President Donald Trump, whose lofty campaign vows on the economy helped him win a second term, is now facing alarming proof that his policies have not, in fact, ended inflation — or brought down costs for consumers “on Day 1” as promised.
The U.S. economy shrank by 0.3% in the first three months of the year, according to data released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. Stocks fell sharply on the news. Meanwhile, U.S. consumers are contending with the soaring costs of goods, as economists warn of a potential recession.
Trump is insisting that all of that tracks with what he said on the trail.
“I said all of these things during my campaign,” he told ABC News in an interview Tuesday. “I said, ‘You’re going to have a transition period.’”
Trump added that his supporters “did sign up” for economic pain, even though one of his central campaign pitches was that he would revive the economy — in large part by imposing additional tariffs on U.S. imports — immediately after he returned to office.
Trump’s tall promises on the campaign trail were never quite rooted in reality. Trump’s tall promises on the campaign trail were never quite rooted in reality; economists had repeatedly sounded the alarm on the potential impact of tariffs, in particular, long before he was elected. He quickly pivoted to tempering expectations after he won the 2024 race, and he has since repeatedly sought to steel the public against economic anxiety by suggesting that rising costs are merely temporary. In the face of Wednesday’s bad news about the economy, Trump repeatedly pushed the blame on his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that companies have begun moving to the U.S. “in record numbers” — which data suggests is doubtful. “Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’ This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other,” he wrote, adding: “BE PATIENT!!!”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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