Walmart, Trump Joust Over Prices

Walmart (Bentonville, Ark.) and President Trump engaged in some verbal sparring over the weekend, in the aftermath of the retail giant saying it will be raising some prices because of the tariffs the president has put in place, report a variety of news sources, including CNBC.

Trump fired the first volley on Saturday (May17), when he posted the following on his Truth Social account: “Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. 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!!!”

Later that day, Walmart offered this response to Trump’s post: “We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won’t stop. We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can, given the reality of small retail margins.”

Next, on Sunday (May 18), MSN reported Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” interview show and said, “I did talk with [Walmart CEO] Doug McMillon, who I have a very good relationship with, just to understand what he had to say.”

Bessent then noted that McMillon’s comments came during an earnings call with analysts, during which executives are expected to give “the most draconian case” due to SEC requirements. The bottom line, said the secretary: “Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs (and) some may get passed on to consumers.”

The coming week will probably produce more news on the retail/tariff front, as Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s and several other major retailers are expected to share their outlooks on the impact of such levies when they report their latest results, CNBC noted.