President-elect Donald Trump’s exclusive interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker — his first on network television since winning the election — had mixed results. At times, he tried to sound almost cautious: Trump told the “Meet the Press” host that he would work with Democrats to find ways to protect the Dreamers’ legal status. He said he would not ban abortion pills, fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell or order the prosecution of his political opponents.
But as usual, Trump’s more aggressive impulses inevitably got the better of him. Shortly after pledging not to go after enemies, Trump said on January 6 that members of the House Select Committee “committed major crimes and they should go to jail.” He told Welker he would pardon the rioters in the Capitol attack on his first day in office. He echoed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services and mentioned a debunked theory that vaccinations are responsible for an increase in autism diagnoses reason.
Arguably the most important moment, though, comes at the beginning of this wide-ranging interview. During the campaign, Trump proposed imposing 10-20% tariffs on all imported goods and a 60% tariff on goods from China. Welker asked if he could “guarantee” Americans wouldn’t pay higher prices under these tariffs.
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Trump responded. He noted (correctly) that inflation was lower during his first term, despite the new tariffs he implemented. But these tariffs are much smaller. Multiple studies project that his sweeping new proposals would cost Americans hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year.
Trump has not ignored the importance of inflation. “I won two things,” he later told Welker in an interview. “I won on the border and I won on groceries.” Yet even Trump, who thrives on bravado and promising the impossible, can’t pretend that his plan to avoid future price increases will work. Inflation measures point to annual growth below 3%, well below its peak in the middle of Joe Biden’s presidential term. But companies ranging from Walmart-sized conglomerates to smaller businesses have warned they may have to raise prices. Just as Trump took credit for low inflation in his first term, he will be blamed for any price increases in his second term.
This article originally appeared on MSNBC.com
