want the SS coming after you for "threatening the president", make it "23-skidoo47".
- Get rid of Trump like they got rid of 1000s of small American businesses and well paying jobs?
- Give him more money so he'll leave him alone? Because that's exactly what they'll do.
  That or fund the next right wing religious nutjob that's worse than Trump but loyal to them.
- Live life as best you can as God fearin' mountain folk?

Trump rages at truth, facts and concrete .evidence

The Waltons didn't spend MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ELECTING TRUMP just so he'll YELL at Them! MAYBE with a Couple More Million he'll STOP IT!
- NGL, it's hard to be mad at him for telling megacorporations to eat it. But it's the workers who will suffer.
  
  The only reason Trump told corps to take the tariff loss is so that Trump and Republicans don't.
  He created the problem and expects other people to take the blame. Standard operating procedure.
  
  Workers and the customers. Walmart does have a captive audience in some regions where they priced all local businesses out of competition and they're often the cheapest option available for lower-income shoppers without much disposable income.

Back to school prices are gonna see the most change.

I thought tariffs are a tax on other countries that they have to pay? And even if that's wrong, it's wrong for companies to raise prices when goods become more expensive. /s

Capitalist mad at another Capitalist for... doing basic Capitalism stuff...
🤔

WHO SHAT MY PANTS!?!?
- Clearly it was Biden.
- fun fact, he is not aware when he shits own pants after he flies intoa rage. the producers in his relaity show later claimed he becomes a deer in head lights when it happens, and often they have a guy on the set to wipe him down like a baby.

He really doesn't understand tariffs or business or, really much of anything, does he? Businesses pass on costs to consumers, if the government intentionally increases costs China isn't paying it, Walmart isn't paying it, where does he think the money comes from?
I have a very good relationship with a small bookstore here, a lot of their magazines are printed in Canada and a lot of their books are printed in China. I'm VERY worried for them.
They aren't in a position to absorb the costs, but at the same time, raising prices will turn off their customers. And they BARELY survived Covid.
They can't go to companies like Marvel and go "Hey, pretty please, with sugar on top, can you stop printing in Canada and China?"

Wal-Mart just does not give Trump any respect. /s
- Does Walmart even wear a suit? A lot of people are saying they don't. Good people

The price is no longer right

Oh, I hope his cult boycotts wal-mart.
- Poor people can't really boycott necessities. Doubly so when the other option is a dollar store or convenience store.
  
  The dollar store is gonna be the tree fiddy store soon
  
  There are other grocery chains.

Nice job, dipshit

Price of his diapers went up.
- And his tanning lotion

Hey Trump, you know what would fix this? Price controls!

Take their tax benefit out Mr trump

Old man yells at cloud

Wow, he's taking the side of the consumers against the corpos for once.
- You’re actually insane if you believe that. He is and always will side with himself. He’s throwing a tantrum because them raising prices will make him look bad. Regardless of what you believe about economics it is not reasonable to expect a business in a free market economy to eat the cost of a tariff. Again it is irrelevant that they are morally corrupt and probably could eat it.
  His entire life is him taking advantage of stupid people and now he’s asking someone to help out the little guy? Get real.
- Who do you think started the tariffs
- Lol I hope you're being sarcastic lol
- Yeah, but because the inflation makes him look bad.