White House Blasted By AP Reporter For Touting Tariffs As ‘A Tax Cut For the American People’: ‘Have You Ever Paid a Tariff?’

https://www.latintimes.com/white-house-blasted-ap-reporter-touting-tariffs-tax-cut-american-people-have-you-ever-578143

46 comments

  1. Okay. That AP reporter is going to be banned from the White House now.

  2. It’s about time someone punched back. Leavitt point blank lied about what tariffs are and then had the gall to be angry about being corrected.

    Kakistocracy

  5. Of course at a factual level the AP reporter is perfectly correct.   But unfortunately facts mean nothing in the context of American politics.

    American politics is determined by “vibe”.    Vibe is a characteristic that is imparted by the most persuasive politicians.   In recent years the Republican politicians have been more persuasive. The Democrats don’t know how to do “vibe”.   But the important thing to remember is:  Vibe > Facts.

  6. “The sky is green.”

    “No, the sky is blue. Have you ever looked up?”

    “I think it’s insulting that you are challenging my Arts degree.”

  8. Karoline Leavitt knows as much about tariffs as Trump does. So, basically nothing.

  9. It was an embarrassing moment for the press secretary but I have a hunch she was proud of it.

  10. This kind of blatant lying on something that has economic implications should be a main story on every legitimate source of media. Trumpers won’t care, but that shouldn’t stop media from treating as the big headline that it is. Pushing back on big lies is not being partisan. It’s the responsibility of any legitimate news organization and reporter.

  11. Of course Trump would install a “Press Secretary” who’s as stupid as he is. What a shitshow.

  13. Fuck yeah AP. Way to have a backbone and not kowtow to dear leader like every other media company

  14. >Leavitt: Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries and a tax cut for the American people

    >Reporter: Have you ever paid a tariff? I have. They don’t get charged on foreign countries

    >Leavitt: I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics, and the decision that this president has made. I now regret giving a question to The Associated Press.

    It shouldn’t even be a test of economics.

    This would be a gimme quiz question in an ECON 101 class: are tariffs foreign or domestic taxes?

    Also, why do you keep calling on AP or Reuters if you continually get pissed that they lord their high school education over you with this basic fact checking?

  16. I should have known better than give AP a question because they stomped my ass with it. Especially since I’m too dumb to lie about the answer.

  20. Well, and tariffs not only seldom accomplish anything positive at all, they NEVER work to increase foreign investment and factories when you pair it with evil expansionist dictator posturing internationally. Or when you admit, as Trump has, that you are abusing them mainly to soften up an ally to annex them. Literally Xi’s entire playbook right there, copied by lazy student Trump. With the same predictable results of a crashed economy.

  21. That’s their whole deal. Fill the room with friendly reporters unwilling to challenge their bullshit with obvious facts. If a Reporter has the gall to ask a question they can’t answer truthfully, he/she is dismissed. They can’t do what they want to do to you without lots of lies.

  22. In my opinion he missed the mark on his follow up question. What he should have followed up with was asking that if tariffs are paid by foreign countries and companies, can Americans then expect that they can be paying the same prices for goods?

  23. It’s insulting to everyone’s intelligence that this woman is the main spokesman for the American president. She’s just so unlikeable and thin skinned.

    Yes, if what you’re saying is nonsensical reporters are going to challenge you on it.

    Orwellian gets thrown out a lot, so I’ll.instead compare her to JK Rowling’s Umbridge

  24. Taffies are payments made by American companies to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, and therefore taxes. Individual consumers do not pay tariffs. Foreign countries do not pay tariffs. The cost of these taxes is typically added to the cost of products, raising costs for consumers. That’s called inflation. The purpose is to make foreign goods more expensive and thus less appealing to American companies, and thereby promote the consumption of American-made goods. This only works if there are American alternatives. But thanks to the Executive Class closing factories and opening new ones overseas or just paying foreign companies, we don’t have equivalent American products to buy. If it’s supposed to promote new manufacturing, there will be a lag between a change in tariffs and the creation of new factories and products, a lag of years at a minimum. Contemporary American companies are not generally in the habit of investing millions to build new facilities that might result in products to sell in a few years when the future is uncertain.

    Of course none of this, which some people call “reality” matters, because this country is full of intentionally ignorant voters.

  25. Basically the White House is saying- It’s disrespectful to disagree with me even if I am wrong.

  27. Trump has no idea how tariffs affect lower and middle income persons/families. Somehow he believes a high tariff will overcome the need for income taxes. US income taxes are GRADUATED. Tariffs are not. Billionaires are happy to pay the same tariff rates as those who make much, much, much less.

  28. Looks like the AP is blacklisted… Again. Next? The Flaired Users consider AP “liberal news”.

  29. Then she says “dont lecture me on economics.”

    God I hate this fucking timeline.

  30. Didn’t the fight for independence start with a protest over tariff on tea?

    How can they forget how tariffs work?

  32. “”I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics, . . . ” <=== I believe Mr Boak was perfectly correct in testing Ms Leavitt’s “knowledge” (or lack thereof) of economics considering her degree is in Communications and Politics
    [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoline_Leavitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoline_Leavitt)

  33. Tariffs are literally a tax paid by American companies for importing goods.

  34. She’ll be writing a book about how awful working for Trump was in a year or two.

  35. This woman all of 27yrs old married to a 59 yr old man. Ooof … just can’t stand her haughtiness and attitude.

  37. It seems “Trump raises taxes” is a real trigger phrase for her, and the admin.

    It would be a shame if it were to spread.

  38. Good for them though. These other reporters are letting this admin get away with so much bullshit. Like saying Biden left them a disaster. How lady? How?

  39. I would love for them to actually show me where I “Saved” money with these tariffs or how DOGE cuts are giving me my money back?

  40. Funny thing is on the Joe Rogan sub, they are touting this as a win by the press secretary. I don’t think they even comprehend the words. I think they just see their people versus them and when their people get aggressive, they go into defense mode for their people. Just vibes.

  41. King Puppet doesn’t know how tariffs work

    But his handlers do. President Musk does. Most of the Republicans in the House and Senate do (passes given to dumb-as-a-stone folks like Q-bert and Empty G, they’re just evil on their own).

    They are openly lying to the American people because they know their voterbase *doesn’t*.

    Just vile.

  42. doublespeak in its highest expression!

    tariffs are not taxes and Ukraine started the war. and war is peace, and freedom is slavery .

  43. If you repeat a lie long enough…dumb people will believe it. Way to go MAGA.

  44. lol she’s never paid a tariff. She’s married to someone 30 years older than her and she’s got NO experience.

  45. Import tax. It’s an import tax. Democrats should be on TV continually calling tariffs import taxes, because that’s effectively what they are. Stop letting these idiots frame the debate.

  46. Is it possible she’s really that stupid? There are smarter boxes of hair.

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