Connect with us

Politics

Estimates Imply That Tariffs Could Fall Heavily on Consumers

Published

on

Estimates Imply That Tariffs Could Fall Heavily on Consumers

President Trump has said that his aim in imposing tariffs is to force companies to move production back to the United States. If manufacturers make their goods in America, he argues, they won’t have to pay the tariffs.

But the latest revenue projections proffered by his administration call into question what Mr. Trump wants to achieve with the tariffs he is imposing on both allies and adversaries.

Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to Mr. Trump, told Fox News on Sunday that the sweeping tariffs the president was imposing would raise about $6 trillion over the next decade, with those revenues going toward funding “the biggest tax cut in American history for the middle class.”

While he insisted that Americans would not bear the cost, those estimates imply that the burden of tariffs could fall heavily on consumers, rather than encouraging companies to reshore supply chains.

Trade experts have argued that using tariffs to raise revenue directly contradicts the goal of using tariffs to bring factories back to the United States. In order for the government to take in so much revenue, Americans would need to continue buying substantial amounts of imported products.

Advertisement

Mr. Navarro said the administration would also lower costs for Americans by bringing down gas prices. Trump officials have said that would be accomplished by drilling for more oil in the United States.

“Tariffs are tax cuts, tariffs are jobs, tariffs are national security,” Mr. Navarro said. “Tariffs are great for America.”

Mr. Trump is expected to introduce global tariffs on other countries this week, and has also repeatedly talked about replacing taxes with tariffs. But the U.S. government raises about $2 trillion from individual and corporate income taxes. In 2024, the United States imported $4 trillion of products, meaning tariffs would have to be extremely high to replace tax revenue.

Calculations by economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics suggested that tariff revenue could peak at about $780 billion annually with a 50 percent tariff on all imports. After that, the amount of revenue would shrink. That’s because when tariffs reach a certain level, consumers tend to stop buying imported products, meaning the revenue they generate decreases.

The Yale Budget Lab estimated that the auto tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Thursday could raise $600 billion to $650 billion between 2026 and 2035. But those prices would fall heavily on consumers. U.S. vehicle prices would rise by 13.5 percent on average, the equivalent of an additional $6,400 for the price of an average new 2024 car. Every American household would pay an extra $500 to $600 as a result of the tariffs, the group estimated.

Advertisement

Mr. Trump campaigned on reducing inflation that plagued the United States and other countries during the Biden administration.

Mr. Navarro said that tariffs had led to price stability and prosperity in Trump’s first term and would again. “Trust in Trump,” he said.

Politics

Video: Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

Published

on

Video: Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

new video loaded: Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

transcript

transcript

Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

Lawmakers confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine messaging and the Trump administration’s handling of health care fraud. The health secretary was also criticized over comments he made about psychiatric medications and Black children, which he denied.

“A deadly measles outbreak in Texas killed an unvaccinated 6-year-old, the first such death in a decade. Do you agree with the majority of doctors that the measles vaccine could have saved that child’s life in Texas?” “It’s possible, certainly.” “President Trump approved your decision to end the C.D.C.’S pro-vaccine public messaging campaign?” “We’ve done better at preventing —” “That’s not answering my question. You suspended this pro-vaccine messaging campaign, but somehow you’re spending taxpayer dollars to drink milk shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock.” “Our nation has a long and painful history of separating Black children from their families. During slavery, Black children were taken from their parents and sold with no regard for their humanity. When you suggested re-parenting Black children, when you sow doubt about the safety of vaccines and when you promote unproven statements that have no basis in science, you endanger the lives of everyone across this nation.” “If we’re going to pursue fraudsters, it’s not just the people who might make simple, honest mistakes that could be corrected. It’s the people at the top that help to perpetuate this fraud. And the administration’s position seems to be that it’s only the recipients and not the providers that commit fraud. We want an even-handed approach to these fraud investigations, including those whose schemes have cost the American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Advertisement
Lawmakers confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine messaging and the Trump administration’s handling of health care fraud. The health secretary was also criticized over comments he made about psychiatric medications and Black children, which he denied.

By Jorge Mitssunaga

April 16, 2026

Continue Reading

Politics

Tennessee governor signs nuclear family month resolution as critics push back on exclusions

Published

on

Tennessee governor signs nuclear family month resolution as critics push back on exclusions

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed a resolution declaring June Nuclear Family Month as an alternative to the usual LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

Lee, a Republican, signed House Joint Resolution 182 April 9 after it passed the House in April 2025 and the Senate last month.

The legislation highlights the importance of celebrating the traditional family unit, described as “consisting of one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children.”

“The nuclear family is under attack in our beloved State and nation, and it is our responsibility to uplift, protect, and support values that help Tennessee prosper,” the resolution adds.

