Domestically, Donald Trump campaigned on Making America Great Again and the latest figures show that he is. It’s not just the tariffs but also the other actions he is taking on the economic front that are improving the situation he inherited. His strategy of putting America First is causing some problems globally, particularly when it comes to the share markets. Trump’s message is there will be some short-term pain for long-term gain. His message is to hang in there for wealth like we’ve never seen before.
Why is this man inflicting pain on the world economies, particularly with his tariffs? The answer is really quite simple. For some considerable time there has been a tariff imbalance on traded goods to the detriment of America. In his words America has been ripped off and his tariffs are his way of solving the problem. He has had enough of the rest of the world seeing America as a country that can be used and abused when it comes to both fair trade and being the world’s policeman on defence matters.
The upshot of this is that the rest of the world will need to adapt to a different global order when dealing with America, particularly where matters of trade and defence are involved. He is carrying out the policies he campaigned on: how novel is that in this day and age? This is why he is so popular with the American voter.
There is plenty to argue about here: Is he going about it the right way? Is the methodology for calculating the tariffs correct and could he have avoided a bloodbath on the share markets?
I see a certain irony on the last point. How often do we hear how governments are helping the ‘rich pricks’ to increase their wealth at the expense of the lower classes?
Trump is giving the wealthy some pain and the left, especially the Democrats, are squealing. They are so anti Trump that something that should please them appears to have completely passed them by. Nobody has any idea where the markets will end up, although Trump’s 90-day pause on retaliatory tariffs seems to have sparked something of an uplift. His latest comment is that now is a good time to buy.
Since imposing the tariffs, Trump’s popularity has jumped four points from 49 per cent to 53 per cent. The March job figures make for good reading: 228,000 jobs added, beating expectations by 88,000. There was an increase of 459,000 in full-time workers, 209,000 increase in private employment and a 232,000 increase in the labour force. In fact, every employment sector increased, except in federal government jobs, which saw a decrease of 4,000.
Trump has so far signed 111 executive orders, the most this early in a presidency for a 100 years. Most people (86 per cent) say he is doing things differently from others. Interestingly, 53 per cent of people feel his amount of power is about right or too little! Even CNN have described him as a ‘soaring eagle’.
Meanwhile Democrats continue to lose voters in key states. In some swing states, where Republicans were behind Democrats in voter registrations at the time of the presidential election, they are now ahead.
Donald Trump was not elected to please the rest of the world – he was elected to get America out of a 16-trillion dollar debt crisis. Since implementing the tariffs an estimated two billion dollars a day is flowing into America’s coffers. Over 75 countries are knocking on his door wanting trade deals.
Trump's aim is two twofold: To balance the books and eliminate income tax on the bulk of the middle class; There are eight states in America that don’t have income tax and two more looking to join them.
How this all plays out is anybody’s guess but it is certainly working for Trump on the home front. The bulk of Americans like what he is doing. If this plays out the way he envisages, it will be a long time before the Democrats are back in power.
There are interesting times ahead to say the least.
