President Donald Trump has insisted (again) that his tariff-led boomtime is on its way.
“I say it’s the golden age of America, when these factories and plants open up by the thousands,” Trump gushed at a White House Christmas reception on Sunday, as he promised a manufacturing surge the likes of which “this country has never seen.”
The billionaire president, 79, who has urged parents to buy fewer Christmas presents for their kids, failed to mention that Americans have lost trust in him when it comes to the economy. Just 31 percent of respondents have a positive view of Trump’s economic stewardship, according to an AP-NORC poll released last week.
Speaking at the Christmas event, Trump leaned on news that foreign companies, including Toyota, have pledged to invest billions in the U.S. However, his tariffs have exponentially increased the cost of materials for U.S. producers. As a result, domestic manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in November.
“It really is all about tariffs,” said Susan Spence, chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). “We do not see anything on the horizon that’s going to turn this ship.”
Trump, however, thinks he’s manning the ship through stormy waters and into calm seas.
“They’re coming from Germany, they’re coming from Japan, they’re coming from Canada. Many factories are coming in because there’s, they don’t have, they don’t want to pay tariffs,” he said at the reception in the Cross Hall. “We have an age that’s coming up, the likes of which this country has never seen.”
But it’s been nothing but choppy waters since April. Sectors that saw declines since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs included apparel, textiles, paper goods, chemicals, and transportation equipment. The transportation industry was hit especially hard, with the ISM saying tariffs have, in some cases, pushed companies to shift production abroad rather than bring manufacturing back to the United States.
As a result, many firms have slowed hiring as they contend with higher input costs and softer demand. In ISM’s survey, 67 percent of respondents said they were maintaining or reducing headcount rather than adding workers.
National unemployment, therefore, rose from 4.3 percent to 4.4 percent in September, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report, released last month.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to a range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent, citing a job market that has cooled more than expected while inflation concerns persist.
Even still, Trump was bullish that his tariff ploy would come good. “I just look so forward to the results,” the president said. “You’re going to see results in six months to a year. I think you’ll see results. We’ve never had anything like it.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, too, has claimed that tariffs will bring long-term rewards. “I think we are going to see a substantial acceleration in the economy in the first, second quarter,” he told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures in November. “We’re already seeing on many prices.”
Both men failed to mention a Supreme Court case challenging the president’s authority to unilaterally impose import tariffs, a decision on which is expected by June. This is, ironically, around the time Trump said that Americans should expect his tariffs to bear fruit.
It comes as voters have cooled drastically on the duties, according to CNN’s data guru, Harry Enten. Over the past 11 months, favorability on tariffs has swung from +4 to -24, with 62 percent of Americans now opposing them.
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