Day: April 30, 2025

U.S. Economy Shrunk in First Quarter of Trump’s Second Term

Buck Banks

0.3%

The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years, as President Donald Trump’s trade wars disrupted business, the Associated Press reports. First-quarter growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump imposed massive tariffs.

Half of Americans Say Trump Is a ‘Dangerous Dictator’

Buck Banks

52%

A new PRRI poll finds 52% of Americans say President Trump is a “dangerous dictator” who poses a threat to democracy and believe he’s overstepped his authority by actions such as the mass firing of federal employees. Said pollster Melissa Deckman: “It’s only been 100 days into the Trump administration, yet we’ve really seen a pushback among most Americans to the Trump agenda.”

U.S. Spent $220 Billion More in Trump’s First 100 Days

Buck Banks

$220 billion

“Despite promises to cut spending during the campaign and his first few months in office, President Trump’s federal government has spent about $220 billion more in his first 100 days compared to the same time period last year,” CBS News reports. “In fact, the government is now spending more, day to day, than was spent in nine of the last 10 years. The exception: 2021, when the government was spending trillions to fight the coronavirus pandemic and prevent an economic disaster.”

Consumer Confidence Is in the Toilet

Buck Banks

86

CNN: “Consumer confidence sank 7.9 points in April to a reading of 86, the Conference Board said in its latest survey released Tuesday. That’s the lowest level since May 2020 and a larger decline than economists had projected. … The survey’s Expectations Index, which captures people’s outlook on the economy, plummeted 12.5 points this month to 54.4, the lowest level in 13 years.”

Trump Was the Big Loser (Again) in Canada’s Election

Buck Banks

“So Trump has produced a revived government in Ottawa with a distinct mandate to fight him tooth and nail. But that’s not the only way he was a loser on Monday. It’s not at all unusual for politicians to rally domestic support by picking a fight with other countries; it’s a jingoistic political tale as old as time. In this case, there is zero evidence (outside the hardest core of MAGA loyalists) that Americans have rallied to Trump’s Canada-bashing cause. Au contraire, as they might say in Quebec …. If that’s not enough, the president’s persistent bullying of Canada has drawn extra attention to his single most unpopular economic policy initiative: the on-again, off-again trade war that has unsettled markets everywhere and convinced price-conscious Americans that inflation is about to make a comeback.”

— Ed Kilgore