• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, 9 hours ago

Last week, Walmart became the largest U.S. company yet to push back against President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs. In an earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon warned investors the company would have little choice but to pass increased costs on to consumers.

Trump fired back with a Saturday morning social-media broadside: “EAT THE TARIFFS,” he wrote, accusing Walmart of making “BILLIONS OF DOLLARS” and adding, “I’ll be watching—and so will your customers.”

The suggestion, of course, is economically absurd. Trump has repeatedly claimed that countries like China would bear the brunt of tariff costs, not American companies or consumers. Walmart, which operates on razor-thin margins, is hardly in a position to absorb new import taxes unscathed.

Even conservative media outlets were stunned. In a blistering editorial, the Wall Street Journal said Trump’s demand was “bizarro world” economics, adding, “Mr. Trump doesn’t know much about retail.” The piece likened Trump’s CEO cosplay to his previous outbursts against “Comrade Kamala,” accusing her of inflation-control proposals that were “socialist, communist, Marxist and fascist.”

Walmart responded with restraint. “We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won’t stop,” a spokesperson told Marketing Daily. “We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can, given the reality of small retail margins.” The company’s net profit margin is about 3%.

But the dust-up reflects what’s quickly becoming a broader war of words between the White House and Corporate America. Earlier this month, after reports that Amazon was exploring tariff disclosures on product pages—similar to how it now itemizes shipping and handling—Trump reportedly phoned co-founder Jeff Bezos to box his ears. The White House later called Amazon’s proposal “a hostile political act,” and Amazon quickly said it had no intention of pursuing the plan.

Meanwhile, tariffs are no longer just a trade issue—they’re starting to reshape consumer confidence. Although most Americans haven’t yet felt the impact at checkout, they know it’s coming. The University of Michigan’s latest Survey of Consumers ticked downward again, including a 7% drop among Republicans. The index is now down nearly 30% since January, with current assessments of personal finances falling almost 10%.

“Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly three-quarters of consumers, up from almost 60% in April,” the report says. “Uncertainty over trade policy continues to dominate consumers’ thinking about the economy.”