Donald Trump predicts "period of transition" resulting from tariff implementation

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“I’m not worried about this at all”: MAGA media shrug off concerns of recession

Trump apologists urge Americans not to worry as his policy agenda destabilizes the economy

Written by Craig Harrington, Jack Wheatley & Chloe Simon

Research contributions from Zachary Pleat & Jane Lee

Published

In the weeks since his second inauguration, President Donald Trump's chaotic governance and threatening rhetoric have wreaked havoc on the “dream economy” that he inherited from the Biden-Harris administration, which was called “the envy of the world” in the lead-up to Election Day.

Numerous economic indicators have already begun to flash warnings that Trump's policy agenda, and promises of even more disruptive moves to come, may send the economy into a recession. Rather than dealing with the turmoil Trump has unleashed on the economy, Trump's media enablers have opted instead to claim that plunging the nation into recession is a necessary step to reset and restore the economy, with some also rewriting history by arguing that the economy he inherited from the Biden-Harris administration was a “bad economy.”

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  • Donald Trump predicted a “period of transition” as the economy was roiled by his policies

    • During a Fox Business interview, Trump admitted that the economy was headed toward a “period of transition” and would not rule out recession this year. In an exclusive March 9 interview with Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, Trump was asked to respond to a number of indicators that are raising “worries of a slowdown” for the economy, which Bartiromo falsely portrayed as stemming in part from Trump inheriting “a mess” from the Biden administration. When asked directly, “Are you expecting a recession this year,” Trump deflected by arguing, “There is a period of transition. … But I think it should be great for us.” [Fox Business, Sunday Morning Futures, 3/9/25; Fox Business, 3/10/25]
    • During the interview, Trump seemed to confirm that twice-delayed tariffs against imported products from Canada and Mexico will go into full effect after April 2. Later in the interview, when pressed for clarity on his future tariff plans after he delayed full implementation until April 2, Trump proclaimed, “We may go up with some tariffs. It depends. … I don't think we'll go down.” Trump then said of the delay, “It’s a transition period. And it’s a transition into April, and after that I’m not doing this.” [Fox Business, Sunday Morning Futures, 3/9/25; Fox Business, 3/10/25]
    • On March 11, Trump announced increased tariffs on Canada, causing stocks to “immediately” tumble. In a social media post, Trump threatened additional tariffs on Canada in response to Ontario’s export surcharge on some U.S. electricity. Trump further concluded that “the only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.” [CNN, 3/11/25; Axios, 3/11/25]
    • Wall Street warns that Trump’s policies threaten to “wreck” the economy as experts fear a potential recession. The New York Times reported on stocks plummeting amid rising recession fears, and The Wall Street Journal reported on concerns on Wall Street that Trump will “wreck” the economy, veering away from “so-called soft landing that brings inflation down without a recession.” [The New York Times, 3/10/25; The Wall Street Journal, 3/10/25]

