May 19, 2025

McCormick Monday

Another in an ongoing series.

Dear Senator;

I am a resident of Pennsylvania and a constituent of yours and I'd like you to answer a question or two.

The AP reported:

President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs.

And:

Trump, in his Truth Social post, lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, should sacrifice its profits for the sake of his economic agenda that he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing.

But I thought other countries would be paying the tariffs, Senator - not other countries and private US companies.

Senator, as a conservative do you think that a president (any president) has the authority to dictate to a private company how it should set prices? Does a president really have the authority to tell a private company that it should "sacrifice their profits" for the sake some top-down defined common good?

This would seem to be at odds with any definition of a free market economy, don't you think?

I'll await your answer, Senator. 

As always, I'll post whatever response I get from the Senator.