MAGA Senator Admits The Truth About Tariffs—And Trump Won't Be Happy

Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin admitted the truth about tariffs in an interview with CNN, making the correct point that tariffs are taxes "passed on to consumers," a fact that President Donald Trump has refused to acknowledge.

Mullin's remarks, made to anchor Kaitlan Collins, are significant because he is a staunch Trump loyalist who has historically defended the administration at every turn.

He said:

"We need certainty in the business world. Tariffs is a tax and it will be passed on to consumers. But it also allows us to have open markets so if you have open markets and you want access to other markets ... then the president's going to say, 'We're gonna have recipropocal taxes on you, tariffs on you.'"

'"If you're gonna charge us 36 percent, we're gonna charge you 36 percent. If you want to charge us zero, we'll charge you zero. Every one of these other countries want access to the strongest and greatest economy in the world, that's the United States, and we don't necessarily need to have a market but if they want access to us then we need access to them."

Collins commented:

“What you just said is important: that a tariff is a tax that is passed on to consumers."

Mullin replied:

“Of course it is, everybody knows that."

But Collins reminded him:

“That is something the White House does not acknowledge."

And Mullin was firm:

“That is something the president, who is a businessperson, understands that completely. Nobody understands the economy better than this president. There has never been a president that understands this economy better than this president.”

You can watch their exchange in the video below.

It was clear that even one of the most loyal MAGA politicians can't lie about the tariffs...or he didn't realize he'd gone rogue.

Indeed, tariffs are a tax on imported goods, usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. While tariffs can shield domestic manufacturers by making foreign products more expensive, they are also used as a tool to penalize countries engaged in unfair trade practices, such as government subsidies or dumping goods below market value.

Trump has championed tariffs, arguing falsely that foreign nations bear the cost. In reality, it is American importers—businesses that purchase goods from abroad—that pay the tariffs, with the revenue going directly to the U.S. Treasury.

These companies often offset their increased costs by raising prices for consumers, meaning that tariffs ultimately function as a hidden tax on American shoppers.

This week, an angry Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, lashed out at an Associated Press reporter who called her out for referring to tariffs as "a tax cut for the American people." Addressing the reporter himself, Leavitt said "it’s insulting you’re trying to test my knowledge of economics and the decisions this president has made."