  • Trump-aligned media figures argued economic turmoil is necessary bloodletting

    • Elon Musk said during an October 25 telephone town hall that Trump’s agenda “to reduce spending to live within our means … necessarily involves some temporary hardship.” Since then, Musk has become the embodiment of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency , which is reportedly responsible for many federal firings and spending freezes. [The New York Times, 10/29/24; The Associated Press, 2/21/25]
    • Musk replied “sounds about right” to an X user who wrote that there will be an “initial severe overreaction in the economy” and that the “market will tumble” as Trump enacts his agenda. [The New York Times, 10/29/24]
    • Fox News host Laura Ingraham: Trump’s agenda will be “tough for the economy. There is no doubt about it.” Ingraham added: “People have to get, as my father would have said, real work, real jobs. People are going to have to get jobs and they're going to be scrambling.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 11/20/24]
    • Podcaster Jason Calacanis: “DOGE is going to require collective sacrifice.” He wrote: “Getting Americans & their representatives to decline funding the government has ALREADY promised them, and that they fought hard to get, is going to be an extremely difficult task.” [Twitter/X, 11/22/24; Vox, 11/12/22]
    • Then-Fox contributor Tammy Bruce (now a government spokesperson): People are going to lose their jobs, “and it's going to be good, because yes, more jobs will be created in the private sector for them.” [Fox News, Hannity, 12/5/24]
    • Fox host Todd Piro: “Now, admittedly, we're going to have some tariffs, and that's going to raise prices. But the overall impact on the economy, hopefully, when Trump takes over, will make people feel better. And then when people feel better, the economy is better.” [Fox Business, Varney & Co., 12/11/24]
    • On Fox News’ The Five, host Jesse Watters praised Trump’s tariff policy and claimed that “with automobiles, yeah, you might have to pay a little bit more — or you have all of these people reshore in the United States.” He added: “This is a great day for — what does he call it? The most beautiful word in the English language, tariff.” [Fox News, The Five, 2/3/25]
    • On Fox & Friends, Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich repeated talking points from the Trump administration regarding the impact of tariffs on prices, saying, “The president does admit there could be some short-term pain for Americans, but he says that it will all be worth it in the end.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/3/25]
    • Heritage Foundation economist Stephen Moore on government jobs: “I guarantee you that number is going to be down next month, because we’re already seeing the Trump administration really shred jobs in the government sector.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 2/7/25]
    • Fox Business host Charles Payne: “States are going to have a lot of their own sort of comeuppance, if you will” from the Trump administration cutting spending. Payne also claimed the Biden administration “tried to goose these numbers” with “a lot of money [that] was parceled out to states.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 2/7/25]
    • On February 17, right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk published an article for the Daily Caller with the title “Shut Up About Egg Prices — Trump Is Saving Consumers Millions.” In it, Kirk stated that “the high price of eggs is in no way President Trump’s fault” and blamed bird flu. Later on, he concluded, “Reversing four years of economic malpractice will take time to reverse, but the building blocks of America’s next great low-inflation, high-wage growth boom have already been laid — and soon enough, so too will the eggs.” Trump later shared the article on his Truth Social account. [The Daily Caller, 2/17/25; Newsweek, 3/10/25]
    • Fox anchor Harris Faulkner on DOGE gutting the federal government: “There will be some fallout, because people will be losing their jobs.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 2/18/25]
    • MAGA radio host and incoming FBI deputy director Dan Bongino: People need to “take it on the chin” and “sacrifice for a little bit” for Trump’s policies. Bongino said: “We’re just asking you to sacrifice for a little bit for the long-term prosperity of the United States. Now’s the time. … We’re all going to take it on the chin a little bit. Rich guys, poor guys, middle class guys, someone’s going to lose their tax cut. It is time to take it on the chin. We have to fix this thing now, not tomorrow.” [The Dan Bongino Show, 2/18/25]
    • Fox Business guest and Harris Financial Group’s Jamie Cox claimed, “Just because prices may rise in the short run because of tariff threats, it doesn't mean that the prices are going to be sustainably higher in the long run — in fact, the opposite is normally what happens.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 2/19/25]
    • Payne suggested it could be positive if Trump creates a recession. After a guest pointed out that President Ronald Reagan “came into office in 1981, that he slashed federal head count and actually put the economy back into the double dip recession of 1980 and 1981,” Payne responded: “I agree with you 1,000% that when you change something that's like this, lot of cash floating around, maybe there's a little temporary pain. We also end up calling it investing.” [Fox Business, Making Money, 2/26/25]
    • Fox Business co-host Brian Brenberg: “The Trump administration is trying to unravel an economy that was absolutely tied up in government spending and government hiring. ... Yeah, it's going to take work to do that, so expect a little bit of pain in the short term.” [Fox News, America Reports, 3/3/25]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy: “There might be some pain in the beginning, but ultimately this is to help all of us.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/4/25]
    • CNBC's Joe Kernen: “You try and get the trade imbalances in order. Near term, that's going to cause pain.” [CNBC, Squawk Box, 3/4/25]
    • Fox Business host Larry Kudlow said “making these changes” is not necessarily going to be “pain-free” but claimed that “if there are temporary price adjustments” because of the tariffs, “they are not going to be lasting.” Kudlow also argued the policies would not “cause a new wave of inflation.” [Fox News, Special Report, 3/4/25]
    • Kudlow made a similar claim in January, claiming, “You might see some one-off price increases for things, OK? But that’s all. They’re very temporary.” [Fox News, America Reports, 1/31/25]
    • Kudlow claimed that “there could be some short-term one-off price hikes, but at least for now, the economic signals are flashing slower growth and higher inflation.” He added, “not good.” [Fox Business, Kudlow, 2/21/25]
    • On Newsmax, host Rob Finnerty stated, “To Democrats worried about egg prices today, get over it.” Additionally, he claimed it is “also important to point out that Donald Trump is not some magical wizard. It took Joe Biden 48 months to ruin the country. Donald Trump can't just fix it in 48 days. He's not a wizard. He can't magically lower gas prices, mortgage rates, food prices, inflation, or egg prices.” [Newsmax, Finnerty, 3/6/25]
    • Appearing on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum, Fox host David Asman acknowledged that tariffs would raise prices, but he made a caveat, claiming that “there are some things more important than money and the president’s trying to tell Americans, you know, there may be a little suffering going on here, but it's worth it to get rid of the fentanyl that’s killing hundreds of thousands of Americans.” [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, 3/5/25]
    • Joining The Charlie Kirk Show on March 4, Breitbart’s John Carney remarked that “we’re talking about a price increase that happens perhaps once and then doesn’t happen again.” [Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 3/4/25]
    • In response to a clip of Trump saying that the economy is “in a period of transition,” conservative podcaster Ben Domenech claimed, “One of the things that I think that speaks to is the fact that it takes time to adjust to new realities.” [Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, 3/10/25]
    • Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo justified the volatility in the economy, claiming that “markets go up and down. Nothing goes up in a straight line. I'm not worried about this at all.” She continued, “I have covered business news and the markets for 30 plus years. Relax. We're going to see many days like this.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 3/10/25]
    • Newsmax host Rob Schmitt: “Perhaps stocks need to take a nosedive so the working man can get a little relief from all of this inflation.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 3/10/25]
    • Fox Business’ Jackie DeAngelis: “This is gonna be hard. It might be a little painful” but Americans need to “stand by him [Trump] in solidarity.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 3/10/25]
    • Podcaster Benny Johnson: “There's gonna be some turmoil, some ups and downs, as we work the — as we exorcise the demons out of this economy.” [The Benny Johnson Show, 3/11/25]

