.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for a state visit to Britain, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., September 16, 2025. REUTERS Kevin Lamarque
MS NOW data journalist Philip Bump says President Donald Trump’s claims of the U.S. being "the hottest country" so far only pertains to its climate. Economically, the U.S. is trailing behind its global competition.
“President Donald Trump, never restrained about his use of hyperbole, has settled on a succinct summary of the first year of his second term," said Bump, citing a Dec. 11 declaration that international leaders personally told him we’re the hottest, and his repeat of the claim during his prime-time address on Dec. 17.
“We’re the hottest country anywhere in the world,” Trump said into the camera. “And that’s said by every single leader that I’ve spoken to over the last five months.”
The numbers don’t support his claim in terms of the nation’s stock prices, however. The Dow Jones Industrial Average may have hit a new high, the 52nd of the year, said Bump, but several foreign indexes — including many in Asia — have outperformed the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Even the foreign indexes hammered by Trump’s announcement of April tariffs have not only rebounded, but some have surpassed the U.S. indexes “despite having fallen just as far after Jan. 20,” said Bump.
In addition, Bump said the U.S. is also not the hottest on GDP growth, with India’s third-quarter increase almost double that of the U.S.. India also beat out the U.S. on job growth, with job growth in the U.S. mostly flat since April.
This is odd, said Bump because U.S. indexes don’t usually trail foreign ones during Year Ones.
And Trump’s market doesn’t even compare to that of many recent presidents’ first years, when added up.
“Year Ones have outperformed 2025, including Trump’s first Year One, in 2017,” said Bump. “And however much Trump dislikes hearing it, there was more stock market growth by Christmas in the first year of Joe Biden’s administration than recorded during Trump’s presidency this year.”
What’s more, Bump said during four of the seven presidential Year Ones since 2001, the average of U.S. indexes outperformed the average of the seven international indexes, which is something Trump cannot claim.
“There is, however, one measure by which the U.S. is inarguably among the hottest countries in the world: actual temperature,” Bump added. “Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that North America just experienced its second-warmest autumn on record and its hottest November.”
Read Bump's full MS NOW column at this link.
