U.S. Customs Revenue on Track to Top $500B plus Cracker Barrel Backtracks After Branding Blunder

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Episode: U.S. Customs Revenue on Track to Top $500B plus Cracker Barrel Backtracks After Branding Blunder
Date: August 27, 2025
Host: Ben Ferguson | Network: Premiere Networks

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Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson and his co-hosts spotlight two major news stories:

1. The explosive growth in U.S. Customs tariff revenue under President Trump, potentially exceeding $500 billion, marking a significant shift in trade policy and national economic direction.
2. The branding debacle at Cracker Barrel, its swift reversal after backlash from loyal customers and commentary from President Trump, highlighting the political and business implications of "woke" corporate moves.

The tone is brisk, opinionated, and unapologetically pro-Trump, with heavy emphasis on protecting traditional American values and jobs.

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Key Discussion Points

1. U.S. Tariff Revenue Soaring Under Trump Administration

[01:14–06:49]

• Main Claim: Donald Trump’s tariffs are bringing unprecedented revenue to the U.S. Treasury, with customs duty revenue on track to surpass $500 billion this year.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant’s Comments:
  • July to August saw a "substantial jump" in customs revenue.
  • The original estimate of $300 billion in annual tariffs "was too low."
  • CBO now projects Trump's tariffs could "reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion" over the next decade ([03:56]).
• Details and Stats:
  • "Tariff revenue would offset the deficit increases triggered by the Republican tax cut and spending bill passed this year."
  • Customs and excise tax collections for August already match July's total with days to go.
• Economic and Security Impact:
  • Significant tariff hikes apply to almost all trading partners, kicking in as of August 7.
  • The administration claims this is not just about money, but about restoring American jobs and ensuring economic independence from foreign suppliers, especially China.

Notable Quotes

• "This administration, your administration has made a meaningful dent in the budget deficit." (Co-host, [02:52])
• “We had a substantial jump from July to August and I think we’re going to see a bigger jump from August to September. So I think we could be on our way well over half a trillion, maybe towards a trillion dollar number.” (Paraphrased from Scott Bessant, [02:59])
• “99% of high value chips are made on the island of Taiwan... if we have not de-risked the US economy and brought these industries back onshore...when we walk out the door in January 2029, we will have failed and we are not going to fail.” (White House Official, [05:20])

Memorable Moments

• Emphasis on the urgency of reshoring key industries (semiconductors, steel, pharma).
• COVID-19 considered a "beta test" for U.S. supply chain reliability.
• “We have to bring a big amount of that [pharmaceutical production] home.” (White House Official, [06:18])

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2. Cracker Barrel Rebranding Backfire and U-Turn

[06:49–13:10]

• Issue: Cracker Barrel’s 2025 "modernization" effort included dropping its iconic logo (Uncle Hershel), removing Old Country Store branding, and redecorating, which alienated core customers.
• Result:
  • Immediate backlash, stock dropped by up to 17%, and a $100 million market cap loss.
  • CEO Julie Messino’s attempts to spin the change as popular were met with skepticism.
• Public and Political Pressure:
  • Critics accused Cracker Barrel of abandoning its Southern, nostalgic roots.
  • President Trump publicly called for a reversal: "Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake and manage the company better than ever before."
  • Within hours, Cracker Barrel leadership agreed to restore the traditional branding, acknowledging they "could have done a better job" and reaffirming commitment to the brand’s legacy.

Notable Quotes

• “It was a slap in the face or a middle finger… to the customers that love Cracker Barrel.” (Co-host, [08:37])
• “Honestly, the feedback’s been overwhelmingly positive that people like what we’re doing.” (Julie Messino, [09:26])
• “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake and manage the company better than ever before.” (President Trump, [11:30] summarized by host)
• “Donald Trump’s vocal criticism and the public urging made a massive difference. It aligned with widespread customer outrage as well as the financial losses.” (Co-host, [11:56])

Memorable Moments

• Co-hosts criticize "woke ideology" in business and reference Bud Light’s previous controversy as a cautionary tale ([06:54]).
• Cracker Barrel's about-face is framed as a win for tradition and common sense, orchestrated by Trump’s involvement.
• Speculation on the future of Cracker Barrel’s leadership in light of the fiasco: "It’ll be very interesting to see how long the leadership at Cracker Barrel will still be employed after this nightmare and disaster." (Co-host, [13:04])

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Tariff Revenue Discussion: [01:14–06:49]
• White House on Reshoring/U.S. Industry: [04:55–06:29]
• Cracker Barrel Rebranding Controversy: [06:51–13:10]
• Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Messino on GMA: [09:14–09:57]
• Trump’s Direct Involvement and Result: [10:49–11:56]

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a sharp, unvarnished recap of two stories where, in the hosts' view, assertive policy and public pressure prevailed: tariffs boosting the U.S. economy and tradition winning out in the battle for corporate identity. The style is urgent and combative, cheering conservative policy wins and warning other companies not to repeat Cracker Barrel’s mistakes.

