Trump Blames 'Stupidity' for Inflation, Threatens Trade Halt — SkimNews
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- Trump declared "Success does not cause inflation. Stupidity causes inflation" from the Oval Office, rejecting the economic principle that August's surprise gain of 162,000 jobs could add to inflationary pressures.
- The U.S. economy has grown at roughly 2% annually during Trump's second term—slower than under Biden—falling short of the "brand new Trump economic boom" he promised at an August 2024 North Carolina rally.
- Trump threatened on social media to stop trade with foreign countries in retaliation for higher interest rates on U.S. government debt, blaming those rates rather than his own policies for stalled growth.
- The national debt crossed $40 trillion and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 4.79% on Friday, with the article naming Trump's tariffs and oil shortages from the Iran war as drivers of the persistent inflation pushing rates higher.
- Trump's economic approval rating stood at 32% in mid-summer—down from 50% before the 2018 midterms—according to AP-NORC polling, as inflation and hiring concerns weigh on Republicans two months before Election Day.
- White House CEA Chairman Christopher Phelan defended the administration's approach, saying AI productivity gains, last year's tariffs, and Trump-era tax cuts will drive higher growth and job gains roughly double what's needed to match population growth.
- Economist Ernie Tedeschi of Stripe warned that even sustained 3%+ annual growth for a decade would only stabilize—not reduce—the federal debt, calling growth-based deficit planning "wildly optimistic."
Why it matters: Trump is threatening to halt trade while his own tariffs are explicitly named in the article as a cause of the inflation he blames on others, and his economic approval sits at 32%—18 points below where it was before the 2018 midterms—with voters heading to the polls in two months.
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