Trump doesn't rule out recession as tariffs bite

What happened

President Donald Trump said Sunday he did not want to predict if the U.S. will fall into recession this year, as some economists and investment banks now forecast. But on a flight back from Mar-a-Lago and in an interview that aired on Fox News, he argued that any short-term economic turbulence from his economic policies would be worth his forecast longer-term gains.

Who said what

"I hate to predict things like that," Trump said when Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked him if he expected a recession this year, in a "Sunday Morning Futures" interview recorded Thursday. "There is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big." Stocks tumbled last week after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, then pared some of them back, but "you can't really watch the stock market," he told Bartiromo. "If you look at China, they have a 100-year perspective," but "we go by quarters, and you can't go by that. You have to do what's right."

It's "notable" that Trump is "now telling voters to look the other way" on the stock market, inflation and the overall economy, after he hammered former President Joe Biden on those metrics, The Washington Post said. Trump's "dizzying approach to tariffs" has "fueled considerable uncertainty and hamstrung businesses considering new investments and hiring," The New York Times said. Trump told Bartiromo that businesses were seeking "clarity" as "almost a sound bite," though if they wanted direction, "we may go up with some tariffs" but "I don't think we'll go down."

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What next?

Trump is set to levy a 25% tariff on all foreign steel and aluminum on Wednesday and said to expect more import taxes on April 2, including global "reciprocal" tariffs and a resumption of tariffs on Canada and Mexico.