Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

‘Never Bet Against America’: Charles Payne Says Price Increases Have Nothing To Do With Trump’s Tariffs

[Screenshot/Fox News]

Fox Business host Charles Payne said Wednesday that the current high prices of some goods have nothing to do with President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Inflation slowed to an annual rate of 2.3% in April, its lowest rate in more than 4 years, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data. As consumer prices rose 0.2% in the last month, Payne told “Fox & Friends” host Lawrence Jones that Trump’s tariffs did not cause the price increases of some essential needs, such as hospital services and food.

“Just Google April headlines [and] March headlines. ‘Used car prices are going through the roof,’ well, used cars and trucks are down [by] half a percent,” Payne said. “Blue jean companies, how can retailers make money in this environment? ‘Your blue jeans are gonna double up.’ Apparel prices were down. The things that are up are things we need, right? We have to have motor vehicle maintenance, [which] has nothing to do with tariffs. We need motor vehicle insurance, we don’t get it from China. We need hospital services, we don’t get it from China. We eat food from home, we don’t go all the way to Beijing when we dine out. Medical care, the things that went up are things that we have to have and it has nothing to do with the tariffs.”

WATCH:

Payne said Trump’s tariff would be a “one-time hit” at the most, though the high prices are caused by the difficulty to recover from the record high inflation experienced during former President Joe Biden’s administration. In the last administration, the CPI rose from 1.4% at the beginning of the term to its peak of 9.1% in June 2022, and prices rose by a staggering 20% in May 2024.

The inflation numbers slightly exceeded expectations, as economists predicted that the CPI would rise 0.3%.

The U.S. and China agreed to each lower its tariffs by 115% while retaining an additional 10%, according to a White House fact sheet released Monday. Due to China’s retaliatory tariffs, Trump imposed 125% tariffs on the country on April 9, which then rose to 145% the following day.

Trump implemented a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs on every country except China on April 9 in order to leave room for trade negotiations.

The media warned of a possible recession as the markets responded negatively to the tariffs, including The Wall Street Journal, which published a headline claiming that the Dow Jones Industrial Average was headed for its worst April since 1932. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during an April 27 appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” that the public’s fears of a recession were largely “media driven,” pointing out that the markets were rebounding.