Americans are not being told the truth about the economy. Tip: inflation is growing, investments are increasing, real incomes are rising and inflation is lower than a year ago, and significantly lower than in 2022 and 2023.
Democrats and their media accomplices portray economic developments in the worst possible light and try to scare voters and undermine the White House. President Donald Trump, in response to polls showing Americans dissatisfied with his stewardship, is trying to set the record straight.
He has a good story to tell and is frustrated that the country is not welcoming our lower trade and budget deficits, growth above 4% and record energy production. But he undermines his own story by exaggerating his successes. For example, in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said there is “virtually no inflation” in the US and that food prices are falling. That’s not true. Inflation has not yet fallen to the Fed’s target of 2%, and aside from gasoline and eggs, very few prices have actually fallen.
CNN CALLS FOR INFLATION FRAMEWORK UNDER TRUMP VERSUS BIDEN IN VIRAL POST
Trump has a high position here and should not give it up by deviating from the facts. Democrats whine about affordability, but all their policies—high taxes, burdensome regulations, climate fanaticism—raise the cost of living. That’s why blue cities are the most expensive places on earth to live.
Painting the economy with a dark brush, as the liberal media does, has real world consequences. Confidence is declining and consumers are cutting back, torpedoing growth. That’s what the left wants. A booming economy hurts Democrats in two ways. First, rising incomes keep Republicans in control of Congress and give them two more years to advance the Trump agenda. Second, it proves that lower taxes, lighter regulations and pro-energy policies create more jobs and rising prosperity.
Democrats, regulatory fanatics eager to raise taxes (hello, Virginia Governor Spanberger! Hello New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani!) would love to undermine our nation’s vast reserves of fossil fuels and cannot tolerate real-time evidence that they are wrong on all counts.
The left rightly claims that the country has expanded under President Joe Biden. But it grew thanks to massive federal spending, leading to 9% inflation and one of the hardest blows to the American middle class since the Great Recession.
A YEAR BACK IN THE OVAL OFFICE, TRUMP SAYS WHITE HOUSE DELIVERED EVERY MAJOR CAMPAIGN PROMISE
The liberal media cannot play fair. Consider their views on Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve. After months of stoking fears that the Fed would soon lose its fabled (and mythical) independence under a chair chosen by Trump, media analysts turned into pretzels and hyped the dangers of a Warsh-led Fed even as the markets proved them wrong by showing the exact opposite.
After Trump announced his choice for Warsh, metals prices, which were on the verge of collapse, suffered an epic collapse. Silver futures fell 31%, the worst trading day since 1980, and gold futures, which had soared, fell 11%. Why? Because Warsh is known as a hawk, concerned with controlling inflation and government spending. Gold and silver prices had soared for several reasons, but one of them was the expectation that Trump’s choice would deliver what the president wanted: lower interest rates. That, we were confidently told, would lead to an acceleration of inflation.
It was almost funny to see Bloomberg analysts, for example, dealing with the reality of the Warsh nomination. They said it was a “strange” choice, implying that Trump could not possibly appeal to an independent thinker, but would rather demand total control over Fed policy. Wall Street, they acknowledged, expected Warsh to take charge with a “hawkish” slant. Rather than being a con man eager to do what Trump wants, Warsh will have to “navigate a president who… has pilloried Fed officials for not easing policy as aggressively as he would like.”
TRUMP MOVES TO SELL ECONOMIC GAINS AS REPUBLICANS BOOK FOR HIGH STAKES MID-TERM SHOWDOWN
The liberal media has also been endlessly critical of Trump’s tariffs, especially the impact they would have on America’s small businesses. But surveys from the NFIB, the nation’s largest association of small businesses, show that the group’s own optimism index rose to 99.5 in December, above the 52-year average of 98. In addition, the NFIB uncertainty index fell in December to its lowest level since June 2024.
The NFIB is not the only one seeing positive trends. Investment bank Evercore ISI’s weekly business surveys show the same trends. Recently, inquiries rose to the highest level since March 2024.
Much of the positive news lately reflects the steady spending of consumers, who are regularly reported to be out of cash, sunk deeper into debt and depressed about the country’s prospects. And yet, salute the American shopper who once again defied expectations and went the extra mile to deliver better-than-expected holiday sales.
WHITE HOUSE ‘LASER TARGETED’ ON AFFORDABILITY AS TRUMP SOFTENS RATE STRATEGY
But why should consumers pinch? Real incomes are rising, the stock market continues to reach new highs, causing a “wealth effect” on spending, and even Fed Chairman Powell says the labor market is stable, if not booming.
Despite these positive trends, consumer confidence has weakened. But the pessimism reflects less current conditions – that is, the reality on the ground – than future expectations, especially among Democrats and Independents. My take: Those glued to liberal news outlets are understandably gloomy about the future. Of course they are! All they hear is hand-wringing about how Trump’s tariffs will destroy global trade and how AI will destroy job prospects.
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Of course, not everything is perfect, but Trump is right when he says he had to fix an economy addicted to ever-increasing government spending; he is also right when he says that the trends are positive. Gasoline prices are down more than 7% from a year ago, and mortgage rates are just above 6%, compared to almost 7% when Trump took office. Meanwhile, investment is pouring into the US and AI will almost certainly increase productivity and incomes and reduce inflation.
President Trump has the facts on his side; he must comply and regain the trust of the Americans.
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