President Donald Trump told NBC News on Saturday in a phone interview that he “couldn’t care less” if automakers increase costs for consumers in response to his impending tariffs on auto sales. The dismissive attitude comes as there are new signs that the economy is weakening in response to Trump’s actions.
“I couldn’t care less if [Auto industry executives] raise prices, because people are going to start buying American-made cars,” Trump said. “I couldn’t care less. I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty.”
Trump has touted Wednesday, April 2, as “Liberation Day,” designating the date as the beginning of a new round of tariffs on international goods. Included is a 25% tariff on imported cars. Multiple imported cars were among the most sold vehicles in America in 2024, including models from Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai.
In a statement released through Chinese state media on Monday, Trump’s tariff announcement has united more nations against the United States. According to CCTV, China, Japan, and South Korea have now decided to purchase semiconductor materials and chip products from each other, cutting the United States out of the equation.
Economists have repeatedly warned that tariffs on goods lead to increased costs for consumers, as the costs are passed on to them. While campaigning for the presidency in 2024, Trump said he would lower costs on “Day 1,” but that never happened.
Trump has insisted that his tariffs would lead to a boom in the U.S. economy—but the opposite is underway.
According to a panel of economists assembled by CNBC, they expect gross domestic product for the U.S. to only be 0.3% for the first quarter of 2025. By contrast, in President Joe Biden’s final quarter in office last year, the economy grew by 2.3%. If the actual growth is as forecast, it would be the weakest the economy has been since 2022 when the world was emerging from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The stock market has reacted poorly to Trump’s tariff actions. According to Standard & Poor’s, out of nine sectors of business that they track, only one had positive growth under Trump. These include businesses in real estate, consumer staples, health care, utilities, communications, and other industries.
Trump is also losing favor with the public on this key issue. According to a poll released Monday by Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only 40% of respondents have a positive assessment of how Trump has handled the economy, with 58% saying they strongly or somewhat disapprove.
The numbers are even worse on trade. Only 38% of the public is with Trump on the vital topic—while 60% registered opposition to his methods of dealing with the issue.
Those numbers are dropping before most consumers feel the sting of Trump’s tariffs, meaning this could be a high point for him as conditions worsen.
