Trump and the GOP are on the run
With the Republican Tax Scam being the only major piece of legislation passed by Donald Trump, even with Republicans holding a majority in both houses of Congress, one would think the Republicans running for reelection would tout their lone legislative victory in the run up to the midterm elections. However, with only 39% of Americans approving of the tax cuts, which primarily went to the wealthy, many Republicans who voted for it are no longer even using it in political ads. Instead, at Trump’s recent rallies, he has often spoken of the booming economy (while forgetting to thank President Obama for building it) while saying how easy trade wars are to win.
One of Trump’s advisers might want to inform him that his trade war with China is having the opposite effect of what he promised. In September, the United States racked up a monthly trade deficit with China of $34.1 billion, the highest monthly deficit ever. It surpassed the previous record of $31 billion that was set in August. America’s accumulated trade deficit with China has ballooned to $225.8 billion for the year, approximately $30 billion more than at the same point in 2017.
“President Trump is on track this year to preside over the new record for the largest trade deficit in the history of US-China relations, beating the record that was set under his watch last year” says Ryan Hass, a China expert at the Brookings Institution. “Trump chose during the presidential campaign to use the trade deficit as a measure of success, and by that measure, his strategy is failing.”
Due to Trump’s tariffs, Ford recently announced it’s lost $1 billion, and that it now expects massive layoffs. With the worsening failure of Trump’s trade wars, combined with increased layoffs and a falling stock market, it is no wonder the Republicans are abandoning their previous claims that giving money to billionaires and corporations would benefit average working Americans. Hopefully these recent economic changes will be enough to vote Republicans out of one or both houses of government so we can get back to creating policies that help everyone.
I’m a ceramic engineer living in Central New York, avid sports fan but find myself more interested in politics lately.