Fans are losing their minds after veteran MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace was left stunned and visibly agitated by a subtle response from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a recent press briefing. In a heated exchange that captivated viewers, Wallace accused Leavitt of being “tragically uninformed or outright lying” after the press secretary claimed that tariffs were a form of tax relief for Americans.
The confrontation unfolded during a tense press conference, where Associated Press reporter Josh Boak posed a critical question to Leavitt, asking whether President Trump’s tariffs constituted a tax increase for American citizens. Leavitt’s response was both bold and baffling: “He is not actually raising taxes. Tariffs are taxes on foreign countries, once again, that have cheated us. Tariffs are a form of tax cut for the American people, and the president is a strong supporter of tax cuts.”
Wallace’s reaction was immediate and intense, as she struggled to comprehend the rationale behind Leavitt’s assertions. The incredulity in her voice was palpable as she pressed for clarity, challenging the notion that imposing tariffs could somehow be beneficial to American taxpayers. The exchange quickly escalated, with Wallace emphasizing the economic realities that contradict Leavitt’s claims, making it clear that she would not let the press secretary’s statements go unchallenged.
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace has called White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt either ‘tragically uninformed or lying’ following her claim that tariffs are a tax cut for Americans.
Wallace’s attack followed a heated exchange at a White House press conference where Leavitt accused a reporter of testing her knowledge on the economy.
During yesterday’s press briefing Josh Boak, a journalist from the Associated Press, asked Leavitt if President Trump’s tariffs were a form of tax hike on the American people.
In response, Leavitt said: ‘He’s actually not implementing tax hikes. Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that, again, have been ripping us off.
‘Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the president is a staunch advocate for tax cuts.’
Boak fights back against Leavitt’s claim by asking if she has ever paid a tariff.
‘They don’t get charged on foreign companies they get charged on importers,’ he said.
Leavitt responded: ‘I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics, and the decision that this president has made. I now regret giving a question to The Associated Press.’
Karoline Leavitt during a heated exchange at a White House press conference where she accused a reporter of testing her knowledge on the economy
During yesterday’s press briefing Josh Boak (picutred), a journalist from the Associated Press, asked Leavitt if President Trump’s tariffs were a form of tax hike on the American people
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace called Leavitt either ‘tragically uninformed or lying’ following her claim that tariffs are a tax cut for Americans
Wallace then played the clash on her MSNBC show before she lashed out against Leavitt.
She said: ‘I mean, she’s awash in regret and remorse and offense, but she’s either tragically uninformed or lying.
‘There is no economist that’s been tapped to sit in Donald Trump’s Cabinet who would testify under oath to what she just said., “tariffs are a tax cut for the American people”. Simply the opposite is reality.’
The Atlantic’s Annie Lowry was a guest on Wallace’s show and she backed up the claim that tariffs will represent an increase rather than decrease in taxes.
‘So, tariffs are taxes paid by American consumers, they raise prices for American businesses and American households,’ Lowry said.
‘And American businesses and households were already suffering with high costs. You can see that in egg prices. You can see that in housing prices. You can see that in childcare prices. The Trump administration promised to tackle the cost of living crisis, and this is going to make it worse.’
Tariffs are a type of tax levied by countries on imported goods and have long been used by governments to collect additional revenue and to protect domestic producers.
Since returning to the White House on January 20, President Trump has become a strong advocate of tariffs and has used tariffs to start a trade war with Canada and Mexico.
Leavitt said: ‘He’s actually not implementing tax hikes. Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that, again, have been ripping us off. Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the president is a staunch advocate for tax cuts’
The Atlantic’s Annie Lowry (right) was a guest on Wallace’s show and she backed up the claim that tariffs will represent an increase rather than decrease in taxes
A trade war now looms with the European Union after the bloc announced retaliatory trade action with a series of duties on US industrial and agricultural products that will go into effect from April 1.
It comes weeks after the Trump administration announced an increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports from the European bloc to 25 per cent.
Now the escalating trade war with America’s allies has spooked the stock market leading to fresh fears that the United States could be heading for a recession.
Trump sent the stock market to further lows after the president threatened Tuesday to level additional tariffs on Canada after Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford threatened to tax electricity provided from Canada to northern United States.
The Dow Jones closed down 478 points on Tuesday and the S&P 500 closed ten percent lower than its record high in February.
Speaking on the south lawn yesterday, Trump did not appear to be concerned by the stock market losses.
‘Markets are going to go up and they’re going to go down but we need to rebuild our country, our country has been stripped of its jobs and its factories,’ he said.
Ford backed off of his threat in response to Trump’s announcement and speaking with administration officials.
Trump spoke to reporters after he brought them out to film him buying a Tesla from billionaire Elon Musk from the White House.
He urged Americans to be patient, promising them more wealth after the United States regained its manufacturing prowess.
‘We’ve been treated very unfairly by Canada, we’ve been treated very unfairly by Mexico … the European Union has been horrible,’ he said.
Trump called Biden’s economy a ‘fake economy.’
‘They were putting in all government jobs,’ he said.
He said the tariffs would only increase American investments into American companies, putting trillions of dollars back into the economy.
‘I’m very optimistic about the country, we’re going to have the greatest markets we’ve ever had,’ he said.
Trump has acknowledge there would be some short term pain from his tariffs but that it was a necessary step to restore American manufacturing.
Since returning to the White House on January 20, President Trump has become a strong advocate of tariffs
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford has threatened to tax electricity provided from Canada to northern United States as the trade war between both countries escalates
‘I think our country had to do this, we had to do this,’ Trump said. ‘Other countries have taken away our businesses, taken away our jobs.’
With the threat of a potential recession, market experts have warned Americans not to act rashly and take their money out of the market just yet.
The most important thing that Americans should remember is to ‘stay the course’ and, effectively, do nothing, said Peter Gallagher, managing director of Unified Retirement Planning Group, who has worked as a retirement planner for 30 years.
Savers should focus on the long-term, and avoid pulling money out of the market during a dip.
‘It’s normal to be concerned, especially if you’re watching the market carefully. But as long as you have a long-term timeframe within your retirement planning, then there is no need to panic,’ Gallagher said.
He reminded people that the average ‘intra-year decline’ – the largest drop from a peak to a trough within a single calendar year – for the stock market over the last 20 years or so is negative 14 percent.
