Manifest Density

Trump’s Tariffs Were Supposed to Bring Back Factory Jobs. Walmart Got a $3 Billion Check Instead.

By Tammy-Jo Pritchett · August 23, 2026
Opinion

“We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.” That’s what President Trump told Congress in March 2025. Sounded great. Sounded like somebody in Washington finally remembered the working man exists.

President Trump speaking to Congress in March 2025 about tariffs and job creation.Shealeah Craighead (Public domain) via Wikimedia Commons
President Trump speaking to Congress in March 2025 about tariffs and job creation.

So let me ask you a question. If the tariffs were supposed to create jobs and pay down the debt, why are there 75,000 fewer manufacturing jobs in America right now than the day Trump started his second term? And why did the national debt just blow past $40 trillion?

$3 billion check, A check for nearly $3 billion representing tariff refunds paid to Walmart.RDNE Stock project / Pexels
$3 billion check, A check for nearly $3 billion representing tariff refunds paid to Walmart.

Every single month of 2025 and 2026, blue-collar and manufacturing employment went down year over year. Every. Single. Month. I don’t need a degree from the Wharton School to know which direction that line is going.

A symbolic $9 billion invoice sent by Governor Pritzker to cover tariff costs.Markus Winkler / Pexels
A symbolic $9 billion invoice sent by Governor Pritzker to cover tariff costs.

Now here’s the part that ought to make your blood boil. The Treasury has paid out over $100 billion in tariff refunds to big corporations. Walmart walked away with nearly $3 billion back. Target grabbed just under $1 billion. Apple and Amazon got their cut too. And when Governor Pritzker of Illinois sent Trump a symbolic invoice for $9 billion to cover what tariff costs have run families in his state, about $1,700 per household? Crickets.

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