Amid the Supreme Court hearing, Donald Trump claimed that his tariffs saved the entire world from a depression. It’s the new peak of his economics-by-ego, because neither the data nor basic trade math backs him up.
Trump called the Supreme Court hearing against tariffs “one of the most important cases in the history of our country.” And it surely is, since it affects millions of people. But after oral arguments on Wednesday, he said that if the Supreme Court removed tariffs, it would be “devastating” (via Business Standard). He doubled down, claiming, “If we didn’t have tariffs, the entire world would be in a depression.”
But facts suggest they did more harm than help, especially for everyday families. Tariffs are extra taxes on imports entering the country. And historically, the cost gets passed on to people who now have to pay higher prices. And the one group that gets especially squeezed in this is low-income households.
But Trump stressed that he “did this for the world,” citing his success in striking a deal with China.
“As an example, President XI, he hit us with the Rare Earths and I him him with the tariff, a hundred percent tariff on top of all other tariffs. And he called in 10 minutes and made a deal.”
He also labeled the U.S.-China trade war as a “threat against the world.” He went so far as to guarantee that without his tariff impositions, “the entire world would be closed up.” While the IMF flagged U.S.–China trade frictions as a major drag on global growth, they warned against exactly what Trump did. (via WTO)
Trump also seems to have forgotten the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which was the time tariffs as insane as his were imposed, and it ended up in the Great Depression. And the U.S. has avoided that in recent years because of monetary policy, fiscal backstops, and post-pandemic normalization. But Trump believes a magical tariff dial would do the work.
What the genius economist needs to realize is that tariffs have real costs. And they result in higher prices at the grocery store for millions before straining supply chains and slowing global trade. They don’t stop recessions, especially not one that hasn’t arrived. Unfortunately, regular Americans understand it better than him. Users on social media lashed out at Trump’s statement, proving that it’s doing no good to the people he’s supposed to protect first.
“My God, he really just says anything. Tariffs did not prevent a depression; they made life more expensive for millions of Americans. It is nonsense, plain and simple,” one said. Another opened up about the impact of tariffs they’ve faced personally:
“Tariffs…that $26 set of coasters I bought on Etsy from Canada, cost me an extra $36 before I could get them, and it took an extra few weeks to arrive after being hung up in Canada before finally shipping…”
Some also tried to give him a history lesson, in hopes that he’ll understand what he’s really doing. “Donald Trump is not only the worst President in history, but he is the dumbest President. The Great Depression was when Republican President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act,” they said. The user also revealed that after the tariff act, “a Republican president did not return to the White House for two decades.”
But, Trump will be Trump. It seems his economics is as bad as his history and science. Someone needs to put him in a class on basic economics before he pushes the U.S. back to 1929.
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