What did Donald Trump do today?

He got a little confused about how businesses make money.

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, announced earlier this week that they would be raising prices to cover the cost of the tariffs Trump has imposed since returning to office. Its CFO told the Associated Press that "there’s a limit to what we can bear, or any retailer for that matter."

Wal-Mart's announcement was unusual: normally, companies try not to call attention to price increases. But given that the cause was beyond their control, Wal-Mart seems to be hoping that its customers will understand it's not to blame for the spike in prices and reduced options caused by the new tariffs. 

Trump responded today by demanding that Wal-Mart and other American retailers simply absorb the costs themselves, without raising prices.

Trump, who cheated on his taxes and never really had to worry about whether he turned a profit on the real estate empire he inherited, may be a little hazy on capitalism as it's experienced by most Americans. But businesses always pass on big unexpected costs to consumers—or they go out of business. Wal-Mart is many things, but it is not a charity.

As everyone from economists to social media users were quick to note, there are a few other problems with this. For one, Trump has always claimed that foreign countries pay tariffs. This is, to put it mildly, completely false. But if Trump's version of things were true, and foreign governments or manufacturers were absorbing the costs of the tariffs through lower prices, there would be no expenses for Wal-Mart and every other retailer to pass on in the first place. 

Trump also claims, sometimes in the same breath, that tariffs will revitalize American manufacturing by making it cheaper to buy products made in the United States. That's true—because tariffs make foreign goods more expensive for consumers.

In other words, Trump is saying that Wal-Mart and other businesses should "eat" a tax that isn't even supposed to exist, and if it did (which it does), wouldn't accomplish anything unless it were passed on to consumers.

Why does this matter?

• Even by Trump's standards, this is an embarrassing failure to understand a simple concept.