Trump tells Walmart to ‘eat the tariffs’ after retailer warned it will raise prices

President Donald Trump blasted Walmart on Saturday after the country’s largest retailer warned this week that it will have to raise prices because of tariffs.

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. “I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

Walmart CFO John David Rainey said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that, “We have not seen price increases at this magnitude, in the speed in which they’re coming at us before, and so it makes for a challenging environment.”

As a retail giant and the largest grocer in the country, Walmart is often seen as a bellwether for the health of retailers and U.S. consumers.

Rainey said he is “pleased with the progress that’s been made by the [Trump] administration on tariffs from the levels that were announced in early April, but they’re still too high.” That is despite a 90-day reprieve that lowered duties on Chinese imports to 30%. Goods from dozens of other countries face a 10% duty. Walmart imports electronics and toys from China and produce including avocados and bananas from Central and South America.

He said that the retailer wants to keep its prices lower than competitors, especially at a time when shoppers are seeking discounts. To do that, he said Walmart will absorb some of the tariff-related higher costs and he expects suppliers to absorb some higher costs, too.

Rainey said the company will “try to work with suppliers to keep prices as low as we can.”

Walmart echoed that sentiment on Saturday when asked to comment on Trump’s post.

“We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won’t stop,” Walmart said in a statement. “We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins.”

Walmart joined a growing number of companies that have increased prices or warned that higher prices are coming due to tariffs. Microsoft said earlier this month that it has increased the recommended retail prices of Xbox video game consoles and some controllers.

Barbie maker Mattel announced earlier this month it is moving production out of China, but still expected to have price increases its toys. And Ford warned last week it would have to raise prices on some cars.

Walmart maintained its sales forecast for the year on Thursday, but declined to provide an earnings or operating income forecast for the second fiscal quarter, citing the frequent changes in the Trump administration’s tariff policies.

Major U.S. retailers, including Target, Home Depot and Lowe‘s, are expected to share their own outlooks on the impact of tariffs when they report results next week.

Shares of Walmart ended 2% higher on Friday at $98.24.

WATCH: Pro: CNBC’s full interview with Walmart CFO John David Rainey