President Donald Trump refused to say whether he expects his planned tariffs and resulting economic uncertainty to lead the United States into a recession this year, in an answer that contradicted his own commerce secretary’s position that Americans should not brace for such an outcome.
In a taped interview aired on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” the president told Maria Bartiromo that his plans for bigger “reciprocal” tariffs will go into effect on April 2. The White House had initially imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada before quickly pausing them, leaving Wall Street unstable over concerns of a possible trade war.
When asked by Bartiromo about the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s warning of an economic decline in the first quarter of the year — in which there are fewer goods and services produced — Trump appeared to acknowledge that his tariffs could impact the country’s economic growth.
But despite claiming the tariffs will ultimately be “great” for the US, the president refused to say whether he expects the country to enter a recession this year, as major banks now warn.
“I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing,” he said. “And there are always periods of — it takes a little time, it takes a little time. But I think it should be great for us. I mean, I think it should be great. It’s gonna be great ultimately for the farmers.”
Trump’s answer contradicts Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s remarks aired the same day, in which he said Americans should “absolutely not” brace for a recession.
“Anybody who bets against Donald Trump — it’s like the same people who thought Donald Trump wasn’t a winner a year ago,” Lutnick told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “Donald Trump is a winner. He’s going to win for the American people, that’s just the way it’s going to be. There’s going to be no recession in America.”
Lutnick appeared unaware of his own boss’s comments on a possible recession.
“We’ll unleash America out to the world, grow our economy in a way we’ve never grown before. You are going to see over the next two years the greatest set of growth coming from America as Americans,” he continued. “You saw it, 1.3 trillion of new investment coming into America that — think of all those jobs, and remember each trillion of investment in America is 1% of growth GDP.”
“So Donald Trump is bringing growth to America,” he added. “I would never bet on recession, no chance.”
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