Donald Trump made a “revealing admission” during his first post-election television interview, as he appeared to back away from a key campaign promise. The president-elect’s comments came during a Sunday NBC interview with Kristen Welker, where Trump made several questionable statements, according to a Rolling Stone report.
Columnist and editor James Downie highlighted one particularly significant moment from the interview, calling it “arguably the most significant moment of all.” During the campaign, Trump had proposed imposing tariffs of 10-20% on all imports, with a steep 60% tariff on goods from China. Welker asked Trump if he could “guarantee” that Americans wouldn’t face higher prices under such tariffs.
Trump’s response, “I can’t guarantee anything,” struck Downie as a candid admission of the difficulties his tariff plan would pose. Downie explained, “He noted (correctly) that his first term saw low inflation, even as he implemented new tariffs. But those tariffs were on a much smaller scale. Multiple studies project his sweeping new proposal would cost Americans hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year.”
The columnist pointed out that while inflation rates are currently under 3%, well below the levels seen during Joe Biden’s presidency, businesses are already warning that price increases could be inevitable. “Inflation indicators show annual increases of under 3%, well below the spike in the middle of Joe Biden’s presidency. But companies from Walmart-sized conglomerates to small businesses are already warning that they may have to raise prices,” Downie wrote.
This marks a shift in Trump’s usual approach, as he has often promised impossible guarantees. However, even he couldn’t pretend that his large-scale tariff plan would prevent future price hikes. Downie concluded, “Just as Trump got credit for the low inflation in his first term, he will take the blame for any price hikes in his second.”