President Donald Trump's administration has finally stopped "lying," at least when it comes to tariffs, remarked an MSNBC host on Monday.
At the top of their show, "The Weeknight," co-host Symone Sanders Townsend responded to recent reports about a key confession from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Americans will pay the price for his reckless trade policies," said co-host Alicia Menendez. "Trump's Treasury secretary now admits Americans may soon see higher prices. Exactly what economists have been saying all along. As for the president, well, Trump has a long history of saying otherwise."
Menendez cited a Yale Budget Lab report saying that the average cost a household will pay for Trump's tariffs is $2,800 in the short term.
She also noted that the Port of Los Angeles is seeing fewer containers on ships to deliver to retailers around the U.S. It means shelves will be empty soon, and "that trend will continue next month and have a nationwide impact."
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"Buckle up. It's going to be a pricey summer. That's all I can say," said former Republican Party chairman Michael Steele. "Thanks for catching up with the rest of us."
"You know, I am just — I'm finally glad that they are telling the truth," Townsend quipped. "And I wish today that actually the headlines would have said 'The Administration Finally Stops Lying,' because that's what it is. You know? They lied to the American people, and while we all know the truth. There are folks out there who hang on every single word that the president and his allies say. They believe the president, when he speaks, that believes his press secretary when she's standing at the podium."
She noted that "for weeks," the White House has "been lying about the tariffs" when they promised that other countries would foot the bill for the trade war.
"The companies are going to pay these tariffs. It's going to create a boom in manufacturing. Well, that's two lies," Townsend continued. "First of all, Americans are paying the tariffs. It's a cost passed on to the consumer. But secondly, there has not yet been a boom in manufacturing. And those 11, I think, there were, like, 11 companies that Donald Trump talked about last week that signed new deals, he said. Those were deals that were signed under the Biden administration. So, right, folks, do a Google search."
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