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Americans Wrestle With How Trump’s Tariffs May Change Shopping Lists

Published

9 months ago

April 6, 2025

Americans Wrestle With How Trump’s Tariffs May Change Shopping Lists

Charlene and Phil Willingham had been thinking for a while about replacing the 20-year-old appliances in their kitchen, but with the sudden prospect of rising costs, they decided that this was the moment. The Willinghams, both retired, turned up at a store in the suburbs of Chicago on Friday with a long shopping list: stove, refrigerator, microwave oven and dishwasher.

“We were going to take our time to get new appliances, but now because of these tariffs, I want to get them before any price increases take place,” Ms. Willingham, 64, said while shopping at the Abt Electronics store in Glenview, Ill. Of the Trump administration’s sweeping announcement of tariffs across the globe last week, she said, “It sort of set the fire.”

In grocery stores, car dealerships, malls and big discount chains around the country, interviews with more than two dozen Americans this weekend showed that many were racing to figure out how to get ahead of the new tariffs plan, quickly making calculated purchases, big and small.

“The panic is enough to make me want to buy,” Shali Santos, 28, said, after stocking up on essentials in bulk — water, soap, mouthwash — at a Costco Wholesale store in Marina del Rey, a waterfront community in Los Angeles County, and noticing that many people around her seemed to be stocking up more than usual on similar staples.

Others said their shopping habits were unchanged by the tariffs announcement, largely because they had patience and trust in the president’s long game, and figured that any short-term pain, including potential cost increases, would work itself out.

“I’m confident it will recover,” Gregg Harris, 61, said as he shopped for food at a Walmart in Nashville.

Nearly all, though, expressed lingering uncertainty about exactly how these tariffs — at least a 10 percent government surcharge on nearly all goods imported into the United States as well as higher rates on goods from many countries — would play out in their daily lives. How and when might prices be affected by President Trump’s moves? What items might be most hard hit? Even if they knew the answers to such questions, some asked, could they really afford purchasing big ticket items right now to avoid higher costs later?

“He’s doing a lot, which, I mean, that feels like a change, which can be refreshing,” said Mitchell Kwapick, 28, as he shopped for a nephew’s birthday gift at Target in suburban Milwaukee. “But it’s a lot of stuff that’s scary right now.”

The announcements of the tariffs quickly tanked global markets, dealing a blow to investment portfolios, and economists say many of the costs associated with the tariffs will be passed on to consumers. Supporters said the tariffs would ultimately bring jobs back in the United States, while opponents said they would upend the economy.

Among people interviewed at stores this weekend, levels of concern about rising prices — and new urgency to beat any effects of tariffs — seemed closely tied to partisan alliances.

At the Abt Electronics store in Glenview, where business was swift, Laura Papa, 44, came in with her family looking for a new wall oven and refrigerator.

“We were hoping to wait until the summer, but then this fiasco happened,” said Ms. Papa, an accountant who voted for Kamala Harris in November. She said that she viewed tariffs as likely to wreck the nation’s economy and offered advice to others browsing in the store: “You better get stuff before the price increases come.”

In Marina del Rey, Tamela Plaine, who also works as an accountant and voted for Ms. Harris, said she began to worry about tariffs immediately after Mr. Trump was elected, and rushed out to buy a Hyundai S.U.V. before he took office to avoid rising prices.

After the tariffs were announced last week, Ms. Plaine, 48, said she felt compelled to shop in bulk for a wide range of items at Costco in case their price tags started rising. But she said she also was hemmed in by circumstances that many Americans may be facing: a sense that the costs of ordinary items already are too high and that front-loading big expenses now is not affordable.

“I did panic when I got in there,” Ms. Plaine said of her urge to stock up as much as possible while at Costco. “But I was just like, I have to calm down, because I’m still check-to-check.”

Ms. Plaine said her worries about budgeting and rising costs have even led her to lose sleep in recent days. “I try not to freak out,” she said.

But many shoppers who had voted for Mr. Trump said they were not adjusting their buying habits at all based on tariffs.

“I love them,” Dixon Witherspoon, 66, said of tariffs as he shopped for an oven lightbulb at a Target in Nashville. “The problem with America is everybody is worried about their quarterly stock report and everything is short-term vision, which is not good for anything.”

