Econ Experts Roast Trump’s Walmart Boast as ‘Democratic Socialism’ On MS NOW, Warn He’s Hurting Small Businesses

Stephanie Ruhle, the host of MS NOW’s Money Power Politics, spoke to CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Liesman and CNBC contributor Dan Nathan on Tuesday morning about President Donald Trump’s boast that he got Walmart to lower prices.

“Great news! I have just been informed that one of the biggest, best, and smartest Retailers in America, Walmart, will be lowering prices, by a lot, at my Administration’s request to celebrate our great Country’s 250th birthday,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday evening, adding:

Walmart will, in particular, be dropping the price for a pound of ground beef by almost 15%, among many other products. This is a huge deal for the many millions of Americans who, smartly, shop at Walmart, which is a truly patriotic Company who loves the U.S.A. My Administration is lowering prices that Joe Biden incompetently raised with the worst inflation crisis in history, a total disaster along with the Southern Border, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, and many other failures. Just as I promised, Oil Prices are plummeting FAST, and Gas Prices at the pump are dropping too, just like egg and Prescription Drug prices which I am bringing down by historic levels. Walmart is stepping up in a big and bold way, and other Retailers should follow the lead of these absolute Patriots. Together, we will make America stronger and greater than ever before! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Ruhle brought up the announcement after a discussion of the new Trump Accounts, partly funded by Dell Computers founder Michael Dell.

“Here’s the thing. It’s not just the $60 billion investment in these Trump accounts — it’s followed by a $9.5 billion government contract, right?” Ruhle said, noting that Dell stock soared yesterday as the government invested in the company.

“So the president is now applauding Walmart leaders, calling them patriots yesterday after they announced they’re cutting prices on thousands of items like beef, Coca-Cola, and other things you’d normally buy at Walmart. So the president is praising these giants who can also afford to do that,” she continued, adding:

What if you’re one of thousands and thousands of other companies in this country who can’t call the president and say, “Let me hook you up with this or that”? What happens to all of them? Because when we talk about the stock market soaring, we can all list a ton of companies that aren’t soaring — that are struggling but don’t have the ability to offer Trump a golden ticket.

Liesman replied, “I think that’s the smart question — that’s the way to think about it, right? You win the segment. Thank you. So the reason is because some of this stuff, as Dan was suggesting, works on a short-term basis. But what happens is, first of all, we don’t know what the rules of the road are right now for businesses. And if you’re a struggling business trying to make it against a Walmart, or against somebody, and you don’t have that kind of access — well, you may face a tariff, because there are new tariffs about to be put in place. We could talk about that. You can’t control the supply.”

Ruhle agreed, “You can’t control the supply chain like Walmart.”

Liesman replied, “Exactly. And the long-term cost is the thing you become concerned about, which is: jobs in this country are created by small business, and productivity is created by small businesses. Big businesses at some point start to act like the DMV — they become like government, they get big, they become sclerotic. And what you miss then is the dynamism, if the rules aren’t in place so that everybody can compete on a level playing field.”

Nathan then jumped in and added, “Yeah, there are a couple of ways I think about this, right? It kind of sounds like democratic socialism. I think our mayor here — the DSA guy — would love to be able to do this and have, you know, grocery prices go down. Just think about that.”
Ruhle added, “Oh, this is an interesting point.”

Nathan continued, “It might be the reason we don’t see a lot of tweets about Mamdani coming from the White House — because these are popular positions.”

Ruhle followed up, “I want to see you cut your prices in New York City. You know what we’d hear from the likes of Nikki Haley and others?”
Liesman agreed, adding, “‘Welcome to communism.’ Obama did that — Obama criticized businesses, and everybody walked around like they were hurt because Obama made a critical comment about business. And here they are — he’s haranguing this company, which I guess there’s a role for government to do. But then you start to have this give-and-take: he’s investing in this, he gets this no-bid contract, and we just don’t have rules.”

Nathan added, “Yeah, listen, this is great populism, if you think about it. It’s not going to hurt consumers — it will hurt small businesses. 65% of Americans shop at Walmart every month. 60% of their sales come from groceries. They have 20% market share. When you think about that — yeah, there are a lot of mom-and-pop grocery stores that exist, but you also have Kroger, you have some of these big players. Dan, I disagree.”

Liesman concluded, “I disagree a little, too — I don’t think it’s not going to hurt consumers, because I think on the other side of this equation is deregulation. They’re backing off some of the oversight of these companies, and I think there are ways in which this deregulation is not going to be optimal for consumers.”

Ruhle then wrapped it up, joking, “And with the use of the word ‘sclerotic,’ Steve Liesman wins this segment. These guys are sticking around.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

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