  • Trump inherited what’s been characterized as a “dream economy”

    • The Economist and MSNBC called the American economy heading into Election Day in 2024 “the envy of the world,” and The Wall Street Journal called it a “remarkable economy.” On October 31, 2024, just days before the close of the 2024 presidential election, MSNBC’s Morning Joe highlighted a litany of economic indicators demonstrating the continued strength, resilience, and stability of the American economy, with the hosts holding up a copy of that day’s Wall Street Journal, which stated, “The Next President Inherits a Remarkable Economy.” After listing a number of specific indicators that belied right-wing attacks on the Biden-Harris administration’s economic track record, co-host Willie Geist and economic analyst Steve Rattner reiterated that the American economy was “the envy of the world.” That phrase was drawn from an October 19, 2024, special report from The Economist titled “The envy of the world.” [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 10/31/24; The Economist, 10/19/24]
    • MSNBC and Politico described the United States as a “dream economy” as recently in October. During the October 14, 2024, edition of her program, MSNBC prime-time star Rachel Maddow highlighted how the mainstream press had recently begun to “begrudgingly” admit how vibrant the American economy was in the closing weeks of the election cycle, quoting a recent Politico piece that called it a “dream economy.” Maddow detailed various news reports on economic indicators showing all-time stock market values, stable inflation, historic job creation, “profoundly low” unemployment figures, increased wages and consumer spending, and strong economic growth outpacing the previous Trump administration. [MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 10/15/24]