“Everyone says ‘When, when, when are you going to sign deals?’ We don’t have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now if we wanted to. We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us. They want our market. We don’t want a piece of their market. We don’t care about their market.”
— President Trump, quoted by the New York Times, on trade deals his administration is supposedly negotiating.
“General Motors lowered its full-year profit outlook, just two days after suspending earnings guidance, citing exposure to as much as $5 billion in auto tariffs being levied by President Donald Trump,” Bloomberg reports.
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.
“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.”
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.”
A new CNN poll finds a 59% majority of the public now says President Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions and a 55% majority say that Trump’s tariffs have been bad policy. Overall, 69% of the public considers an economic recession in the next year to be at least somewhat likely, including 32% who say that’s very likely.
The International Monetary Fund yesterday lowered its 2025 growth outlook for the US and the global economy, citing heightened uncertainty and economic disruption caused by President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs. The IMF trimmed the 2025 US growth estimate to 1.8% from 2.7%, the largest reduction among the world’s advanced economies, and cut the global growth forecast to 2.8% from 3.3%. The fund cautioned the trade policy climate and ongoing conflicts between the US and other tariff-hit countries are discouraging investment and spending. US inflation is now predicted to reach 3% this year, one percentage point higher than the IMF’s January projection, while the risk of a US recession has increased to 40%, up from 25% in October.
A new Gallup poll finds that 53% of Americans believe their financial situation is worsening. That figure marks the first time since 2001 that the majority of Gallup’s respondents expressed fears that their finances are not improving.
“The problem with these tariffs is that their scale and indiscriminate nature will have the effect of destroying demand and destroying the capability to develop alternative supply. I suppose if the only goal is to hurt China then shooting yourself in the foot, such that you no longer need to buy shoes for stumps, is a strategy you could choose, but that does nothing to help with what should be the primary motivation: shoring up the U.S. national security base.”
From Trump’s “stolen election” lies, we can’t get no relief,
He carps on about stolen votes, but he never names the thief.
Somebody needs to tell this guy
Americans aren’t buying his lies,
And that he’s turned us into the United States of Disbelief.
“If you are committing fraud against the American people, all of us in public leadership should be trying to stop it and throw you in prison for enriching yourself off the American taxpayer.”
“We are done, Americans are done with endless conflict in the Middle East, spending trillions of dollars, American lives… this is insane and we have to call it for what it is.”
“The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas during President Donald Trump’s administration so far,” Fox News reports.
President Donald Trump is asking for $1,500,000 million for the military for next year. That’s close to $600 billion (adjusted for inflation) more than we were spending on the military in fiscal year 2025, before Trump took office, Alternet reports. This increase is huge by any measure. It comes to around $4,600 per household. It is around 8% of the total budget.
A new Emerson College survey of likely 2026 voters finds the Democrats with an 11-point advantage over the Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, leading 53% to 42%. President Trump holds a 39% job approval rating, consistent with the past two months, whereas his disapproval increased another point, to 57%.
A new American Research Group poll finds just 30% of Americans say they approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president and 67% say they disapprove.
Wall Street Journal: “Around 40% of voters in the 2024 election said the economy was their top issue, far outstripping any other matter. And those voters favored Donald Trump by 60% to 38%. Many say they were moved by his pledges to tame inflation, rebuild U.S. infrastructure, cut red tape and trim government waste. … About a year and a half later, more voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy than approve, 61% to 35%, an average of polls by the Cook Political Report found this month.”
