During a May 8, 2025, news conference, U.S. President Donald Trump called the toy company Mattel a country.
While it is true that Trump referred to Mattel as a country, he quickly said “his toys” — referring to Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz — would have to bear 100% duties, indicating he understood Mattel made toys. He also added, “I wouldn’t want to have him as an executive too long,” which suggested he may have known Mattel was a company.
In early May 2025, a rumor began to spread online that U.S. President Donald Trump had called the U.S.-based toymaker Mattel a country, threatening it with 100% tariffs.
For example, one post on Facebook with more than 585,000 views included a video with Trump speaking in the Oval Office, adding that “the cognitive issues are getting worse every day” (archived):
The video also spread on X and Reddit.
Trump did make this remark at a news conference at the White House on May 8, 2025. After announcing a trade deal with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who joined the conference by phone, Trump took questions from journalists. One of them asked what he made of Ford raising its prices and of Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz’s assertion on CNBC that despite 145% tariffs on China, he did not expect to bring toy manufacturing to the U.S. but that the cost of the toys would increase. In response, Trump said (at 53:39, emphasis ours):
I think they’re saying that just to try and negotiate deals with me. Look, tariffs are the most misunderstood thing maybe in any form of business, anywhere in business. Oftentimes, the country picks them up, oftentimes the company picks it up, the people don’t pick it up, OK? The people don’t pick it up. And if Ford did that, they wouldn’t sell any cars. And if Mattel… I don’t know, I’m not so sure. They they also said… they’re the only country I’ve heard they said, “Well we’re going to go counter. We’re going to try going someplace else.” That’s OK. Let him go and he’ll have… we’ll put a 100% tariff on his toys and he won’t sell one toy in the United States and that’s their biggest market. I heard that… I mean, I watched this guy talking about how “I’m gonna go counter.” I said, “Well I wouldn’t want to have him as an executive too long.”
Indeed, Trump called Mattel a country. However, he quickly said “his toys” — referring to Kreiz — would have to bear 100% duties, indicating he understood Mattel made toys. He also added “I wouldn’t want to have him as an executive too long,” which suggested he may have known Mattel was a company.
Snopes previously reported that the cost of tariffs filtered down to consumers, acting like a sales tax, contrary to Trump’s assertion that countries and companies typically bear the burden of the duties.