Speaking in Iowa last week, a boastful Trump brags, exaggerates and lies about the health of the U.S. economy
Watching President Trump bragging about how great our economy is during a speech he gave in Iowa last week, I was struck by the desperation in his tone, which sounded like he was trying to convince not only the reflexively supportive audience about how well things are going, but also conning himself into believing his own baloney.
Before I get into details, I was also kind of amazed that he would go into a farm state and try to make out that things are as good as they can be, if not better than they ever were. Farmers, particularly those who raise corn and soybeans – Iowa’s two largest crops – are in a major hurt in this country. Things are so tough that a few months ago the Trump administration announced it was spending $12 billion on a cash bailout in order to help farmers who’ve been hard hit by Trump’s tariff warfare with China.
I had to wonder how many of the whooping supporters that were in the background while Trump spoke were farmers.
I also had to wonder if people in the audience were actually buying some of the malarkey that Trump was spewing. Among other claims, Trump said:
“Our economy is booming.” Well, actually it’s not.Though 4th quarter numbers are not yet in, my AI source says analysts are projecting a final GDP growth number for the year to be 2.8%-3.3%, which is average, but far from “booming.” For one thing, job creation was at its slowest level since 2003. To put numbers on it, 584,000 jobs were created in 2025. During Biden’s last year, 2.23 million jobs were created.
“Inflation has been defeated.” This is perhaps Trump’s most egregious fantasy, as the inflation rate at the end of last year was 2.7%. That’s well above the 2% rate that’s generally accepted as the target norm for inflation.
“In one year I’ve slashed our trade deficit by 77%.” This one rates a ‘huh?’ Morningstar reports that through last November, the 2025 trade deficit, at $839.5 billion, compared unfavorably to the trade deficit during the same period in 2024, when it stood at $806.5 billion. The deficit went up. It went up by 4%. So explain to me again, Mr. President, how tariffs cut trade deficits.
From my AI source, here’s a longer and more detailed list of lies that Trump has told about the economy.
As to the stock market under Trump, the gains during 2025 were respectable, but compared poorly to first year gains typical of other recent presidents. As a former broker-dealer at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, I attribute those gains to a “honeymoon” period for the incoming administration. 2025’s 13.3% gain in the S&P 500 is decent by any standard, but it’s actually the smallest first year gain for a president since George W. Bush in 2001. By comparison to other recent administrations, Biden’s first year saw an 18% gain, Trump I saw 24%, Obama saw 34%.
Trump and his predecessors were treated favorably by the stock market early on because even as markets are aware of the state of the economy, they tend to be more focused on the future than the now.
But the now is what voters care about, and to Trump’s political peril, polling tells us that a significant majority of them are skeptical about the economy. Pitching overly sanguine numbers to a doubting public is an important political chore for Trump, but try as he might, all the polls I see keep saying Trump’s economic approval numbers are discouraging, if not frightening, for Republicans.
For Trump, political necessity means creating a rhetorical aura of tremendous economic success when everybody and his brother knows that things aren’t nearly as rosy as he makes them out to be.
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
The South Dakota Standard is offered freely and is supported by our readers. We have no political or commercial sponsorship. If you'd like to help us continue our mission to advance independent political and social commentary, you can do so by clicking on the "Donate" button that's on the sidebar to your right.
Follow us and comment on X and Bluesky
