Republican Party spent 2024 telling us the economy was bad and they could fix it. Turns out that was a lie.
The trade war hits stock markets — how can you protect your finances?
The global trade war has hit the stock markets — this is how you can protect your finances.
We are quickly seeing the consequences of reelecting Donald Trump to a second presidential term and expecting him to be an effective leader.
Last week, Trump announced a 10% tariff on all countries, sending the global economy into a tailspin. China announced 34% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, with other countries threatening their own tariffs. It would appear we’re in a tariff war.
Except for some slight improvements this week, the damage is done. A Deutsche Bank survey predicted that there is a 50-50 chance of a recession thanks to the tariff trade war. Goldman Sachs recently put it at 45%.
This is what Republicans voted for. From the beginning, Trump has been open about his plan to implement tariffs that were destined to tank the economy. Now it’s actually happening, and the consequences for the average American will be swift. But it does remind me of something.
It’s time for Republican leaders to admit they never truly cared about the economy. In reality, the GOP war on “wokeness” sent us into economic uncertainty and almost immediately undid the Democratic leaders’ economy that anybody who paid attention to facts knew was getting stronger with each month and had become strong globally.
Essentially, Republicans were more afraid of pronouns than they were worried about the economy.
Kamala Harris‘ economic plan was solid. She just failed to promote it.
While there’s no use asking “what if,” I keep coming back to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ plan to create an “opportunity economy” and build on what former President Joe Biden started.
Harris wanted to provide down payment assistance and tax credits for first-time homebuyers. There were also tax credits for small business owners and new parents.
She wanted to ban price gouging and cap health care costs.
She wanted to raise taxes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
She had plans to build off of Biden’s success. More on that later.
Harris’ problem wasn’t her economic plan; it was a matter of messaging. Trump and Republicans have become the de facto economic experts, despite the actual consequences of their bad policies, because they have spent the past decade insisting that Biden was tanking the economy. He wasn’t. Trump is.
Republicans hate triumphs over economic prosperity
While some Republicans are starting to see these tariffs for what they are, I doubt many would have changed their votes. They would rather apologize and carry water for Trump than admit they were wrong.
To them, the “wins” of the Trump administration – stricter immigration policies, attacks on transgender rights and the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – outweigh the economic turmoil.
While 93% of Republican voters said the economy was “very important” for them, the Trump administration is doing everything but help ordinary Americans. Groceries are still expensive. Many people still can’t afford to buy homes or have children.
If the Republican Party were genuinely focused on the average voter’s wallet, then the GOP would have made Trump’s entire first couple of months about “fixing” the economy.
Instead, the Trump administration has chosen to bully vulnerable populations as if that will magically improve our lives and attack other countries for a false sense of being wronged. Even better, Trump made billionaire Elon Musk one of the bullies. Nothing says “help the working class” like an unhinged billionaire with an actual chainsaw.
Sometimes, it feels like Republicans want to be hateful more than they want a healthy economy.
Biden’s economy was strong. That’s just the truth.
While Trump has tried to claim that he inherited a lousy economy from Biden, that isn’t true.
Inflation cooled, the unemployment rate shrank and the stock market was healthy. Republicans spent four years trying to convince us that the opposite was true. Yes, the cost of living rose during Biden’s tenure, but that was going to happen regardless, coming off the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s happening now is self-inflicted.
Where is the Republican outrage on behalf of the everyday American now?
The Budget Lab at Yale University predicts that tariffs will cost the average American $3,800 more annually and are anticipated to hurt low-income Americans the most.
While the American markets descended into chaos, the president spent the weekend golfing. When asked about the consequences of the tariffs, he wrote them off as a sort of necessary evil.
“I don’t want anything to go down,” Trump told reporters. “But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
This is not “medicine.” It’s self-sabotage. Republicans need to be honest with themselves: Clearly, this was never about the economy. It was always about Republican control and discrimination becoming the law of the land.
It wasn’t about the price of groceries. It was about pronouns.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter, @sara__pequeno