In just the first two months of Trump’s presidency, he has made numerous announcements imposing, canceling, delaying, and carving out exemptions for his tariffs.

On Inauguration Day, Trump promised to impose 25% tariffs across-the-board on Canadian and Mexican imports beginning February 1. Those tariffs were then delayed until February 4, and then again until March 4. On March 5, Trump gave automakers a temporary carveout from the tariffs, and a day after that, temporarily exempted goods covered under his first-term United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and delayed the tariffs (again) entirely until April 2. On January 26, Trump also threatened tariffs on Colombian imports after Colombia refused to accept military deportation flights, only to later back off and declare victory. And on March 12, Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports went into effect, triggering retaliatory actions from major American trading partners.

All along, many on Fox have praised Trump’s increasingly contradictory tariff announcements as a masterful negotiation tactic and “the art of the deal,” much like they did during the 2024 presidential campaign.

• Following Trump’s threats to Colombia, Fox anchor Martha MacCallum called Trump’s tariff threats “foreign policy 101,” and noted “how quickly the turn around happens when there is a financial axe sort of held above your head.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 1/28/25]
• Before Trump announced a pause, Fox host Steve Doocy called Trump a “master negotiator,” and added that “there is a lot of time between now and midnight. He can make a deal with Mexico and Canada and say, ‘OK, I was threatening 25% … what am I going to get for that?’” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/3/25]
• Fox host Will Cain pushed back on former Canadian foreign minister John Baird’s reasoning that tariffs are bad, saying, “I think if there is any lesson for us to take it is: Analyze it through the prism of the art of the deal." [Fox News, The Will Cain Show, 2/3/25]
• Fox host Laura Ingraham praised Trump’s inconsistent trade war policy with a graphic reading, “The Art of the Tariff." She said that “all it took was a few hours, and three phone calls, and lo and behold, President Trump has Canada and Mexico ready to make concessions.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 2/3/25]
• After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would appoint a “fentanyl czar” and implement a border plan, Fox host Dana Perino called it “the art of the trade war.” [Fox News, The Five, 2/3/25]
• On Fox & Friends, co-host Lawrence Jones complained that “the media is essentially freaking out, you see people in Congress freaking out,” about looming tariffs, but called the chaos “the results of the art of the deal.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/4/25]
• Heritage Foundation economist Stephen Moore argued on Fox that he believes “Trump will prevail” on tariffs because he is a “master negotiator.” Moore said: “I think Trump is going to prevail here. You know, as he said, this might be some short-term pain for much longer-term structural gain in the American economy. … I would never bet against Donald Trump, he's a master negotiator, I think, with countries like Canada, Mexico, China, Europe.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/12/25]
• Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt reassured her audience that “this is all part of the art of the deal. And Trump knows what he's doing.” Earhardt continued: “He's saying just trust me, it’s going to be painful in the beginning, you’re going to have to pay more for some items. But, in the end, it's going to be worth it.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/12/25]

Economists broadly agree that Trump’s tariffs will be devastating for the U.S. economy. And even though most of the tariffs are not in effect yet, their mere threat is creating economic havoc. According to economists, consumers’ fears of the tariffs caused them to reduce spending, triggering fears of an economic slowdown. The stock market has also lost trillions of dollars in value since Trump took office, due in part to the repeated contradictory tariff announcements. And the latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey came in well below expectations due to worries about his tariffs. University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers also suggested that some of the January rise in inflation could be attributed to extra purchases made before tariffs take effect.

But many Fox personalities are embracing the mayhem caused by Trump’s incoherent tariff policies, suggesting that the damage is necessary for various broader goals.