Advertisement

NASHVILLE TEACHER HAS RECORD CLEARED AFTER REFUSING TO READ SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BOOK TO FIRST-GRADERS

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a resolution declaring June “Nuclear Family Month,” promoting traditional family structures as an alternative to Pride Month. (Getty Images)

A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have begun to speak out against the resolution, and a representative for GLAAD gave Fox News Digital its opinion on the bill.

OHIO TEACHER SUES HIGH SCHOOL FOR DEMANDING HE REMOVE LGBT POSTER INSIDE CLASSROOM

Advertisement

LGBTQ community members hold flags and placards during a rally. (Roy De La Cruz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“The strongest families are grounded in love, not legislative definitions. It is disturbing to see lawmakers use their platform to intentionally exclude their own constituents,” the organization wrote in a statement.

“Instead of drafting resolutions that aim to divide Tennessee families, Gov. Lee should be focused on building a state where every family is treated fairly, and every child has the opportunity to succeed.”

The news of the legislation comes a few days after the pride flag at Stonewall National Monument’s federal flagpole in New York City, a well-known symbol for the LGBTQ+ community, was restored after a two-month legal battle and settlement with the Trump administration.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee responds to questions during a news conference Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/AP)

Advertisement

“This is a victory for the LGBTQ+ community and for our entire city,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote in an X post Monday. “It’s a reminder that New Yorkers won’t let our history be rewritten.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Our administration will keep working to ensure LGBTQ+ New Yorkers can live safely and with dignity in our city.”

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

Hegseth recites ‘Pulp Fiction’ speech at Pentagon prayer service

Published

on

Hegseth recites ‘Pulp Fiction’ speech at Pentagon prayer service

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, leading a Pentagon prayer meeting, quoted a fictional bible verse taken from a violent monologue in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” originally delivered by actor Samuel L. Jackson just before his character shoots a helpless man to death.

The secretary used the prayer to frame the war in Iran as an act of divine justice, the same justification Jackson’s character cites in the film before pulling the trigger.

Hegseth told the audience at a monthly Pentagon worship service held Wednesday that he learned the prayer from the lead mission planner of a team called “Sandy 1,” which recently rescued downed Air Force crew members in Iran.

Hegseth said the verse is frequently spoken by combat search-and-rescue crews, who call the prayer “CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17” from the Bible.

“And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother,” Hegseth recited. “And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

Advertisement

The infamous Ezekiel 25:17 speech from “Pulp Fiction” is almost entirely a screenwriter’s creation; only the final refrain is loosely inspired by the actual biblical verse. The majority of the monologue in Tarantino’s film is adapted from the opening of the 1976 Japanese martial arts film “The Bodyguard,” with action star Sonny Chiba.

Hegseth’s minute-long prayer closely followed those scripts, with only the last two lines resembling language from the Bible. In Hegseth’s version, he replaced “and they shall know that I am the Lord,” from the book of Ezekiel with the call sign for a U.S. A-10 Warthog aircraft.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said some outlets accused Hegseth of mistaking Jackson’s Golden Globe-winning performance with actual scripture, and called that narrative “fake news.”

“Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction,” Parnell wrote on X. “However, both the CSAR prayer and the dialogue in Pulp Fiction were reflections of the verse Ezekiel 25:17, as Secretary Hegseth clearly said in his remarks at the prayer service. Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality.”

“Pulp Fiction” co-writer Roger Avary, who shared the Academy Award for Original Screenplay with Tarantino, weighed in Thursday, posting on X: “I am perfectly fine with @SecWar
quoting Jules in Pulp Fiction if it keeps bullets from hitting our soldiers.”

Advertisement

Hegseth has frequently used his prayer sessions to call for violence in the ongoing Iran war. In last month’s sermon, he asked God to “grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence.”

The services are not mandatory, a senior defense analyst with knowledge of Pentagon operations told The Times, but some who work closely with Hegseth’s office feel an “implied pressure” to attend and “fill seats.”

The effect — some feel — is less attention on the Pentagon’s wartime efforts, and more on supporting political stunts, according to the source, who is not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity.

“We have managers and leaders that are missing mission critical work to go listen to ‘Pulp Fiction’ quotes,” the source said. “It delays our ability to make operational, mission related war-fighting decisions.”

The prayer came amid an ongoing clash between the Trump administration and Pope Leo XIV, who has spoken out in recent weeks against the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Statements from the Vatican were met with a series of reprisals from President Trump, who said he doesn’t “want a pope” who criticizes the president of the United States.

Advertisement

On Thursday, the pope released a statement against military leaders who conflate war with divinity.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” he said.

Continue Reading

Trending