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Notable Quotes Recap

• "[T]ariff revenue would offset the deficit increases triggered by the Republican tax cut and spending bill passed this year..." (Co-host, [02:52])
• "If we have not de-risked the US economy and brought these industries back onshore...we will have failed and we are not going to fail." (White House Official, [05:24])
• "Honestly, the feedback’s been overwhelmingly positive that people like what we’re doing." (Julie Messino, [09:26])
• "Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake and manage the company better than ever before." (President Trump, as quoted by host, [11:30])

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Tone: Direct, assertive, pro-Trump, and skeptical of “woke” corporate trends.
Useful For: Listeners seeking concise, opinionated summaries of the latest political headlines and business controversies with a Trump-administration focus.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Commentator]

Then he goes on television says, oh, Trump is a dictator. He's a dictator. And a lot of people. So the line is that I'm a dictator but I stop crying. So a lot of people say, you know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator, but I'm not a dictator. I just had to stop crying.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

[Co-host]

Good Wednesday morning.

So nice to have you with us.

On the 47 Morning Update.

And we've got two major stories for you.

First up, Donald Trump was right. And even the media is in shock by how much money America's bring in through tariffs. And it could be as much as.

A half a trillion dollars this year.

I'll give you those details in just a moment. Also, Cracker Barrel, they screwed up big time.

The President said it's time for you.

To go backwards, correct the course and learn from your mistake quickly so you can be successful. Well within 24 hours of the President weighing in the issue, Cracker Barrel decided.

Yeah, we're going to do exactly that. And we've got the story behind it. It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now.

[Ben Ferguson]

Story number one, Donald Trump promised you.

[Co-host]

That tariffs were going to work not only so America wouldn't be taken advantage of anymore, especially hardworking Americans.

He also said it was going to.

Bring jobs back to America and he said it was going to raise money that was not going to be a pass through to you. Well, now we're finding out just how successful some of the US Tariff could be by the end of the year as U.S. tariff revenue could actually top $500 billion a year. The U.S. treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said today that customs duty revenues from President Donald Trump's tariffs may surpass 500 billion a year with a substantial jump from July to August and and likely a bigger jump in September, October and November. With Christmas coming into the U. S estimates of a 300 billion annual tariff collection rate was too low. He said, quote, we had a substantial jump from July to August and I think we're going to see a bigger jump from August to September. So I think we could be on our way well over half a trillion, maybe towards a trillion dollar number. This administration, your administration has made a meaningful dent in the budget deficit. Now tariff revenue would offset the deficit increases triggered by the Republican tax cut and spending bill passed this year as well. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would widen the deficit by 3.4 trillion over the next 10 years, while Trump's tariffs drove July U.S. customs duty collections up by nearly 21 billion from the 7 billion collected in July of 2024. And even with that, you had a 20 billion dollar increase that was registered in June. Now, this is a significant increase in tariff rates for nearly all trading partners. And that kicked in on August 7th. What does that mean? Even more money. The U. S. Treasury reported on Monday, that is, of August 22, the government had collected $29.6 billion, 29.6 billion in combined customs and excise taxes so far during August, matching its total for the whole month of July. And yes, there are still quite a few days left in the month. Now, as of July 22, that combined figure stood at 7.8 billion. But Customs duty collections can vary from day to day. Now, the Treasury Secretary Bessant also noted that the Congressional Budget offices upwardly revised estimates last week. Federal revenue from Trump's tariffs, forecasting that it could, quote, reduce federal deficits by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, saying, quote, and I would expect that that number could go up from here. Now, the latest Congressional Budget Office estimate marks an increase from June when it was forecast that revenue from new tariffs would reduce deficits by 3 trillion over the next 10 years. Well, now that may jump to $4 trillion. So the president, United States of America, not only making sure that we're protecting jobs, but also when it comes to our national security issues. Scott Bessant went on the Ingram angle talking about the risk to our economy and how dependent we've been on foreign industry, China included. Here's part of what he had to say about bringing industries back to our country and getting them here as quickly as we can.

[Scott Bessant]

Rare earth and the magnets, obviously those are, those are the critical things we need from China. How, how difficult a situation are we in without an industrial policy that almost makes it an emergency for us to be independent of our strongest adversary. We, when it comes to those critical things, rare earth and magnets, well, or.

[White House Official]

It'S rare earth magnets, but it's so many other things is the single biggest point of failure for the US economy and for the Western economies. 99% of high value chips are made on the island of Taiwan. So we're trying to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. we're trying to bring steel production back to the U.S. we're bringing pharma back to the U.S. under President Trump's leadership. There is a group of us in the cabinet, in the White House who believe if we have not de risked the US economy and brought these industries back onshore. When we walk out the door in January 2029, we will have failed and we are not going to fail.

[Scott Bessant]

And your message to Congress tonight, because without Congress really taking action and spending real money for our own industrial policy, this is going to be more difficult.

[White House Official]

We've got to do this. The only good thing about COVID was it was a beta test. We could see there are plenty of unreliable suppliers. I mean, think about this. 80, 90% of the precursor pharma products that we get for very basic medicines, you know, the antibiotics for children come from China or India. So we have to bring a big amount of that home.