Mr. Witherspoon, a retired executive in the insurance sector who said his own stock portfolio had seen significant losses, said he expects tariffs to enhance the nation’s manufacturing independence and make a fairer playing field for U.S. businesses. “Tariffs are going to be painful in the short run, but in the long run, they are going to be wonderful,” he said.

In Milwaukee, J.J. Kennedy, who said he strongly supports President Trump, said he did not expect his shopping habits to shift following the launching of tariffs.

Mr. Kennedy, who owns an architectural design company and was buying computer keyboards at a Best Buy, acknowledged that tariffs had sparked concern and confusion in the construction industry, and that new home prices could be affected.

Still, he did not expect it to matter.

“People are just going to pay the difference,” Mr. Kennedy, 45, said. “Inventory is so low around here, it’s unbelievable.”

Many shoppers said the prospect of tariffs simply added to anxiety about an already unforgiving economy. Even if prices had yet to surge, uncertainty about what was ahead and sudden declines to retirement savings accounts were worrying signs.

“Either directly or indirectly, everyone’s impacted — 401(k)s, my stocks have been impacted, my mother’s pension is being impacted, a lot of people’s investments are being impacted,” said Alonzo Beyene, the owner of a technology business who was shopping in Miami on Saturday morning.

In Milwaukee, Juanita Norris said her retirement account lost $8,000 in just two days.

“That’s $8,000 that could have gone toward a car for my kids,” she said.

She was planning to help them buy a car this spring, she said, but if prices rise, she will need to wait anyway.

Back at the appliance store in Illinois, the Willinghams studied a stainless steel six-burner stove.

Both Democrats, they contemplated the point of the tariffs.

“I don’t see how it benefited the American people,” Ms. Willingham said. “I really hope and pray things can be resolved soon.”

Mr. Willingham, 65, was more resigned: “It is what it is,” he said.

Robert Chiarito contributed reporting from Glenview, Ill., Mimi Dwyer from Los Angeles, Jamie McGee from Nashville, Dan Simmons from Milwaukee, and Verónica Zaragovia from Miami.

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News

Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

Published

7 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Federal immigration agents shoot 2 people in Portland, Oregon, police say

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, a day after an officer shot and killed a driver in Minnesota, authorities said.

The Department of Homeland Security described the vehicle’s passenger as “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants Thursday afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a written statement.

“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” the statement said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”

There was no immediate independent corroboration of those events or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. During prior shootings involving agents involved in President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement in U.S. cities, including Wednesday’s shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, video evidence cast doubt on the administration’s initial descriptions of what prompted the shootings.

READ MORE: What we know so far about the ICE shooting in Minneapolis

According to the the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting near a hospital at about 2:18 p.m.

A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers then responded there and found the two people with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers determined they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.

Their conditions were not immediately known. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a Portland city council meeting that Thursday’s shooting took place in the eastern part of the city and that two Portlanders were wounded.

“As far as we know both of these individuals are still alive and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon,” she said.

The shooting escalates tensions in an city that has long had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump, including Trump’s recent, failed effort to deploy National Guard troops in the city.

Portland police secured both the scene of the shooting and the area where the wounded people were found pending investigation.

“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” said Chief Bob Day. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.

“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” a joint statement said. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”

The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We’ll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”

They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”

“We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice,” the statement said. “We must stand together to protect Portland.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged any protesters to remain peaceful.

“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said in a post on the X social media platform. “Don’t take the bait.”

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News

Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

Published

17 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Video: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

new video loaded: What Trump Told Us About the ICE Shooting

The New York Times sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office for an exclusive interview just hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis. Our White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs explains how the president reacted to the shooting.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, Nikolay Nikolov and Coleman Lowndes

January 8, 2026

News

Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

Published

20 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Community reacts to ICE shooting in Minnesota. And, RFK Jr. unveils new food pyramid

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman, yesterday. Multiple observers captured the shooting on video, and community members demanded accountability. Minnesota law enforcement officials and the FBI are investigating the fatal shooting, which the Trump administration says was an act of self-defense. Meanwhile, the mayor has accused the officer of reckless use of power and demanded that ICE get out of Minneapolis.

People demonstrate during a vigil at the site where a woman was shot and killed by an immigration officer earlier in the day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 7, 2026. An immigration officer in Minneapolis shot dead a woman on Wednesday, triggering outrage from local leaders even as President Trump claimed the officer acted in self-defense. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey deemed the government’s allegation that the woman was attacking federal agents “bullshit,” and called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducting a second day of mass raids to leave Minneapolis.

Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

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Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

🎧 Caitlin Callenson recorded the shooting and says officers gave Good multiple conflicting instructions while she was in her vehicle. Callenson says Good was already unresponsive when officers pulled her from the car. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims the officer was struck by the vehicle and acted in self-defense. In the video NPR reviewed, the officer doesn’t seem to be hit and was seen walking after he fired the shots, NPR’s Meg Anderson tells Up First. Anderson says it has been mostly peaceful in Minneapolis, but there is a lot of anger and tension because protesters want ICE out of the city.

U.S. forces yesterday seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the north Atlantic between Iceland and Britain after a two-week chase. The tanker was originally headed to Venezuela, but it changed course to avoid the U.S. ships. This action comes as the Trump administration begins releasing new information about its plans for Venezuela’s oil industry.

🎧 It has been a dramatic week for U.S. operations in Venezuela, NPR’s Greg Myre says, prompting critics to ask if a real plan for the road ahead exists. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded that the U.S. does have a strategy to stabilize Venezuela, and much of it seems to involve oil. Rubio said the U.S. would take control of up to 50 million barrels of oil from the country. Myre says the Trump administration appears to have a multipronged strategy that involves taking over the country’s oil, selling it on the world market and pressuring U.S. oil companies to enter Venezuela.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released new dietary guidelines for Americans yesterday that focus on promoting whole foods, proteins and healthy fats. The guidance, which he says aims to “revolutionize our food culture,” comes with a new food pyramid, which replaces the current MyPlate symbol.

🎧 “I’m very disappointed in the new pyramid,” Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert who was on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, tells NPR’s Allison Aubrey. Gardner says the new food structure, which features red meat and saturated fats at the top, contradicts decades of evidence and research. Poor eating habits and the standard American diet are widely considered to cause chronic disease. Aubrey says the new guidelines alone won’t change people’s eating habits, but they will be highly influential. This guidance will shape the offerings in school meals and on military bases, and determine what’s allowed in federal nutrition programs.

Special series

Trump has tried to bury the truth of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. NPR built a visual archive of the attack on the Capitol, showing exactly what happened through the lenses of the people who were there. “Chapter 4: The investigation” shows how federal investigators found the rioters and built the largest criminal case in U.S. history.

Political leaders, including Trump, called for rioters to face justice for their actions on Jan. 6. This request came because so few people were arrested during the attack. The extremists who led the riot remained free, and some threatened further violence. The government launched the largest federal investigation in American history, resulting in the arrest of over 1,500 individuals from all 50 states. The most serious cases were made by prosecutors against leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. For their roles in planning the attack against the U.S., some extremists were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Take a look at the Jan. 6 prosecutions by the numbers, including the highest sentence received.

To learn more, explore NPR’s database of federal criminal cases from Jan. 6. You can also see more of NPR’s reporting on the topic.

Deep dive

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump takes 325 milligrams of daily aspirin, which is four times the recommended 81 milligrams of low-dose aspirin used for cardiovascular disease prevention. The president revealed this detail in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published last week. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that anyone over 60 not start a daily dose of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease if they don’t already have an underlying problem. The group said it’s reasonable to stop preventive aspirin in people already taking it around age 75 years. Trump is 79. This is what you should know about aspirin and cardiac health:

💊 Doctors often prescribe the low dose of aspirin because there’s no benefit to taking a higher dose, according to a large study published in 2021.
💊 Some people, including adults who have undergone heart bypass surgery and those who have had a heart attack, should take the advised dose of the drug for their entire life.
💊 While safer than other blood thinners, the drug — even at low doses — raises the risk of bleeding in the stomach and brain. But these adverse events are unlikely to cause death.

3 things to know before you go

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death.

Christopher D. Pull/ISTA

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Christopher D. Pull/ISTA

Young, terminally ill ants will send out an altruistic “kill me” signal to worker ants, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications. With this strategy, the sick ants sacrifice themselves for the good of their colony.
In this week’s Far-Flung Postcards series, you can spot a real, lone California sequoia tree in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris. Napoleon III transformed the park from a former landfill into one of the French capital’s greenest escapes.
The ACLU and several authors have sued Utah over its “sensitive materials” book law, which has now banned 22 books in K-12 schools. Among the books on the ban list are The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. (via KUER)

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.