• On The Five, co-host Jeanine Pirro pointed to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s praise of tariffs, saying, “Jamie Dimon now saying, well, even if it is a little bit inflationary, if it’s good for national security — everybody’s coming around.” [Fox News, The Five, 1/23/25]
• Fox Business host Jackie DeAngelis: “If we see a little inflation because we’re going to bring business back home here, and because we’re going to grow the American economy? As Jamie Dimon earlier said, so be it.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 1/23/25]
• On Fox Business, guest Jacob Sonenshine of Barron’s said an additional percentage point of inflation from Trump’s tariffs “doesn’t really matter” because “the market’s going to power right through it.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 2/13/25]
• Fox’s Steve Doocy downplayed the potential negative impacts of Trump’s tariffs on the U.S. economy, noting that “there might be some pain in the beginning, but ultimately this is to help all of us.” [Media Matters, 3/4/25]
• Fox Business guest Mario Veneroso claimed that “at the end of the day, we're going to have a little short term pain for long term gain. We will be fine.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 3/6/25]
• While referring to Trump as “the CEO of our country,” DeAngelis admitted that the president’s economy “might be a little painful” but that he’s “actually doing something that is really courageous.” She added that “what I think Donald Trump is doing here — we have to bear with him while it could be a little painful — is to ride through that time that we bring manufacturing home and we incentivize companies to manufacture here.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 3/10/25]
• On Fox, Canadian entrepreneur and TV personality Kevin O’Leary celebrated the stock market falling, claiming that “it's very healthy to have a significant correction like this and reset the entire stage.” He added, “I hate to say it — I'm glad this is happening.” [Fox News, The Story, 3/10/25]
• Fox Business host Taylor Riggs said the equity markets were “on life support – government, public-spending life support — and we’re slowly trying to take the ventilator off the patient,” which causes “moments of transition.” [Fox News, The Story, 3/10/25]
• On Fox, CEO of Strategic Wealth Partners Mark Tepper claimed, “If there is a 25% universal tariff on every single good we import, that equates to a 3% tax on taxpayers. Not fun, but not the end of the world.” Tepper continued, “Also recognize the fact that if we do extend the Trump tax cuts, that would essentially offset that 3%.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 3/12/25]

Not everyone on Fox is embracing the harm from Trump’s tariffs; some are following the example of the conservative Wall Street Journal, calling them out as stupid and counterproductive.

• Fox Business guest Kurt Volker: “To put tariffs on everything, that's going to have a lot of unintended consequences that the American consumers are going to pay for.” Volker added: “To actually go ahead and impose” tariffs “on everything, I think that is overkill.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 2/3/25]
• Fox contributor Bill McGurn on Fox & Friends: “Let me be clear: I think tariffs are a bad idea all the time.” McGurn added: “They work until they don't work and then they can be catastrophic.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/4/25]
• Fox chief political analyst Brit Hume: “There is no doubt that tariffs in the short run, and perhaps very much so in the long as well, raise prices.” Hume added: “And this is a president who has committed to bringing them down, so I think there is a real challenge there.” [Fox News, Special Report, 2/10/25]
• Economists Jared Bernstein and Douglas Holtz-Eakin agreed during a Fox appearance that Trump’s tariffs are bad for consumers. Bernstein, former Biden administration chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, said: “I'm worried about the extent to which the tariff agenda is going to hurt American consumers.” Conservative economist Holtz-Eakin agreed that costs will rise for consumers, and added: “I don't like giving up control of economic policy, and I don't like this aspect of the administration's portfolio.” [Fox News, America Reports, 2/14/25]
• Fox Business guest Chris McMahon: “These tariffs are really scary. ... It has a real possibility of bringing on a recession.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 3/4/25]
• A car dealer interviewed by Fox said about Trump’s tariffs: “We're afraid. It's going to have a gigantic impact on our business.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/4/25]
• McGurn on Fox Business: “I can't really say anything nice about tariffs. I think they're anti-growth and a bad thing to play around with, ‘cause they can get out of hand.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 3/5/25]
• Fox Business guest John Lonski of Moody’s: Trump's plan for “reciprocal tariffs” may result in “the worst performance by the U.S. ​economy​ ​—​ excluding trade ​—​ since the ​C​OVID recession​.” [Fox Business, Varney & Co., 3/5/25]
• Fox anchor John Roberts: Trump’s tariffs are “perhaps a ticking time bomb” on inflation. [Fox News, Special Report, 3/12/25]
• Hume: Trump’s tariffs are making taxes higher. Hume explained that tariffs are “taxes on goods that are being imported into this country” and that they “suppress economic activity.” Hume concluded: “The chances of higher prices, it seems to me, from tariffs is a legitimate concern.” [Fox News, Special Report, 3/12/25]