Americans are already suffering from high levels of inflation that is sending prices of everyday items much higher and leaving less in their pockets at the end of the month. But it could get even worse under a second Trump presidency, a politics and economics expert says.
Trump ‘Better on Inflation’
That’s despite the former president campaigning that he would do a much better job with inflation and on the wider economy than the incumbent, Democratic President Joe Biden, writes Eric Levitz in New York Magazine’s Intelligencer analysis section.
Trump and Biden the Likely Nominees
Both Biden and Trump are leading the respective Democratic and Republican party races to be their nominee for the 2024 presidential election, according to national polling. That makes them the likely candidates to be chosen by voters in primaries early next year.
America’s Inflation Problem
The cost of food, energy, goods and services has all been steadily rising, partly because of supply and other issues arising from Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
US Inflation Rate
Inflation — the rate at which prices increase over a certain period — is currently at 3.2 percent for the year to October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Some relief for US consumers came when gasoline prices dropped, partly offsetting continuing high prices of food and housing, both owned and rented, it said.
Trump ‘Inflation Increase Plan’
Levitz writes in the Intelligencer that Trump, a Republican, “has a plan for massively increasing inflation” and that “the primary driver of Trump’s support — especially among swing voters — is his superlative credibility on economic issues.”
Looking at Trump with ‘Nostalgia’
But Levitz warns that Republican voters may be viewing candidate Trump with “nostalgia” brought about by a booming economy when he was in the White House and also reality TV show The Apprentice that the billionaire real estate mogul starred in.
‘Different Trump Reality’
The economic reality under another Trump president would be far different from what it is now, even with crippling levels of inflation and record-high prices, the writer says.
‘Recipe for Economic Disaster’
Levitz writes that Trump’s “agenda includes imposing a 10 percent tariff on all foreign-made goods, enacting large deficit-financed tax cuts, and slashing America’s foreign-born labor force through mass deportations and immigration restriction. Taken together, this constitutes a recipe for a drastic increase in US consumer prices.”
Trump ‘Honest and Smart’
Not everyone was convinced by the writer’s analysis of Trump’s potential handling of the economy should he win the White House next November.
One person wrote on X, formerly Twitter, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan and movement: “President Trump is both honest and smart. President Trump will end high inflation and President Trump will end illegal immigration. President Trump wants to make Americans wealthy. Support President Donald John Trump. MAGA.”
A ‘Child’ on the Economy
Another X user said: “Trump may know something about finance and cheating on his taxes, but he’s a child when it comes to basic economics. Remember when he wanted to renegotiate US debt obligations?”
‘All About Control’
Someone else opined: “They want things expensive and out of control so they can have an excuse to squash any protest and dissent. Trump already knows folks don’t like him. He wants to declare the insurrection act as soon as he gets into office to put down protests.”
‘Bad Economic Implications’
Levitz said Trump’s economic plan should be rejected by voters. “In my view, there are strong moral reasons for opposing this agenda,” he writes. “But even if one has no regard for the welfare of foreign-born, longtime US residents, the economic implications of Trump’s program are quite bad.”
Legal Battle ‘Distraction’
And Levitz said that many people, as well as the American media, are too interested in Trump’s many legal battles to pay much attention to what he’s planning for the economy, should he become the next president.
‘Prospect of a Jailed Trump’
He writes that “scrutiny of the ex-president has tended to focus on his myriad legal woes, incendiary statements, and plans for corrupting federal law enforcement. This isn’t surprising, since the prospect of a convicted felon-in-chief turning the Justice Department into his personal detective agency is a bit more interesting than a Republican candidate campaigning on bad economic ideas.”
Trump’s Many Legal Problems
The former president, who is now 77 years old, has been indicted four times — twice for trying to overturn the result of the 2020 election he lost to Biden, once for allegedly mishandling confidential government documents and again for allegedly making hush money payments to cover up an affair. He denies all 91 charges under the indictments.
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