As a presidential candidate in 2016, Donald Trump vowed to dramatically improve the U.S. manufacturing sector. He didn’t: Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, American manufacturing slumped during the president’s first term.
As a presidential candidate in 2024, the Republican made similar vows, which are generating similar results. The Wall Street Journal reported:
U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in November, a decline manufacturers attribute largely to President Trump’s tariffs. The Institute for Supply Management’s PMI for manufacturing came in at 48.2, a decrease from 48.7 in October. The level was below the 50 score that divides contraction from expansion.
Susan Spence, chair of the ISM, said in a statement, “U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at a faster rate, with pullbacks in supplier deliveries, new orders and employment.”
For those concerned about the state of the U.S. economy, the news was discouraging. But from a political perspective, the president’s recent rhetoric makes matters worse.
About a month ago, for example, Trump posted a message to his social media platform that argued that there are “plants and factories going up all over the place” as a result of his economic agenda. In late October, in remarks delivered in South Korea, he similarly boasted, “Factories are booming in the USA.”
It’d be great if that were true. It’s not.
The disconnect between presidential rhetoric and American reality, however, is frustratingly familiar. Confronted with rising consumer costs, Trump has argued that consumer costs are falling. Confronted with rising energy costs, Trump has argued that energy costs are falling. Confronted with the worst job growth since the Great Recession, Trump has argued that the U.S. is seeing record job growth.
And confronted with a contracting manufacturing sector, Trump continues to pretend that factories are “booming” nationwide.
It’d be one thing if the president asked Americans for patience and assured the public that he has a credible plan to put things right. But on practically every part of the domestic economy, Trump prefers to play make-believe, pitching an alternate reality with little resemblance to our own.
