President Donald Trump is pushing back hard against Walmart’s claim that his global tariff strategy is driving prices up for American consumers. In a pointed message posted to Truth Social over the weekend, Trump warned the retail giant not to pass the cost of tariffs onto customers—and demanded they absorb the costs instead.

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump wrote. “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. 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!!!”

The warning comes after Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon said on a quarterly earnings call Thursday that tariffs on Chinese goods are creating “cost pressure” and could result in price hikes on key products, including electronics and toys. McMillon noted that while the company is trying to shield consumers from the impact, some price increases may be unavoidable.

“Even at the reduced levels, the higher tariffs will result in higher prices,” McMillon said. “The cost pressure from all the tariff-impacted markets started in late April, and it accelerated in May.”

Walmart is one of many major retailers that rely heavily on Chinese imports. Trump’s new tariff structure—introduced in April—imposed sweeping levies on Chinese goods, along with other nations like Vietnam, Mexico, and India. The administration says the move is part of a broader effort to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and reduce American dependence on hostile or unstable trade partners.

Despite criticism from multinational corporations, Trump has doubled down on the strategy, insisting that American companies should take responsibility for the cost of outsourcing and stop punishing U.S. families for it.

Under a temporary 90-day deal reached last week, the U.S. agreed to lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%. In exchange, China agreed to drop its 125% tariffs on American goods to 10%. But the agreement is only short-term. If talks fail, both nations could ramp tariffs back up—possibly to over 100%—further squeezing global supply chains and prices.

McMillon said Walmart is doing what it can to hold the line on prices. “In some cases we are holding retail prices where they are despite the tariffs cost pressures,” he said. “We’ll do our best on what we can control in order to keep food prices as low as possible.”

But Trump’s message suggests he doesn’t trust the retail giant to put American customers first. Instead, he’s drawing a line—suggesting that companies benefiting from cheap foreign labor and record profits should not be allowed to blame patriotic trade policy for their pricing choices.

Trump’s administration has made it clear that the days of appeasement with China are over. The tariffs are designed to put economic pressure on Beijing and incentivize companies to return jobs and manufacturing to the United States.

That puts firms like Walmart in the crosshairs. If they choose to side with China and pass the pain on to American families, they may face more than just presidential criticism—they could lose the trust of the customers they depend on.

For now, the ball is in Walmart’s court. And Trump’s warning couldn’t be clearer: Keep prices down—or face the consequences.