[Co-host]

You just heard it there. We've got to bring it back home. We stress test this because of COVID This actually may be one of the only good things that came out of COVID was realizing just how risk we are as a country, including on the issue of pharmaceuticals. And so the President is not backing down on this. That is very clear.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now story number two.

[Co-host]

You would think that companies would learn.

From the fiascos and the disasters of woke ideology.

A great example of that is what happened with Bud Light using a transgendered.

Person, AKA a dude acting like a.

Chicken, to try to promote their brand. We all know how that ended. You would also think that CEOs in 2025 would understand that there's quite a few Americans out there that just want brands to be normal and not push an agenda. Or if they have a core audience, don't be ashamed of them and who they actually are. Well, you would think that CEOs of companies would understand that insert cracker barrel. Aiming to, quote, modernize. Under the new CEO appointed in 2023, they decided it was a good idea to trash an entire brand, but not just the brand. Actually trash the customers that have propped up that brand for decades. They unveiled what they described as a minimalist text only logo and updated the restaurant decoration, dropping the iconic image of Uncle Hershel, the overalls clad man leaning on a barrel, and removing the old country store from all of their branding. Yes, it was a slap in the face or a middle finger. However you want to describe it to the customers that love cracker barrel, loyal customers and branding. Critics then slammed the changes, accusing the chain of abandoning not only its nostalgic but also its southern country identity. The company's stock tumbled by more than 10%, in fact to 17% if you look at the latest reports. And the brand lost as much as a hundred million dollars in its Valuation. But apparently that wasn't enough for Cracker Barrel leaders. They stuck to their plan day after day as it continued to get out of control. And then when they knew they had a real problem, they went on Good Morning America. The Cracker Barrel CEO on the restaurant renovations that had made everyone start talking about the brand. Here's what she had to say when was asked about, hey, did you guys maybe make a mistake?

[Interviewer]

I gotta ask this question. I think I probably know the answer. What if all the customers are coming at you hard enough about the look of the restaurant and they want to go back to the old way? Would you do it?

[Julie Messino]

Honestly, the feedback's been overwhelmingly positive that people like what we're doing. I'll give you another sound bite. I actually happened to be in Orlando last week with all of our managers. We bring them together and once every other year. And the number one question that I got asked, Michael, was how can I get a remodel? When can I get a remodel? How do I get on the list?

[Ben Ferguson]

Oh, really?

[Julie Messino]

So because the feedback and the buzz is so good, not only from our customers, but from our team members. They want to work in a, in a wonderful restaurant. So we're doing everything for our guests and our team members.

[Interviewer]

Well, Julie Messino, it's wonderful to have you here.

[Julie Messino]

Pleasure to be.

[Interviewer]

Thank you for answering those questions. For all the Cracker Barrel fans out there, a lot of, a lot of great changes.

[Julie Messino]

Thank you so much.

[Co-host]

All right. A lot of great changes is how Good Morning America put it. Well, that didn't go over well. Fast forward to Monday and finally Cracker Barrel admitted defeat and their woke CEO, realizing she had a very big problem on her hands, Cracker Barrel acknowledged that it, quote, could have done a better job of sharing who we are and who will always be attempting to calm the furious customer base that had abandoned the store. Their public communications team emphasized that quote, beloved elements like Uncle Herschel rocking chairs out front, the classic decorations would in fact remain in the stores. And then there's the politics of this. Donald Trump weighed in strongly saying, quote, Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake and manage the company better than ever before. Hours later, the White House, via the press secretary Caroline Levitt, praise Cracker Barrel's decision to revert, stating that Trump has unmatched business instincts and and that the brand made a great decision to trust the President of the United States of America. By Tuesday evening, Cracker Barrel had changed their tune even more. They announced it would scrap the new logo entirely and revert to the original Old Timer design with Uncle Hershel and the Old country store naming back. The company described the change as listing to its customers, reaffirming the importance of tradition, hospitality and comfort. Now, Donald Trump's vocal criticism and the public urging made a massive difference. It aligned with widespread customer outrage as well as the financial losses. And then Cracker Barrel had to fully admit that the rebrand was a mistake. Not only was it a mistake because they were ashamed of apparently their image, they were ashamed of their customer base. They wanted to be new, trendy and woke well. Now Cracker Barrel said after losing 100 million in their market cap, okay, I guess we're just gonna go back to how things were before. Remember, nothing was actually broken.

And this is the bigger question that.

So many people should be asking, especially in the advertising, marketing and the business brand world. Why on earth would you try to take an iconic brand like Cracker Barrel and change into something clearly that doesn't align with your customers? It's an amazing brand. It's a business that people love going into the food is actually incredible. And the President, United States of America calling them out was a brilliant move, by the way. He was also protecting so many of the people that work there and people.

That invested in the business. Job well done to the President, United.

States of America for doing this.

It'll be very interesting to see how.

Long the leadership at Cracker Barrel will.

Still be employed after this nightmare and disaster.

[Ben Ferguson]

Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow.

[Podcast Host]

This is an I Heart podcast.