President Donald Trump’s press secretary clashed with an AP reporter over tariffs during Tuesday’s briefing, adding fuel to the ongoing feud between the outlet and the president.
Josh Boak of the Associated Press asked Karoline Leavitt why Trump has prioritized “tax hikes in the form of tariffs” when he had promised to provide tax cuts for Americans during his campaign.
“Not true, he’s not doing that,” Leavitt shot back, while claiming, “Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the president is a staunch advocate of tax cuts.”
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That’s when Boak asked chidingly, “I’m sorry, have you ever paid a tariff? Because I have. They don’t get charged on foreign companies, they get charged on the importers.”
Leaning into the podium, Leavitt, who is the youngest White House press secretary ever appointed at 27-years-old, insisted that fair and balanced trade would raise wages and restore the country’s wealthy. But it was clear that Boak’s question had struck a nerve.
“I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics and the decisions that this president has made,” she said, adding, “I now regret giving a question to the Associated Press.”
Leavitt had made it a point not to call on AP reporters after Trump attacked the news agency for its decision to keep “Gulf of Mexico” in its style guide, defying the president’s executive order renaming the body of water to the “Gulf of America.”
Since the spat, AP reporters have been blocked from the pool of journalists who cover the president and from covering White House events. A federal judge declined to restore the agency’s access in February, although new hearings are set for March 20.
Tariffs are, in fact, not a tax cut for Americans, as Leavitt suggested, but rather taxes charged on imported goods. This usually leads to higher prices for consumers. Most experts expect Trump’s trade war with China, Canada and Mexico to hurt businesses and consumers.
