McCaskill claims Americans ‘not smart enough’ to keep Trump from White House

Former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said Monday that Americans weren’t “smart enough” to keep President Donald Trump away from the White House. 

“And yes, The Wall Street Journal may say America is smart enough to know better. I will tell The Wall Street Journal this: America, I believe, clearly was not smart enough to keep this guy from the White House. He is causing confusion and uncertainty in a segment of our economy that desperately needs certainty. And by doing that, he is going to get higher prices. And that’s when America will finally get smart, but they’re not smart now because most of them are trying not to pay attention,” said McCaskill, now an MSNBC analyst.

She was responding to a WSJ editorial board piece that criticized Trump and his tariff policy, accusing the president of going “full Kamala Harris in demanding that the retail giant not raise prices.”

McCaskill’s comments came during a panel discussion on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House” that focused on concerns over higher prices after the president said big retailers like Walmart should “eat the tariffs.” 

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“But there’s a huge swath of Americans that don’t know about that because their algorithms are purposely not feeding them politics because they don’t want to hear about it. But you know what they’re all going to know about? They’re all going to know about higher prices,” McCaskill continued.

“They’re all going to know that they’re spending more at Walmart than they spent this time last year. They’re all going to know that their 401(k)s are down. They’re all going to know that, and there’s nothing Trump can do about that,” she added.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon warned of potential price increases on Thursday, citing the tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the retail giant would absorb the cost of some of the tariffs, after speaking with McMillon.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace echoed McCaskill’s argument, saying some Americans were paying close attention to the news and others were not. 

“I used to read polls that separated Americans out that way. People paying close attention to the news, and God bless those people. Those are our daily viewers. They are policy wonks. They know more about a lot of the things we talk about than I do. I see a lot of their responses and people that don’t follow the news. This was the first time I read that poll, and I read it and thought, like, #dreams. I wish I was one of them, but I get it. Everyone’s about to feel the burn,” Wallace said.

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The Walmart logo is seen outside a Walmart store in Burbank, California on August 15, 2022. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

After Trump won the election in November, McCaskill acknowledged that the president “knows our country better” than Democrats do.

“I think we have to acknowledge that Donald Trump knows our country better than we do,” McCaskill said. “I think he figured out that anger — and frankly, fear — were way more powerful than appealing to people’s better angels. That anger and fear were going to work in this election. Whether you’re afraid of immigrants or afraid of people who are trans, he figured that out.” 

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President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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“And I think we all thought everyone’s better angels would prevail. Turns out, the better angels went on vacation when Donald Trump came down the escalator. And they haven’t returned,” she added.