Even in Trump country, some worry about how tariffs will hit their pocketbooks

LOS ANGELES — In Huntington Beach — where a small, white bust of President Donald Trump occupies the City Council chambers and “Make America Great Again” banners fly proudly outside homes and aboard boats bobbing in the harbor — support for the White House is a matter of civic pride.

But even in this conservative slice of Orange County, concerns about higher prices and the uncertainty surrounding the country’s economic future was palpable as the Trump administration rolled out its global plan for tariffs in what the president called “Liberation Day.”

At the Costco in Huntington Beach on Wednesday, Danielle Calfo said she and her husband were trying to plan ahead as much as possible — with two boys and a third son due any day now.

The 33-year-old stay-at-home mother said she and her husband had made all the necessary repairs to their cars early in the year, concerned that prices on parts shipped from overseas would soon skyrocket. They bought new furniture for their Huntington Beach home and buy in bulk as much as possible to keep costs low.

“We bought a bunch right when he got elected because we knew everything’s about to go up,” she said as she stood in line with her 2-year-old son to buy a slice of pizza.

Her cart was stacked with household items, snacks for her sons, fruit and two containers of two dozen eggs — a steal these days at under $10 each.

The sweeping tariffs are designed, the president said, to create more jobs in the United States. But there are growing concerns it could batter the economy, raise prices on a host of goods and leave consumers suffering from another round of inflation.

It could end up being a key test of whether the Trump faithful who ushered him back into office are prepared for more economic uncertainty.

Outside the Walmart on Talbert Avenue, a Huntington Beach resident who identified herself only as Mary said she supports the tariffs even if that means an increase in prices.

“It’s probably going to hurt at first, but I think our country’s in big trouble,” she said as she loaded bags of soil for her garden into her car.

“You don’t lose weight without a little bit of effort. You don’t get out of a financial hole without a little bit of sacrifice,” said the longtime Trump supporter. “Personally, I think it’s a good thing because I think we need to be incentivized to buy American and support American industry.”

Meanwhile, inside the Walmart, shoppers were mostly focused on the food aisles.

Although the company website says two-thirds of the merchandise sold in its U.S. stores is made, grown or assembled domestically, customers interviewed by The Times said they expect their money won’t go as far in the store as it once did.

Dennis Mckeown, 76, an independent, wasn’t planning a big shopping day on Wednesday ahead of Trump’s tariff announcement. Instead, he was there to visit the optometrist.

He said he sees the tariffs as a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain.

“Prices will go up a little bit for a short time, but in the long run I think it’ll be better overall for everybody,” Mckeown said. “Other countries have been charging us tariffs, so this is a way we can kind of level things out. We can sell more American-made products to other countries, which is good for business here.”

The plan announced Wednesday would place a baseline tariff of 10% on all U.S. trading partners and “reciprocal tariffs” on dozens of countries, including China, the European Union, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan. A 25% tariff will go into effect on Thursday on all vehicles and auto parts imported into the United States.

The rates increase U.S. taxes on foreign imports to levels not seen since World War II.

Although the Trump administration insists the tariffs will bring prosperity to the nation, his critics say he is mistaken.

“The President is billing it as a Liberation Day, but really it’s going to be Inflation Day,” said Michael Negron, a fellow at Groundwork Collaborative, a nonprofit think tank and progressive advocacy group, and a former special assistant to President Biden for economic policy. “It’s going to be a day where they announce what are effectively tax increases that end up making it to consumers.”

Trump has been advocating for tariffs since he took to the campaign trail, where he proclaimed that foreign countries have long been “ripping off” America. While the exact nature of the tariffs wasn’t made clear until now, the looming threat has been met with wild stock market swings and cratering consumer confidence across the country.

A survey conducted by the University of Michigan revealed that consumer sentiment — a key economic indicator — dropped 12% in March, the third consecutive month of reduced confidence in the economy.

About 44% of consumers surveyed mentioned tariffs spontaneously, up from 40% in February. And it wasn’t just Democrats who referenced the tariffs. About 40% of independents mentioned the increased cost, according to the survey.

A poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that about half of adults in the United States approve of Trump’s immigration policy, but only 4 in 10 have a positive view of his approach to the economy and trade.

That same poll published March 31 did find widespread Republican support for Trump on trade — at least for now. When asked about trade negotiations, 72% of Republicans expressed approval while 27% expressed disapproval. The poll showed that Democrats were overwhelmingly against Trump’s trade policies with 89% expressing disapproval.

This divide was clear when The Times interviewed people across Huntington Beach on Wednesday as Trump made his announcement. Trump supporters generally want to give the tariffs a chance even though it might mean some short-term pain for the economy. But people who didn’t vote for him were more concerned about the effects on their pocketbooks and the long-term economic outlook.

Jeanne Husing, 84, said she has wiggle room in her budget with outside income in addition to her Social Security payments, but she worries for families that don’t have as much flexibility.

The rising costs will affect them the most, she said as she loaded her SUV with groceries Wednesday morning.

“I’m concerned,” Husing, a Democrat, said of the tariffs. “Everything Trump touches he screws up. I don’t know why he thinks these tariffs are such a good idea, but who knows how his brain works? I sure as hell don’t.”

Consumers probably will start to see higher prices on imported products ranging from alcohol to electronics in stores within a few weeks, Negron said. And it remains unclear how long these tariffs will last.

Trump at times has mentioned certain policy outcomes, namely pushing back on drug trafficking, when asked what he’s hoping to achieve from tariffs on places like Mexico and Canada. But he’s also hinted the tariffs are part of an effort to bring manufacturing back to the United States, a process that would take years.

“He’s very recently talked about this being his multiyear legacy, and the fact that he’s been talking about tariffs since the 1980s, I think more and more people are increasingly coming to grips with the fact that these might be in place through the rest of his administration,” Negron said. “If that’s the case then you’re talking about elevated inflation for quite some time.”

By midday Wednesday the Huntington Beach Costco was slammed with shoppers loading up on bulk items and purchasing gas for $4.29 a gallon — a ten-cent-per-gallon savings compared with nearby name-brand stations.

Cars circled the congested parking lot in search of a free space as Faith, a 59-year-old Huntington Beach resident who declined to give her last name, loaded large bags of chips and a bundle of bananas into the trunk of her SUV. She said she was skeptical the tariffs will be around for long.

She sees the entire exercise as a political ploy to get fearful consumers to make big-ticket purchases quickly in an effort to jump-start a flagging economy. Faith, a Democrat, isn’t buying it.

“This is all fake,” she said. “In a few months he’ll be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to roll everything back. Aren’t I great?’ So there’s no reason to react. I’m not going to rush out to buy a television or anything else I supposedly need to buy because of these tariffs. Trump is just trying to generate something going in the economy when it’s dead and falling apart.”