One of Fox News’ most respected business experts has admitted Donald Trump’s tariffs may well cause a recession, hours after providing a cheerier outlook before Monday’s opening bell.
Maria Bartiromo’s comments as Trump threatened to hit China with a further 50 per cent tariff if they failed to remove their own retaliatory 34 per cent tariff by Tuesday.
The president also warned that negotiations and trade talks with China would be canceled, if they refused to back down.
Bartiromo acknowledged the potential economic nightmare live on-air Monday morning, as a ticker next to her face showed the Dow Jones stock index plunging in real-time.
That was just after 9:30am on America’s Newsroom, where host Dana Perino had asked whether everyday Americans would feel the brunt of economic unrest caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs.
A well-known Trump loyalist, the host of Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo offered a surprising prognosis.
‘It will have an effect,’ she said, a few hours after saying on the set of her Fox Business show Mornings With Maria she ‘would not be surprised if this market reverses course entirely by the close.’
‘Some things will become higher priced,’ ,’ she continued, speaking to Perino and fellow business reporter Sandra Smith. ‘We’ll see some products actually be raising price because companies will pass on the cost of tariffs to consumers.
‘I would expect it,’ she added of prospective price hikes. ‘That’s why you have some people saying we could see a recession. We’ll see a growth slowdown.’ She went on to point to a forecast from Chief Global Economist at Piper Sandler Nancy Lazar – one that openly predicted a recession.
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Business expert Maria Bartiromo conceded that President Trump’s tariffs may well trigger a recession during a Fox News chat Monday morning
A well-known Trump loyalist, the host of Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo’s comments came as quite alarming – considering the network’s support for the conservative, seen here on the White House’s South Lawn Sunday, and hers as well
next to a tanking stock ticker, Maria Bartiromo acknowledges we might be heading toward a recession pic.twitter.com/YFtUeSneVP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 7, 2025
‘Sandler says “If the tariffs stay in place for at least the next six months, even if only 50 percent of the price shocks where we see products go higher in price show through the economy, US real GDP is on track to decline about one percent in the second quarter and third quarter with unemployment rising,’ Bartiromo read.
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, meaning Bartiromo’s prediction was a grim one – especially for a network known for its strong support of Trump.
‘But look,’ Bartiromo asserted, at this point bringing up how the president previously ‘told us we were going to see a disruption.
‘We’re in the disruption right now,’ she declared, as a ticker showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining.
Since she spoke, though, the Dow has rallied by roughly 460 points as of 11:00am ET and is down less than one percent from Friday’s closing price.
However, the index – a measure of the economic health of 30 of the largest American blue-chip companies – it is still down 10 percent from this time last month, after Trump detailed his tariff policies last week.
Since then, he has refused to avert course, arguing that higher charges on imports are needed to stimulate the economy and trigger a rise in the rollout of US-made goods.
Critics from both left and right have warned against the plan – framing it as high-stakes and one that unnecessarily risks the retirement savings and quality of life of millions of working-class Americans.
‘We’ll see some products actually be raising price because companies will pass on the cost of tariffs to consumers,’ Bartiromo said at a point, speaking to Dana Perino (right) and fellow business reporter Sandra Smith (left)
‘Bottom line when you look at this situation from 30,000 feet above, he is trying to renegotiate the economy so the U.S. Is not reliant on China for prescription drugs or Taiwan for conductor chips to try to get manufacturing here,’ Bartiromo went on, repeating Trump talking points supporting the tariffs.
‘I do expect this to hit the main street and hit prices that will go higher,’ she conceded. ‘That’s why you are seeing this reaction in the market.’
The assessment served as starkly different from one she had offered on Fox Business around 6:30am, as falling futures also indicated a recession could be in the cards.
‘Honestly, I would not be surprised if this market reverses course entirely by the close,’ she said during an exchange with former colleague and ex-Fox business reporter Cheryl Casone.
‘We’re waiting to hear any news out of these negotiations out of the White House.’
Now hours later, the president has continued to stay firm, despite some speculation he may reverse course with his tariffs after substantial losses seen last week.
Americans, in response, are preparing for a prospective recession – while losing chunks of their respective retirement plans in the process.
Meanwhile, over on MSNBC, Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough warned viewers to look out for tariff centered propaganda over the course of the day, specifically singling out ‘other networks.’
Meanwhile, over on MSNBC, Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough warned viewers to look out for tariff centered propaganda over the course of the day, specifically singling out ‘other networks’ such as Fox
He would eventually bang his desk several times in apparent frustration, as he argued the entire situation rapidly unfolding in real-time had been self-induced.
‘Today… you’re going to see billionaires that work in the administration talking on networks that are pretending like there’s nothing to see here,’ he said on Monday’s installment of his eponymous, decidedly left-leaning program.
‘They’re going to be talking to hosts who are millionaires, who are going to be telling middle-class and working-class Americans… “Don’t worry. Nothing to worry about. This had to be done,”‘ Scarborough continued.
‘And it’s just important that you remember… [They’re] the ones who are not going to be protected in the end.
‘We learned this in 2008, right?’ he went on, citing the well-known bailout of banks by the federal government at the time, at the expense of millions of workers.
‘How many bankers went to jail? How many traders went to jail? I think one, maybe,’ he asked aloud.
‘So, as we talk about this – and we’re at 30,000 feet talking about the stock market and talking about banks and talking about oil and talking about all the people that are being hurt -those trickle-down effects are going to be felt by working Americans.’
Such citizens, he said, ‘can afford it the least.’
‘Those trickle-down effects are going to be felt by working Americans,’ Scarbourugh said, echoing the point Bartiromo would later offer after the bell Such citizens, he said, ‘can afford it the least’
Bartiromo’s 9:30am assessment served as starkly different from one she had offered on Fox Business around 6:30am, when she said she wouldn’t be surprised if the tariff-induced dips changed course before the day was through
The S&P 500 has since surged some 7 percent since 11am, after which the administration clarified that there will be no delay in implementing new levies as selling resumed
Similar discourse was seen across a range of networks Monday, as millions of Americans worriedly watched tickers being displayed on networks like Fox, hoping for some solace.
If Bartiromo’s word – and that of several other seasoned financial expert – can be believed, such respite could still be ways away, as the president continues to attempt to jump-start American manufacturing.
‘The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social before markets opened Monday, after urging them to ‘hold strong.’
‘Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!),’ he continued.
‘Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!’
The S&P 500 has since surged some 7 percent since 11am, after which the administration clarified that there will be no delay in implementing new levies as selling resumed.
The scale of the brief rally shows how much desire there is among investors to avoid a recession and return to normalcy.
