President Donald Trump on Sunday did not rule out the possibility that the U.S. will head into a recession this year amid uncertainty and market turbulence over his chaotic tariff policy.
Speaking to Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Trump told host Maria Bartiromo that the country will go through a “period of transition” but stopped short of declaring a recession when asked directly by Bartiromo.
“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. 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,” Trump said.
Trump was then asked if Americans can expect prices to rise due to his tariffs.
“You may get it. In the meantime, guess what? Interest rates are down,” he said.
As Trump placed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China; he also downplayed the stock market crashing over the last several days.
“You have to do what’s right,” he said.
The statement from Trump comes after a week of whiplash over tariffs on Mexico and Canada. A day after imposing them on Canada and Mexico, he pulled back, granting to the nation’s top automakers a one-month reprieve.
The very next day, he backtracked again by delaying more Mexico-Canada tariffs sending the markets plummeting and confused. The back and forth sent stocks tumbling and executives scrambling — which did not appear to both the president.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick pushed back against any idea of a recession.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “There’s going to be no recession in America.”
“Anybody who bets against Donald Trump, it’s like the same people who thought Donald Trump wasn’t going to win a year ago, you are going to see over the next two years the greatest set of growth coming from America,” he added. “I would never bet on recession, no chance.”
