Amid increasing bipartisan anger over the state of the Trump economy, one economist says he can explain the flaws at the root of President Donald Trump’s economic policies.
The most recent available data show a steady uptick in inflation, to 3%. Costs at the grocery store checkout line have increased across a large range of goods. Major corporations have announced or are planning to lay off thousands — or even tens of thousands — of workers. Unemployment is estimated to be up, to a four-year high, per the most recent data. Consumer confidence has dropped to a near-record low. There is a possibility that some parts of the country may already be in a recession, according to one economist.
As the Trump White House weighs launching a nationwide blitz to improve the President’s economic approval numbers, which are underwater, Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy and a frequent cable news guest, is targeting what he sees as the underlying problem in the president’s economic policies.
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Trump has been highly criticized for holding a “Great Gatsby” themed party on the eve of tens of millions of Americans losing SNAP benefits. Demolishing the East Wing of the White House was widely unpopular. Overall, according to data from The New York Times, Trump’s average approval rating has never been lower and his average disapproval rating has never been higher.
“The problem isn’t losing touch with the American people,” Professor Wolfers told CNN. “It’s literally losing touch with reality.”
“The claim that prices are falling at the drugstore, at the grocery store, in our everyday lives, is just on its face flat out false,” he continued. “You and I can see it. I can point you to any number of data collections that show it. I could point you to any number of stores whose annual report suggests that their prices are continuing to rise.”
“This is literally undisputable,” said Wolfers, who is also a nonresident senior fellow at The Brookings Institution.
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Wolfers paraphrased President Trump from an earlier CNN clip, saying, “The economy is booming, because I brought in $20 trillion worth of investment.”
“That is quite literally a number that he made up out of whole cloth,” Wolfers charged. “I would challenge your viewers, go to the White House website, see if you can find out where he made this up. It is implausible, it’s impossible, it’s not true, and it’s made up.”
“And this utter detachment from reality, which, I think, sort of began with the 2020 election, but now has become an increasing part of their economic policy: if you can’t see the reality and the facts in front of you, you can’t design the right policy to correct the real problems that exist.”
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