By Nicole Silverio, Daily Caller News Foundation | March 11, 2025
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt got into a heated debate with Associated Press White House reporter Josh Boak Tuesday as he confronted her on President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Trump initially announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along with a 10% tariff on China, over the nations’ involvement in allowing illegal immigration and drugs to flood into the U.S., though he has since doubled the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Boak alleged that Trump is imposing “tax hikes” through tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China rather than implementing tax cuts like he campaigned on, which Leavitt immediately disputed.
“If we could just step back for a second, when President Trump last addressed the [Business Roundtable], his big push was on tax cuts. He’s going there today as he’s proposing tax hikes in the form of tariffs,” Boak said. “I’m curious why he’s prioritizing that over the tax cuts.”
“He’s actually not implementing tax hikes. Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that again have been ripping us off. Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people and the president is a staunch advocate of tax cuts, as you know,” Leavitt said. “He campaigned on no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime, no taxes on Social Security benefits. He is committed to all three of those things and he expects Congress to pass them later this year.”
As Boak attempted to explain how tariffs work, the press secretary promised revenues will return to the U.S. and wages will increase due to “fair and balanced trade.”
“I’m sorry, but have you ever paid a tariff, because I have,” Boak continued. “They don’t get charged on foreign companies, they get charged on the importers.”
“And ultimately, when we have fair and balanced trade, which the American people have not seen in decades, as I said at the beginning, revenues will stay here, wages will go up and our country will be made wealthy again,” Leavitt fired back. “And I think it’s insulting that you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics and the decisions that this president has made. I now regret giving a question to the Associated Press.”
The White House banned the AP from the Oval Office and Air Force One over their refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The AP sued Leavitt, chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, though a judge refused to immediately to restore the outlet’s access.
Trump announced his plan Tuesday to double his tariffs on Canada, which is set to take effect Wednesday, due to Ontario’s 25% tariff on electricity coming into the U.S. The new 50% tariff will be placed on all steel and aluminum entering the U.S. from Canada.
The president said the administration would impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on Feb. 4, with a reciprocal tariff clause. Mexico and Canada immediately caved to Trump by imposing stricter enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border and the fentanyl epidemic, causing a one-month postponement on the tariffs.
Trump announced in a Feb. 27 Truth Social post that he planned to double the tariffs on China to 20% and move forward with the tariffs on Mexico and Canada over the “very high and unacceptable levels” of drugs pouring into the U.S. After saying there was “no room” for any negotiations on the tariffs, the president delayed the tariffs on Mexican imports Thursday covered by the existing U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade deal between the North American states, until April 2.
The U.S. stock market slid on Monday as the Dow dropped almost 900 points and the S&P 500 fell 2.7%.
Nicole Silverio is a media reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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