Amazon, the nation’s third-largest employer behind only the U.S. federal government and Walmart, planned to list the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on some products, per a Tuesday report. The Jeff Bezos-led megacorporation imports vast numbers of its products from China, the country hit with an astronomical 145% tariff on imports.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the press corps that she had spoken to Trump, and his response was that “this is a hostile and political act by Amazon.”
A subsequent statement by Amazon appears to backpedal on the idea: “The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”
The attack on Amazon by the White House is to be expected, as is the disingenuous spin from Trump’s fans, but it highlights the disjointed messaging coming from the pro-trade war faction of the Right. If tariffs are good, as White House adviser Peter Navarro and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have insisted, and if trade wars are “good and easy to win,” as the president has famously claimed, why would he be upset by Amazon’s move toward transparency?
The fact of the matter is that while some preliminary effects of the trade war have begun to send shockwaves through the economy, consumers have yet to feel the brunt of Trump’s tariffs. Major retailers and manufacturers including Walmart, Target, Shein, and Ford Motor Company are considering price hikes to offset tariff costs, and when prices go up at big-box stores and car dealerships across the country, no amount of spin or blame-shifting will be able to shield the administration from the ire of an already overtaxed middle class.
Even with the worst potentially yet to come, Trump’s polling numbers are already taking a beating as the trade war drags on. The president is over 7 points underwater in the RealClearPolitics polling average, and his marks on the economy are even worse. Large majorities disapprove of his handling of the economy and inflation, and 57% of respondents believe that the economy is heading toward a recession.
TARIFFS, NOT TRANSPARENCY, ARE THE ‘HOSTILE ACT’
Lagging approval numbers on one issue tend to bleed over into others, and the public’s distaste for Trump’s handling of the economy is affecting his approval rating on his flagship issue. The majority no longer approves of Trump’s immigration policies, despite the fact that the administration has done a stellar job of reducing illegal immigration. In February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 8,347 border apprehensions, a 94% decrease year over year. If voters are concerned with the economy, which consistently ranks as the top issue at the ballot box, victory laps over wins at the border or in foreign policy will fall on deaf ears.
The embattled stock market tends to rebound when the president talks about the many new trade deals allegedly being negotiated as we speak, and that should dominate the lion’s share of the administration’s focus. To quote the great American poet Yogi Berra, “It gets late early out here.” Get the deals done, Mr. President, before it’s too late to get your agenda through Congress.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.