Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo had a somewhat-heated reaction after a Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, car dealer talked on her show about the direct, “dramatic” and negative impact that President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico have had on his own business, and will have on the wider auto industry in general.
“I sold an order for a customer. $80,000 truck. It’s $100,000 now, so he’s not gonna buy the truck. It’s gonna sit on my lot … and nobody’s gonna buy the truck because it just had a $20,000 price increase,” David Kelleher, the owner of David Auto, told reporter Jeff Flock in a live segment during Bartiromo’s “Mornings With Maria” show on Tuesday.
Making vehicles and their components in the U.S. “is great” but “we can’t build a $4 billion plant overnight,” he told Flock, to explain why autos and their parts are made throughout North America and Mexico, with pieces often crossing borders multiple times.
The effect on the industry is “pretty radical,” the dealer added.
Flock threw back to Bartiromo in the studio.
The Trump acolyte railed:
“You know what? Let me ask you this, OK? How many Dodge Rams do you see around Europe? OK. How many Dodge Rams do you see driving around India? Not many, I bet. Why? Because they don’t buy our cars. And that’s what President Trump is trying to change. Maybe Dodge should start building them here and selling them here?”
Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free Press
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Trump himself, meanwhile, has confessed the tariffs may cause pain to Americans, despite promising during his 2024 campaign that they wouldn’t.