Trump Ally And TV Star Backstabs Him

Investor and television personality Kevin O’Leary said during an interview on Monday that retail chains are not going to absorb the cost of tariffs, regardless of the Trump administration’s public pressure to do so.

He dismissed the idea outright, saying the notion that the president can instruct retailers to “eat the tariffs” isn’t realistic. O’Leary explained that, in practice, the financial burden would be shared between companies and consumers, depending on the final structure of the tariffs.

He pointed out that it’s currently impossible to gauge the full impact without knowing the exact rates being negotiated with trade partners. “We don’t know if it’ll be 10, 20, 25 percent or more nobody knows yet,” he said, adding that some portion of the higher costs will inevitably show up in prices at checkout.

O’Leary expects major retailers to engage in behind-the-scenes negotiations with the White House, suggesting that what’s happening now is part of a larger back-and-forth. He described it as early-stage posturing between business leaders and the president.

His comments followed Walmart’s recent announcement that it would begin raising prices on certain imported goods to help offset the costs associated with the latest round of tariffs. The news prompted a strong reaction from President Trump, who criticized Walmart over the weekend for attributing price hikes to his trade policy.

Trump argued that the retail giant could afford to absorb the additional costs given its record profits. He claimed Walmart and Chinese suppliers should cover the difference instead of passing it on to customers.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that Walmart should “STOP trying to blame Tariffs” for higher prices, stating that the company had made “BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year.” He continued, “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!!!”