When President Donald Trump declared early Tuesday that he was “a Tariff Man,” it was almost as if Twitter had been lying in wait. From economists to pundits to the social-media platform’s rank and file, seemingly everyone had a take. And fast.

Some noted that it seemed the president was clinging to his belief that those ultimately on the hook for increased costs when Washington imposes tariffs on imports were foreign countries and overseas business, rather than the U.S. consumers to whom tariff-related price increases are all but invariably passed along.